Bird Global Inc. began testing its first-of-its-kind “smart sidewalk protection” riding detection technology this week in West Hollywood, California.
The technology, which aims to prevent shared scooters from operating on city sidewalks, has been piloted in Milwaukee, San Diego and Madrid and will soon be launching in more cities worldwide.
Bird (NYSE: BRDS) said its engineering team and the GPS experts at Swiss chip maker U-Blox jointly developed an end-to-end positioning system designed to deliver centimeter-level accuracy specifically for the micromobility industry.
Riders traveling on a sidewalk will now receive both an audible alert as well as a mobile notification, and the vehicle will be brought safely and smoothly to a stop by removing throttle. Bird said unlike expensive, externally mounted cameras, its fusion-sensor solution can be implemented at scale without risk of damage caused by weather or vandalism.
Bird disclosed at the end of October 2021 that Milwaukee was one of the markets where the technology was being piloted. Earlier that year, the city of Milwaukee blocked the use of dockless scooters in downtown Milwaukee after a city consultant tallied about 30% of people riding them were on the sidewalk.
