Robotic Luggage Doesn't Deliver

A 28-year-old Spanish inventor by the name of Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez has been burning up the Internet with a video of his self-propelled, robotic carry-on suitcase, which is called the Hop! (the exclamation point is technically part of the name, but as with Yahoo!, this will be the first and last time I use it).

The Hop is just a prototype at this point. It’s designed to track a Bluetooth signal from a smartphone and use its onboard “caterpillar system” (not to be confused with the caterpillar drive of the Red October submarine) to move itself just a few feet behind its owner. It’s an interesting concept—and, hey, who doesn’t like a video of a little robotic box following you around?—but I think it’s sort of bunk. Here’s why: