TIER, the world’s leading provider of shared micro-mobility, has announced the pilot of ‘Parrot’, its first in-house developed IoT module. Each e-scooter has a module fitted to connect the e-scooters to TIER’s operations teams and the first 60 Parrot-equipped e-scooters will be rolled out in London this week, with further trials taking place in Norway and France in the coming months.
The new ‘Parrot’ IoT module features upgraded hardware including sensors, a step change in processing power and 4G connectivity. The software TIER has developed based on the updated tech, enables edge-computing data analysis to take place on the scooter, rather than relying on a cloud connection. This allows for the system to respond more quickly to data from the on-board sensors, as well as analysing inputs from multiple sensors at the same time.
The new model allows TIER to drastically improve positioning and parking accuracy, as well as developing new use cases, from e-scooters being able to report when maintenance is needed further in advance, to recognising and reducing the likelihood of unsafe rider behaviours. The new module will eventually be fitted to TIER’s existing e-scooter fleet, extending the life of its vehicles and improving the rider experience.
Eryk Sokolowski, Head of Vehicle and IOT Programmes, TIER, commented: “Our number one goal was to improve the safety and overall rider experience of our e-scooters through increased positioning and parking accuracy. The team has managed to significantly improve this utilising cutting edge hardware, reducing vehicle reaction times to geo-fenced zones and enabling a much smoother parking experience for the user.
“Additionally, introducing edge processing to this platform means that vast amounts of information and data can be analysed locally on the vehicles rather than being sent to the cloud. This is an incredibly powerful tool that will allow us to figure out whether an e-scooter has a puncture and get it fixed, or use this data to tackle drink riding by analysing rider behaviour, all while giving us the flexibility to meet changing market and regulatory needs. Applying Machine Learning and AI algorithms to the edge platform will ultimately lead to safer journeys for both riders and other road users.”
4G connectivity is provided by Twilio Super SIM – a global IoT SIM giving reliable access to top tier networks in over 180 countries. With automatic failover in case of network outages and fine-grained control over which networks to use in which areas, Super SIM provides maximum uptime and reliability for TIER’s fleet of vehicles.
The trial will collect data from across Europe to finalise the feature-set which will come with the full roll-out of the new module in 2023.
