By Andrew Liszewski
If you’ve ever been worried about losing your luggage while traveling, the Trace Me luggage tracking system might appeal to you. However, if you’ve ever actually lost your luggage, or had an airline lose it for you, this will probably seem like a pretty good idea. The tags don’t use GPS or any kind of electronic tracking system, but instead feature a unique barcode and serial number that gets registered no the Immobilise database with your contact info. So in the event your luggage does go missing, a handling agent can either scan the barcode or enter the serial number which should provide them with your contact info. Once you’ve been identified, a text message is sent to your mobile phone letting you know that your bag has been located and what you should do next.
The tags appear to be pretty durable, and since your contact information is stored in an online database, you don’t need to have private information like your name, phone number and home address written somewhere on the bag itself. The tags run about $24 each, which is a one-time fee. So once they’re bought and registered on the website, they’re good for as long as the tags (or the company) last. While they might not stop your luggage from actually going missing, they’ll hopefully increase your odds of getting them back if they do. (At the moment the Immobilise website appears to be for UK residents only, but they do claim the service will soon be available to US residents as well.)
[ Trace Me Luggage Tracker ] VIA [ Shiny Shiny ]
The Trace Me Luggage Tracker tag, although born here in the UK, is very much a global product and works anywhere in the world. We ship tags to Australia, Singapore, Thailand, the US, all of Europe – anywhere you travel the tag will protect your luggage.
The Immobilise.com site can be used by anyone worldwide and the US site will be up by the 1 st June 08.