E-Ink Airline "Bag Tag" To Be Tested On British Airways

Air travel has its perks, but there are potential downsides as well, such as handing your luggage off to others with the trust that it'll arrive at your destination the same time you do. Although this is usually the case, there are times when luggage ends up straggling behind, or in some instances, completely lost. To help mitigate this, Designworks has partnered with British Airways to create a reusable e-ink luggage tag.

In addition, the small device – officially called a Bag Tag – will do away with printing paper-based tags, reducing paper usage. The small devices features an electronic ink display, which looks like paper and uses virtually no power at all. Around it is a plastic frame, which is presumably made to withstand the rough trip most luggage undergoes.

Perhaps the best part for the individual flyer, however, is the ability to pull up the necessary bar code on the Bag Tag using a smartphone, eliminating the need to stand in potentially long lines to get a printed tag. Once the travelers check in for their flight, they will then place their smartphone near the tag, with the necessary information appearing automatically.

How this will be accomplished wasn't specified, but it'll probably be achieved via a partnered app that users will need to download. The tag has already been designed and tested, and will now be used as part of a live test via a partnership formed with British Airways. The patent is currently pending, according to Designworks.

Said British Airways' Managing Director Frank van der Post: "This is a fantastically simple, yet smart device that gives each customer the choice to have their own personalised electronic baggage tag that changes with the swipe of a smartphone – every time they fly." Hopefully we'll be seeing more details on this soon, so stay tuned!

SOURCE: Designworks