Meet the Ovis, an automatic suitcase that follows its owner everywhere

So if you are the globetrotter kind of person, it would make a whole lot of sense if you would just let your suitcase or luggage as the case may be, follow you around instead of dragging it till you're exhausted, wouldn't it?

Apparently, based on findings on human behaviour, a Beijing-based startup - FowardX Robotics has the solution to the problem outlined above. 

Meet the Ovis, a suitcase equipped with two brushless electric motors (in which case one drives each of the rear wheels), multiple video cameras, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip running artificial intelligence-based computer vision algorithms.

This mechanism is said to give room for the suitcase to visually track its user or owner, and stay in sight at their right-hand side while they are on the go through the airport or just down the street. Now, this movement is maintained at speeds of up to 10km/hr (that's about 6 miles per hour).

That's not all, the suitcase is also said to have the capability of identifying obstacles such as other people and road pavements, automatically steering itself around them. Manual control or override of the Ovis can be done at any time by the user, using the suitcase just like any other normal one, just by grabbing its handle. However, it is done when its removable 96 Watt-Hour lithium-ion battery runs out of juice.

The Ovis' battery can be used to charge the user's mobile devices via two USB ports. The same battery can be charged in under four hours, and should be good for about 20 km (12 miles) of use – an accompanying iOS/Android app warns the user when the charge level is down to 20 percent. Additionally, the battery can be used to charge the user's mobile devices via two USB ports built into the suitcase.

Should the user get separated from the Ovis by more than 2 meters (6.6 ft), a Bluetooth-linked SmartBand on their wrist will notify them. And if the suitcase is outright lost or stolen, the app can be used to track it via an attached GPS tag.

The Ovis can also carry clothes – 45 liters worth of them. The suitcase itself weighs a little under 4.5 kg (9.9 lb). It's currently the subject of an Indiegogo campaign, with a pledge of US$329 getting you an Ovis by December if it reaches production. The planned retail price is $799.

The following video shows the Ovis in action.