Urban Transport

Fleet of teleoperated e-scooters ready to ride in Georgia

Fleet of teleoperated e-scooters ready to ride in Georgia
The e-scooter will be remotely driven to a pick up point by teleoperators, and then returned to home base after a customer's trip is complete
The e-scooter will be remotely driven to a pick up point by teleoperators, and then returned to home base after a customer's trip is complete
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A "hail an e-scooter" pilot program has launched at Peachtree Corners, Georgia
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A "hail an e-scooter" pilot program has launched at Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Customers book an e-scooter via a mobile app, the vehicle is then remotely driven to the pick up point and the user sets off
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Customers book an e-scooter via a mobile app, the vehicle is then remotely driven to the pick up point and the user sets off
Each e-scooter in the fleet will be disinfected when it returns itself to home base
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Each e-scooter in the fleet will be disinfected when it returns itself to home base
The e-scooter will be remotely driven to a pick up point by teleoperators, and then returned to home base after a customer's trip is complete
4/4
The e-scooter will be remotely driven to a pick up point by teleoperators, and then returned to home base after a customer's trip is complete
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As folks start to slowly emerge from pandemic lockdown and return to work, many are on the lookout for public transport alternatives. A scheme launched in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, aims to make it easier to ride an electric scooter by having it roll itself along to a user's pickup point.

Reported to be the industry's first "hail a scooter" service, the user would book a ride using the Go X mobile app. Teleoperators from Tortoise then remotely drive the e-scooter to its pick up point, where the customer is waiting. After the trip has been completed, the e-scooter is returned to base.

This not only offers greater convenience to users, but is also aimed at reducing sidewalk clutter from discarded rideshare e-scooters. Each e-scooter will be disinfected when it returns to base, and sport a sticker informing users that it's been cleaned. Go X Apollo employees are also required to undergo daily COVID-19 screening.

A "hail an e-scooter" pilot program has launched at Peachtree Corners, Georgia
A "hail an e-scooter" pilot program has launched at Peachtree Corners, Georgia

"I am excited that we get to introduce the safest transportation solution for the post-COVID-19 world," says Go X CEO Alexander Debelov. "While we made getting a scooter as magical and easy as ordering an Uber or Lyft car, we also went above and beyond to make to make sure that our vehicles provide the most virus-free ride out there."

The two companies involved in the initial pilot project, which will run for six months, were brought together by the Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners – a 5G-enabled autonomous vehicle and smart city laboratory.

"Smart city technology like Tortoise’s automated repositioning service is designed to make cities cleaner, safer and more sustainable for everyday citizens," says Dmitry Shevelenko, co-founder and president of Tortoise. "Curiosity Lab offers the unique opportunity for us to develop and deploy our technology in an environment where people live and work each and every day."

Source: Curiosity Lab

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3 comments
3 comments
candydale45
those things look like they will tip over as soon as they hit the first manhole cover, gutter or go over a lowered curbstone. But hey, they are virus free, you can sell anything nowadays if only it is virus free.
John
Yep, sudden increase in white vans in the area, but on the lighter side if you drop the throttle, does it come suddenly to a stop say 60mm, or one you don't end up in a sprall in the road/footpath. . (Elderly, they tell me)
ljaques
Good luck to them making anything like that happen. Sweet dream + oogly logistical nightmare. It may work in an other-vehicle-banned area like a downtown or business-only sector. This may be fun to watch. They'll need audio from the operator to the machine so they can scream "Help! I've fallen and can't get up." and have a nearby citizen stand the vehicle back up for them. ;)