First powered suitcase ready to go

[August 1st 2008]

Heralded as an evolution in travel and the first innovation in luggage design for more than 20 years, a UK company has developed what it claims is the world’s first powered suitcase.

Live Luggage says it was inspired by design icons such as Ferrari and Lamborghini “to create shapes and curves that stimulate and excite us all”.

“Weight is an important factor but up until now luggage design has been driven by fashion, airline authorities and the media, and nothing really innovative has happened in the last two decades, apart from new textures and materials,” the company says.

The last innovation in luggage design may have been the tiny wheels and collapsible handles that were introduced on suitcases in the 80s. “With power assisted luggage you can now go virtually anywhere and on any surface as it is stressful going up gradients and steps with heavy luggage ‘because the world is not flat,” says Live Luggage.

The company makes some grandiose claims for its new product. “The unique anti-gravity handle system we have designed for Live Luggage is the equivalent of what the Wright brothers discovered 100 years ago. Isaac Newton would be proud of this baby with the very latest flat/pan motor technology as well as the electronics management system and it's certainly a major step for mankind in the travel market,” it suggests.

The patented handle system on the powered suitcase has a triangular wishbone which gives a “wheelbarrow effect” which is much more suitable for travellers, says Live Luggage.

The new power assisted luggage is being targeted at “discerning travellers” who want a medium sized suitcase “which brings peace of mind and requires no help from anyone else”.

The luggage is made of the same material used on car bumpers. The pancake motors are said to be built to the highest military specification and the powered luggage weighs only 3kg more than an equivalent, 92 litres, hard suitcase.