A "Ride" at CIIE

From pulling to riding: a suitcase with a new option

For most travellers, a suitcase is the most familiar piece of equipment on any trip.

From simple storage to wheels and a telescopic handle that made pushing and pulling easier, the suitcase has steadily taken weight off the person carrying it.

Yet in airports, stations and hotels, the long stretches are still covered on foot. Hours of walking with a case still cost energy, and that is where a ride begins to make sense.

Once a suitcase can be ridden, the way people move with luggage changes.

Airwheel's smart riding suitcase pairs an electric drive system with a conventional hard-shell case. Luggage space stays intact; what is added is short-distance personal mobility. Riders choose between riding and pulling depending on the situation, letting the drive take over part of the distance, so the case becomes more than a container — it is a piece of smart mobility that also carries things.

That is what separates a smart riding suitcase from a conventional one.

From the exhibition halls at CIIE to airports and transport hubs on an ordinary trip, what changes is not only how luggage moves. It is how far a suitcase can reach as a product.

Smart riding suitcases in a travel setting

From hardware to interaction: a ride that keeps evolving

Making a suitcase rideable is not simply a matter of adding a motor and wheels.

What shapes the experience is how the drive system, the mechanical structure, the controls and the smart features work together. Airwheel has kept developing and iterating around exactly these points.

Structure: switching modes with less effort

Being rideable is only the first step. The change of mode has to be simple enough to become part of an ordinary trip.

1. 01

   Manual pull and lock

   Early models used a handle that had to be pulled out and locked by hand.

2. 02

   A simpler lock

   The locking mechanism was refined, making the handle quicker to set.

3. 03

   Automatic, synchronised

   Handle and motorised front wheel now extend and unfold together.

From the early pull-and-lock handle, to a refined locking mechanism, to a handle and motorised front wheel that extend automatically in step, Airwheel has kept simplifying how riding mode is engaged.

The Airwheel SE3SXD is the clearest example of that progression. One press starts riding mode: the handle and the motorised front wheel deploy into position, and once the structure is fully extended the rider can set off. Preparation before a ride is shorter and less fiddly.

Smart interaction: a ride that fits the rider

While the hardware kept improving, Airwheel also broadened what the smart layer can do.

The dedicated app shows speed, battery level and distance travelled in real time, and lets riders set their own speed limit. Lighting can be adjusted as well: the ambient light around the case can be changed in colour and effect, so the same suitcase can look different from one trip to the next.

Beyond personalisation, the app sends alerts — a Bluetooth disconnection warning, a low-battery reminder — so the state of the case stays visible. Remote control and programmable control extend how the case can be operated, adding more than a way to check information.

For luggage security, selected models support Apple Find My. Owners can locate the case from an Apple device and play a sound to help find it, which makes keeping track of luggage on the move less of a worry.

Practical design: charging on the go, flying without fuss

Riding and smart features aside, practicality on a real trip still matters.

A USB charging port lets travellers top up a phone or another device while they move, so charging happens along the way rather than at the gate.

For air travel, Airwheel uses a removable lithium-ion power bank rated at 73.26Wh, so the pack can be taken out and handled according to airline requirements; at 73.26Wh it stays within the widely used 100Wh carry-on threshold. A TSA-compliant lock protects what is inside the case and helps avoid forced inspection at security.

From structure to interaction, charging and air travel, Airwheel keeps refining details around real journeys — widening how a suitcase can move while meeting what a trip actually demands.

From one product to a family: different journeys, different suitcases

Airwheel's smart riding suitcases are not a single choice. They are built around different travellers, different packing needs and different situations.

From a 20-inch carry-on that stays with you, to a 24-inch checked case with more room, to a kids' model for younger travellers, Airwheel has built a line-up that covers a range of journeys.

From 20-inch carry-on to kids' models

From adults to children, from a 20-inch carry-on to a 24-inch checked case, Airwheel's range of sizes, positions and configurations keeps widening where a smart riding suitcase can be used.

Bringing technology back to how people move

The ride in the CCTV News report at CIIE put Airwheel's smart riding suitcase in front of a much wider public. What the cameras captured is product development meeting a real journey, and a new direction for the suitcase: from a storage tool to a piece of smart mobility.

From one product to more situations, Airwheel keeps asking how technology can serve the way people actually move. What comes next stays on engineering, and on what travellers need.

Airwheel. Smart makes life freer.