Shared e-scooters are fast, but lack all initiative without a human around. Autonomous delivery robots can navigate the city, but are slow and cautious. Let’s combine their strengths into one device: e-scooter that roams the streets at its own pace and comes to you on demand, so you can take control and burn some rubber!
In many countries, shared vehicles (cars, bicycles, scooters) are finding their way into cities, and people are coming to grips with that and learning to not vandalise them (or at least I’d like to think that…) Even in a country as intolerant of clean, intact, ungraffitied public property as Australia, shared scooters are slowly taking hold.
Meanwhile in China:
And in Russia:
Autonomous delivery robots are a thing in an increasing number of cities. They are able to navigate the sidewalks and even roads. They are incredibly advanced, but while effective at what they do, their dynamic qualities would be considered uninspiring if a person were to ride such a robot.
The proposal
I propose building a device that combines the autonomous capabilities of a delivery robot with speed and agility of an e-scooter. These robots would roam the city in autonomous mode, converging on areas of anticipated demand and visiting charging stations when needed. When a customer engages the robot found on the street, or calls one to a specific location using an app, the robot will shift into manual mode. It can then be ridden like a typical shared e-scooter.
Think of it as a delivery robot delivering a scooter to you, except the robot becomes the scooter.
How it can be done
Companies such as Starship, Kiwibot, Yandex and Neolix already have the software for delivery robots. It should be relatively easy to adapt it for the new mission.
As for the hardware platform – there’s really a lot of freedom and potential for creativity in this space. E-scooters with retractable “training wheels”, self-balancing e-scooters, original Segway type scooters, modified delivery robots with beefed-up suspension, “transformers” of varying degrees of complexity, etc.
For the first prototype, you can take the path of least resistance and use an existing 4-wheel scooter such as the Veloz Golf.
Call to action
The technology is there, the demand is there. Just go ahead and do it, it should be fun!
Submitted by: Ilia Leikin
Hashtags: #eScooter #DeliveryRobot #AutonomousDriving
Looking for: someone to lead a startup, existing company to develop this idea
Status: watched by companies (Kiwibot, Yandex)
*Modularity*
Should keep the design modular for better repairability. In particular, the mechanical parts used in scooter mode might wear out quicker under load, and may need to be replaced more frequently than the expensive computer and sensors.
–Ilia
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