Electric scooter company Bird is integrating a sensor system that prevents its vehicles from being used on sidewalks and footpaths.
The “Smart Sidewalk Protection” technology was designed and developed in partnership with U-blox, a company that works on wireless communication and positioning technology and services.
“As more and more cities look to integrate shared micromobility into the climate action plans that focus on reduced carbon emissions in their communities, technology that prevents sidewalk riding has become increasingly important,” Bird said in a statement.
Bird said its system co-developed with U-blox is the industry's “first robust, integrated sensor fusion system that tracks location with centimeter-level precision.”
By combining U-blox’s high-precision technology and sidewalk mapping with Bird's suite of onboard vehicle sensors, the integrated system can detect and prevent sidewalk or footpath riding in real time, according to Bird.
Traditional GPS with cloud-based maps can take more than 15 seconds to respond, while Bird said its new smart sidewalk protection technology can safely bring a vehicle that has entered onto a sidewalk to a safe stop while allowing the rider to walk the vehicle back to the roadway or bike lane.
"After three years of building, testing and piloting a range of technologies including but not limited to on board cameras, GPS tracking, ultra-wideband and beacons, we found that each was insufficient with regard to accuracy, precision, immediacy or scalability,” Bird Chief Vehicle Officer Scott Rushforth said in a statement. “Our testing led us to a collaboration with u-blox which resulted in the development of our end-to-end sensor fusion solution that meets our criteria.”
Bird's sidewalk detection technology is currently being piloted in Milwaukee and San Diego, California, and is expected to be piloted in Madrid in early 2022.
