London, 24 September 2018 – The travel search engine KAYAK has taken advantage of the latest Augmented Reality (AR) technology by today introducing its new luggage measurement tool in the UK. With the dimensions of carry-on luggage differing from airline to airline, KAYAK’s AR bag measurement tool allows Brits to check whether or not their luggage will be accepted as hand luggage and fit in the overhead bins for any airline found on KAYAK.
To measure carry-on luggage, all travellers have to do is open a flight search in the KAYAK app and click ’new bag measurement tool’. They are then prompted to scan the floor (this helps calibrate measurements) and in the next step are asked to move their camera around the bag to capture its size. The tool then calculates the bag’s exact measurements (length, width and height – as well as any protrusions), so travellers can be confident whether they are able to take their bag as a carry-on, or if it needs to be checked in.
The tool also gives the option to see baggage fee policies and sizes for all airlines on KAYAK, showing if the bag would fit within their size guidelines. The tool is currently available in the KAYAK app for all iOS devices running iOS 11.3 and newer.
There is also an interesting story behind the tool’s development. It was invented by KAYAK’s tech team during its annual ‘SWAT’ week – a weeklong engineering competition filled with rapid design and development. KAYAK continuously invests in innovative technologies – including AR, VR, AI and voice technology – to raise the bar on how its users can plan and manage travel.
Matthias Keller, KAYAK SVP Technology Officer, commented: ‘With so many Brits taking shorter breaks in Europe and beyond, travelling with hand luggage only is a popular option for many travellers. But with different airlines allowing different sizes of bag in the cabin, and the rules regularly changing, it can be hard to be confident that your bag will fit. And no one wants an unexpected last-minute expense at the airport, or to be without their bag if it contains items they want for the flight. There are lots of ways that VR can be used for fun, but this tool is designed to be truly useful and valuable for travellers’.
Check out how it works here and download the KAYAK app for Android here or for iOS here, and start measuring your luggage now.
Note to editors: Luggage sizes based on standard acceptable ‘cabin bag’ / ‘carry-on’ sizes according to airlines. Please note, some low-cost airlines now only accept handbag-sized carry-ons as standard, and passengers wanting to bring larger cabin bag-sized luggage (as measured by the tool) into the cabin may have to pay for priority boarding.
