Mobility engineering and technology company Superpedestrian has debuted its next-generation operating system to be programmed directly onto Link e-scooters.
Codenamed ‘Briggs’, the second version of Link’s operating system reduces geofence reaction time to 0.7 seconds, stores triple the number of geofence zones that enforce no-ride areas, has seven times more precise geofence accuracy, boosts battery life by 48 hours for a standby life of 22 days, and extends e-scooter range by 10% from 55 to 61 miles.
Furthermore, over-the-air updates enable the global Link fleet to be updated in seconds.
Link e-scooters are powered by the Vehicle Intelligent Safety (VIS) system, an onboard safety system that combines artificial intelligence, 73 sensors and five microprocessors. VIS runs 1,000 vehicle health checks per second in a ride, and monitors, governs and fine-tunes vehicle performance in real-time.
According to Superpedestrian, VIS can be continuously upgraded with new operating systems, features and updates to improve the responsiveness of Link scooters with every update, similar to a Tesla car.
Assaf Biderman, founder and CEO of Superpedestrian., said: “If a city partner comes to us with a new idea, we can easily add that, thanks to VIS. This makes for constantly-improving vehicles for riders, better protection for pedestrians and more robust safety performance for cities. Cities should demand nothing less for their citizens.”
Some 19 notable hardware upgrades are also being deployed. Significant features include an updated front suspension to decrease rider fatigue on longer trips and increase ride stability; a brighter colour scheme to make riders more visible to other road users and parked scooters more easily identifiable; a redesigned deck mat for a smoother ride and increased grip underfoot, and revised handlebar grips for added comfort and durability.
Built on seven years of AI development, two years of hardware design and vehicle validation testing, Link launched in 2020 with its first operating system, Asimov. To date, thousands of Link e-scooters are on roads across 12 cities in the USA and Europe, including Rome and Madrid, with further partner cities to be announced.
