This connected suitcase just raised $1.4M and actually looks useful

If Will.i.am can have a futuristic, high-tech backpack that charges his devices and amplifies music, there’s no reason why the average person can’t have high-tech luggage that’s a bit better adjusted to everyday life.

Enter Bluesmart, a self-weighting, auto-locking, device-charging suitcase that’s raised almost $1.4 million in funding through its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.

Developed by University of Buffalo Ph.D candidate Martin Diz, the suitcase is packed with a microcomputer, a battery for charging mobile devices (enough to charge them six times over), a sensor for tracking the luggage’s location via a mobile app, and a built-in digital scale for weighing the suitcase (because no one wants to pay that surcharge for going over the weight).

The app also locks the suitcase when the owner is outside a certain range, tracks its location, tracks travel data like distance traveled and airports visited, notifies the owner of when they need to arrive to the airport and what to pack based on weather forecasts.

And since the app and suitcase connect through Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi or data service, it’s not as taxing on batteries and works even if you’re outside of data service range.

Although it seems a bit silly and gimmicky, the Bluesmart suitcase seems to have just the right amount of tech, and as far as we’ve seen, all of it has very clear practical purposes (security, weight, and so on). The company even says that it’s TSA-approved.

While the case will eventually retail for $500, eager travelers can currently reserve one for $260 via its Indiegogo campaign. The suitcase is set to ship to campaign supporters in August 2015.

If only it were available now, it would probably make for a popular holiday season gift.