Sign up for our weekly email to stay on top of the latest news and insights!
Source: Bird blog
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Bird, the urban mobility company which provides electric scooters for rental, has unveiled an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system for its Bird Two e-scooters.
According to the company, this is the micromobility industry’s first AEB system. Designed by its in-house team of former aerospace and automotive engineers, the proprietary feature safeguards riders against potential brake failure and ensures they can always bring the vehicle to a stop.
How Does the company’s Autonomous Emergency Braking Work?
Related post:
Scooter Mobility Hurt By People Cutting Brakes
Bird AEB constantly monitors the vehicle’s mechanical braking systems to detect abnormalities. Brake handle sensors report on their condition in real time, part of an industry-leading diagnostic suite that runs millions of autonomous fault checks per day.
In the event that a braking request by a rider is met with a failed brake, Bird AEB automatically activates advanced motor controls to gently but swiftly bring the rider to a stop.
“Autonomous emergency braking is now the standard in the automobile industry, but this is the first time that active safety technology has been developed for lightweight electric vehicles such as e-scooters,” said Scott Rushforth, Chief Vehicle Officer at Bird. “Bird’s AEB system relies on sensors and advanced fault detection capabilities that can only be found in Bird e-scooters. That’s why it’s so critical that micromobility operators, most of whom still rely on off-the-shelf models, invest the time and resources necessary to design and build their own vehicles.”
Sign up for our weekly email to stay on top of the latest news and insights!
A scooter whose AEB system has been engaged will immediately take itself offline, making itself unavailable for further use until a Bird team member has been able to retrieve and repair the vehicle.
This active safety technology is available on all Bird Two e-scooters and the company said will be carried forward into all new scooter models as well.
