Self-driving luggage opportunity

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Revision as of 15:59, 23 February 2014

Exectutive Summary

Market Research

Anthropological Observation

To learn more about how users interacted with their luggage, members of our team spent time at Pittsburgh International Airport. Observations were taken in areas of the airport with high foot traffic such as the entrance from the parking lot and the carrousel for retrieving checked-in bags.

One of our main focuses for our observations was users that had more than a single bag to carry around. These included users that were carrying multiple large checked bags, users carrying children in strollers, and handicapped users in wheelchairs. A common theme in these scenarios is that both users’ hands are being used and doing other tasks in the airport such as using a cell phone or checking boarding pass information can be tedious.

In addition to documenting users, our team also spoke with the representatives at the airline counters and the skycaps at the curb. An interesting point that they made was that users of airlines that allow more than one free checked bag generally split the maximum weight of a single bag into two bags. They also advised that baggage handling can be rough and anything hanging off the chassis of the luggage has potential to damage the bag.

Handicapped user carrying luggage

User carrying stroller and luggage

User carrying two rolling pieces of luggage

User carrying luggage in cart

Product Reviews

User Surveys

When users buy luggage through an online source, like Amazon.com, they are given the opportunity to rate and review their purchased luggage so that other potential buyers have a better idea of how that product performs. By analyzing these reviews we are able to identify several concerns that many buyers focus on. Maneuverability, stability, durability, and weight are at the top of this list. Maneuverability on flat, smooth surfaces is best achieved through the 4-wheel luggage that can by easily pushed next to the user. Vanessa Y from Madison, Wisconsin confirms, "I prefer four wheels. It's so much easier to wheel on flat surfaces ... and uses a LOT less strength" [3]. However, there is a general consensus that 2-wheel luggage offers superior control on rough surfaces where the 4-wheel luggage often gets stuck. Both 4-wheel and 2-wheel suitcases have stability issues when left standing freely. 4-wheel luggage usually rolls away too easily and 2-wheel luggage often tips over. The reviews regarding durability are largely separated into two categories - zipper/canvas strength and wheels. Most reviews about the zipper/canvas durability are based on the appearance of the luggage materials, while the majority of reviews on wheels are only created once a wheel brakes. The weight of the luggage also appears to be very important to the company because of increasing airline fees - flyers are trying to pack fewer bags and utilize all of the weight limit they are offered.

Many other reviews mentioned the importance of a handle on the bottom of the suitcase for easy loading/unloading from a car. While most positive reviews mentioned how smooth a suitcase was, negative reviews didn't complain about luggage ride quality until a wheel broke. These reviews were mainly focused on standard luggage - motorized luggage had very limited reviews. However, the ones available were largely negative. For example, Bloomberg Businessweek outlined Hops!'s limited space, poor balance and weight as objectives the suitcase does not deliver. [4].

External Studies

Market Opportunities

Top Ideas

Competitor Products

Picture of Live-Luggage taken from [1]

Picture of Hop! taken from [2]

There are a large range of 2-wheel and 4-wheel suitcases in the luggage market. However, motorized luggage searches only result in two products: the discontinued Live Luggage Suitcase and Hop! which is still in development. Live-Luggage is a suitcase system "which feels as light as a feather, powers up when it senses gradients and curbs and takes all the weight and effort out of pulling."[5]. Through an innovative handle and powered wheels, it can help make travel through the airport effortless for 1.5 miles. Afterwards, it can be pulled like a regular 2-wheel suitcase. However, it remains heavy (about 23lb) and requires the user to hold the suitcase's handle. Hop! is a new autonomous suitcase that utilizes Bluetooth to triangulate the user's position and drive towards it on two tank treads [6]. However, the suitcase is small and unstable, and if the battery runs out unexpectedly there is no handle for ordinary manual control.

Comparison/Pugh Chart

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Schedule Moving Forward

Summary