Bird, a leader in environmentally friendly electric transportation, and the Irish School of Excellence (ISOE) today announced the launch of Ireland’s first e-scooter safety course. The first-of-its-kind programme in Ireland is designed to educate transition year, Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA), Youthreach and after school students on safe and responsible riding practises for the use of shared e-scooters.
The ISOE is Ireland’s largest driver education programme, working with over 570 secondary schools nationwide. Covering almost 80% of schools nationally, the ISOE and Bird will roll out Ireland’s first e-scooter safety course as soon as legislation governing their use is passed. The as the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 makes it way through the Oireachtas to allow for e-scooters on Irish roads, and ahead of Councils throughout Ireland beginning licensing processes this year.
Once e-scooters are legalised in Ireland, Bird’s ‘E-scooter Safety Course,’ module will serve as part of the Irish School of Excellence’s existing ‘Driver Education Course’. The course is used to encourage young people to adopt a safety-led approach to driving, and is available to Leaving Cert pupils preparing to take driving lessons, as cars and micro mobility devices increasingly share the road. The pioneering ‘E-scooter Safety Module’ will provide pupils with an overview of the law governing e-scooters; a guide on how to ensure pedestrian safety while using e-scooters; tuition on starting and moving off safely, as well as a tutorial on how to park safely.
Kieran O’Brien, CEO and founder of Irish School of Excellence said: “As our transport network evolves to embrace more sustainable travel options such as shared e-scooter schemes, so too should driving education. It has been heartening to witness first hand Bird’s proactivity in this space. Together we have devised a course that will equip young people across Ireland with the education necessary to use e-scooters safely on Irish roads.”
Charlotte Bailey, General Manager for UK and Ireland at Bird said: “Safety is of paramount importance to Bird. As Ireland prepares to embrace shared e-scooter schemes, it is essential that the public is educated on how to use e-scooters safely. Bird is proud to work with Irish School of Excellence, an organisation with enormous reach, to spearhead Ireland’s first e-scooter safety course. At Bird, we enforce an age limit of 18 years across our platform but believe it is important to begin instilling e-scooter safety early to ensure the next generation ride responsibly.”
Europe’s leading e-scooter operator TIER and Irish micromobility tech platform Luna have announced a strategic partnership to explore the piloting and deployment of computer vision and smart city technology on shared e-scooter fleets, across Europe and the Middle East. In response to today’s announcement, Luna will also create 15 new full time jobs to assist with the work on these pilot projects. These jobs will cover computer vision/AI, hardware, IoT and project management roles in Ireland.
The announcement comes as part of an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Germany where Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar T.D. met with representatives from Luna and Tier in Berlin. The meeting was to further understand the nexus between Ireland and Germany within the e-mobility and automotive industry, and the future role of shared e-scooter schemes in Ireland once the required legislation is passed.
The strategic partnership builds on the Dublin pilot which is taking place across DCU’s five campuses, and which also involves the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics. TIER and Luna are exploring the option of partnering in Paris and examining the possibilities of how vision-enabled e-scooters can assist the Mayor’s Smart City ambitions, using high fidelity and high frequency imagery captured by a portion of TIER’s fleet of 5,000 scooters there.
In addition to Paris, both companies are also exploring partnering in the Middle East with Smart City stakeholders, to examine the potential for bespoke computer vision solutions to tackle local issues around safety, infrastructure optimisation, as well as current and future municipal governance requirements. Additional pilot projects are also being explored in Spain amongst other locations, but details on these locations are yet to be finalised.
Another element of today’s announcement is that there will be a further collaboration with various digital mapping platforms, which will look at how TIER riders and computer vision on scooters can be utilised to capture more accurate and up to date mapping data, that will assist the deployment of micromobility schemes in cities on a global scale. Existing mapping platforms scan cities maybe once or twice a year, whereas scooters can capture and infill additional street level data on a daily basis.
Finally, as part of the strategic partnership, TIER and Luna are also embarking on a technical integration project to examine how the Luna computer vision hardware can be embedded into TIER vehicles at the point of manufacture. This will allow Tier to develop a next generation e-scooter that allows the current Luna standalone computer vision tech to integrate more deeply with the vehicle, similar to how Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) tech has evolved in the automotive industry.
Speaking at the announcement of this strategic partnership, Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar T.D. said: “I’m really happy to see this strategic partnership between Irish company Luna and Europe’s leading e-scooter operator TIER. Ireland is introducing a new law to allow for the legal usage of scooters on our roads in our towns and cities, as they become an increasingly popular option for commuters. Luna will hire 15 people as a result of the partnership, which will help build on the current pilot project that is taking place in DCU. These kinds of innovative partnerships can provide Ireland with a ‘second mover advantage’, helping us avoid some of the safety and other teething issues of earlier e-scooter schemes elsewhere. With this in mind it’s reassuring to see TIER, not only bringing advanced technology to solve some of the challenges we will no doubt also face in Ireland, but also to see them working with Irish stakeholders such as the NCBI and the Irish Wheelchair Association, through their recently established Safety Board.”
Matthias Laug, CTO and Co-Founder of TIER, said: “We are already working closely with Luna in Dublin, and this broader strategic agreement allows us to expand the scope and ambition of our partnership. We see computer vision as a valuable tool in our mission to change mobility for good and to lead the way towards seamless, sustainable and safe micro-mobility. Alongside our world-leading parking capabilities with Fantasmo, this powerful collaboration with Europe’s leading computer vision and edge AI startup in the scooter space, allows us to explore the full potential of this exciting technology on our fleet. Luna thinks about cities in the same way as we do, and we look forward to jointly developing new solutions that address some of the key smart city challenges our city partners are identifying, from pavement riding to infrastructure monitoring and from litter alerts to road condition reports.”
Andrew Fleury, Co-Founder & CEO, Luna said: “Luna is thrilled to be partnering so closely with TIER across multiple geographies in the EU and Middle East. Cities and stakeholders everywhere are looking towards smart technology to help find solutions to some of the operational challenges that are holding the shared scooter industry back from fulfilling its potential. TIER is embracing Luna technology, even at this early stage of its evolution, in order to pioneer the future of micromobility, and deliver safe and sustainable services that not only do the basics of looking after rider and pedestrian safety, but also look to the future where scooter fleets act as mobile sensor networks in the smart cities of tomorrow. The rate of industry advancement is astonishing in the shared scooter sector, and TIER is very much to the fore in this regard, having already developed an innovative Energy Network infrastructure for its user swappable batteries, as well as pioneering the deployment of Augmented Reality parking technology. Luna sees TIER as a natural partner in our mission to keep people safe and make cities smarter, and we’re excited to see how the partnership develops over time.
We were also excited to announce the expansion of our team with the creation of 15 brand new jobs over the coming months especially in the presence of the Tánaiste, who responded positively to the work we are currently undertaking in the micromobility sector.”
Voi, Europe’s largest shared e-scooter operator, today launches the world’s first large scale pilot of computer vision on e-scooters, installing AI technology that can detect when an e-scooter leaves the road and rides on a pavement, or when the vehicle is parked incorrectly. The technology could also detect if an e-scooter is standing up and parked in a rack, thereby helping to alleviate parking issues.
Voi, which hopes to operate in Ireland when regulations allowing for the safe use of e-scooters and the development of shared escooter schemes is passed later this year, is working with Irish micromobility startupLuna, whose technology offers real-time lane segmentation and pedestrian detection for scooters, similar to that available in high-end cars.
Voi e-scooters fitted with the new technology were tested on Stockholm streets today in advance of deployment in Northampton later this month, to demonstrate the potential of the technology which will increase the safety of e-scooters by fixing the problem of pavement riding. The technology will also provide tools to identify problem areas and adapt infrastructure for micromobility, by conveying real-time data about how the vehicles are being used.
The ‘smart camera’ hardware and electronics have been honed by Luna and Voi over the last 6 months, to integrate with the latest Voi vehicles, while the computer vision algorithms have been trained extensively using hours of video footage from Northampton.
The first pilot will begin this month in Northampton in the UK, where Voi has an exclusive licence to operate as part of the British government’s national trial of e-scooters, which started last year and runs until spring 2022.
Two phase pilot
Voi will initially install cameras on a number of e-scooters in Northampton for a two-phase pilot starting in July. In the first phase, a controlled user group will road test the computer vision technology to collect real-time visual information on the environment the e-scooter is travelling through, as well as detecting pedestrians in the path of the e-scooter. The technology will also be able to detect the surface that an e-scooter is being ridden on, such as a bike lane, pavement, or roadway, and alert the rider accordingly with an audible alarm if they are riding on the footpath.
In the second phase of the trial later in the summer, about 100 cameras will be installed on the publicly available scooter fleet in Northampton. As well as the audible alert, this phase of the pilot will explore the potential to automatically slow scooters if inappropriate riding is detected on footpaths or in heavily pedestrianised areas.
Data from the pilot will be shared with the council so that it can collect a detailed record of how and where the e-scooters are being ridden, helping Voi to correct bad behaviour and enabling the city to have data driven insights into e-scooter use and the interactions with other modes of transport and pedestrians. By 2022, Luna expects to be able to integrate its camera technology directly into the stem or handlebars of the e-scooters for rent.
Fredrik Hjelm, co-founder and CEO of Voi Technology, said: “With computer vision e-scooters can be trained to see and recognise situations that are hazardous. This world-first pilot will set new standards of safety for this new form of transport. Having helped riders to take more than 60 million rides across Europe we understand deeply the issues involved in e-scooter safety and are always looking for ways to do better. We are very proud to be the first e-scooter operator to incorporate the computer vision technology at scale for the benefit of our riders, pedestrians and authorities and as we hope to expand our award-winning fleet into Ireland are delighted to be collaborating with the team in Luna on this important pilot.”
Andrew Fleury, co-founder & CEO, Luna, said: “With this trial, we look forward to demonstrating how computer vision equipped e-scooters can make a verifiable difference to rider compliance and sidewalk riding behaviour in cities. We’ve noticed cities across the world requesting technological solutions to challenges like pavement riding and it’s fantastic to be working with such a safety conscious operator like Voi, in order to develop market ready solutions. The value of the smart city data that can be generated by vision equipped scooters is only beginning to be understood by micromobility stakeholders, and we’re excited to be exploring these early use cases with Voi.”
Improving e-scooter compliance
Voi will use the Luna technology to improve compliance not just in terms of riding behaviour, but also in relation to proper parking. The Luna parking algorithm can spot if a scooter is positioned correctly in a ‘virtual dock’ by using a painted scooter logo or corral on the ground, or any other surrounding visual clues that it is trained to detect. Using the camera as a sensor, Luna can also help e-scooters to be parked with a level of accuracy that standard GPS technology cannot match.
Voi is committed to using innovation to ensure that every e-scooter ride is a responsible one, and every stationary e-scooter is a safe one. By collaborating with Luna, Voi will be able to build a record of where and how the scooters are being ridden and parked. Cities are expected to use the data not just to understand poor rider behaviour but also to identify where infrastructure improvements to the public realm could help e-scooter riders and other road users.
By working in partnership with local councils and companies like Luna, Voi is dedicated to empowering people to leave their cars behind and move around their city in a safer, more sustainable way. The Luna technology will give authorities across Europe the confidence that they can have greater control over rental e-scooters, which provide a new carbon-neutral and socially distanced solution to urban travel.
After operating for more than three years, Voi is now the leading e-scooter operator across Europe, with a presence in more than 60 cities. The company recently published its first annual safety report – the first of its kind from a micro-mobility company – as part of its commitment to Vision Zero, in which it wishes to eliminate all fatal accidents.
A number of e-scooter and e-bike operators, potential operators and mobility platforms, including Ireland’s lead ride hailing app and multi-mobility provider FREE NOW, have today sent a letter to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan calling on him to see that the proposed legislation for e-scooters receives its full consideration and passage over the coming weeks.
The Programme for Government- published last year- included a pledge from the Government to ‘legislate for e-scooters and e-bikes’. And on February 1 this year, the Government approved the drafting of legislation to allow for their regulation. One of the main provisions of the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is to legislate for the use of e-scooters, and this will ultimately allow them to be used legally and safely in a public place.
lime escooter
Today, FREE NOW are amongst a group of operators, potential operators and mobility platforms who have written to the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD to see that the Bill receives its full consideration and passage over the coming weeks in order to allow passengers to enjoy the benefits of e-scooters throughout the late summer and early autumn months.
They are asking the Government to “commit to a timeline to implement this important legislation”. In their letter, which is attached, they also state: “We believe that it is vital that legislation is prioritised and finalised as soon as possible to allow all relevant processes to take place to ensure we have scooters deployed in the late summer / early autumn months.”
As we all know this has been going on long enough now and nothing has been done so lets see what happens in the near future…
The letter sent..
Dear Minister
We are writing to you as a group of e-scooter and e-bike operators, potential operators and mobility platforms. We are all hugely supportive of the work being undertaken by the Government to legislate for e-scooters as part of the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous) Bill.
We were delighted to see that it is contained in the Summer Legislative Programme. Our ask is to ensure that the Bill receives its full consideration and passage over the coming weeks in order to allow passengers to enjoy the benefits of e-scooters in the Summer and Autumn. Multi-modality will be a hugely important element of our re
opening, ensuring that people have a range of transport options available to them. We would ask the government to commit to a timeline to implement this important legislation.
E-scooters have been found to be a safe and enjoyable transport mode. Many of the signatories to this letter have experience in other countries and understand the need to ensure that safety of passengers and other road users must be paramount. We believe that it is vital that legislation is prioritised and finalised as soon as possible to allow all relevant processes to take place to ensure we have scooters deployed in the late summer / early autumn months.
As the pandemic draws to a close we are keen to continue to support a safe re opening. We are eager to work with government, regulators and other stakeholders to ensure that scooters are a safe, reliable and enjoyable option for passengers.
