Cool Gadgets

Travel forces you to interact with the world in new ways, and cool gadgets do much the same. (It’s particularly thrilling when you can combine both.) Technology has radically reshaped the way we travel, from the advent of GPS, to smart phones, and even selfie sticks. Travel + Leisure stays abreast of all of the coolest gadgets designed to aid travelers on their journeys, from revolutionary robot suitcases and robot room service to a hotel fully manned by robots. But it's not all robots. Tech news increasingly overlaps with travel news: these are the devices travelers use to organize and plan their lives.Sorting Through the Best Tech GadgetsA cell phone game leads players young and old to explore the physical world in new ways. A lens the size of a keychain fob reveals whether or not sunscreen has been applied evenly. A camera shows its users existing images similar to the photograph they’ve framed before they ever close the shutter. A motorized suitcase gives rides to travelers (who sit astride it like a hobby horse) on their way to an airport gate. Drones fly to remote villages or difficult to navigate neighborhoods bearing supplies to combat Zika.The most transformative tech gadgets often look unassuming: when was the last time you gazed at your EZPass with admiration? Yet electronic toll-collection systems have saved drivers countless hours of sitting in traffics. A smart phone, for all it can do, is similarly compact, and travelers can use it to do everything a travel agent would have in the past, and more: book hotels or rent apartments, meet people, arrange rides, buy tickets, find restaurants, and make reservations. Other gadgets are geared more for the outdoors, from popular GoPro portable video cameras to handheld GPS satellite devices and solar-powered cell-phone chargers. Travel + Leisure reviews the latest tech, from smart watches to virtual reality devices, to help you find the gear worth the investment.