New technology to be tested in Nottingham to slow down or stop dangerous e-scooter riders will use precise location data and react in real-time.
The planned technology is a world-first and is aimed at stopping reckless riding and riding on pavements.
Superpedestrian is the company behind the LINK e-scooters, which replaced the older WIND models at the end of last year, and is trialling "Pedestrian Defence" in Nottingham ahead of a worldwide rollout.
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That's the name given to the new AI-based software that will detect unsafe riding behaviour, such as sidewalk riding, riding the wrong way down a one-way street, and aggressive swerving, and automatically slow or stop the scooter.
There have been field tests of the new technology in recent months, but regular riders have not used it yet.
The technology works by using precise location data to detect where the vehicle is and how it is being ridden, and it then reacts accordingly, either slowing the vehicle or stopping it in its tracks, even if the throttle is applied.
The technology used is reportedly more advanced than GPS, which Superpedestrian says is "imperfect".
Speaking when the technology was first announced, Avra van der Zee, vice-president of strategy and policy at Superpedestrian, said: "We acknowledge rider behaviour can be an issue.
"It all has to do with not knowing where the scooter is and what it is doing.
"GPS is an imperfect tool, especially in dense urban environments where the signal bounces off the buildings.
"If you don't know where a scooter is, or how it's being ridden, you cannot discourage a rider from riding on a sidewalk or taking it the wrong way down a one-way street.
"But we have the technology to detect and correct in real-time rider misbehaviour."
To get more accurate location data, while GPS data is used, other data from sensors on the e-scooter, including ride data, speed and orientation, combine using machine learning.
This technology is called "Super Fusion", and that's how unsafe riding is identified, before active safety controls on the e-scooter kick in, slowing or stopping the e-scooter.
At the end of a ride, the rider is then given specific feedback and a safety rating, in the hope it educates riders to ride more safely in the future.
Ben Segal, director of research and development at Superpedestrian, said: "Using these high-frequency measurements allows us to know with greater accuracy than before not just where the scooter is, not just where it is being parked, but how the scooter is moving in real-time.
"This makes active safety and real pedestrian protection a reality."
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