Sidewalk Detection Technology - And how it does fail.
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 6:27 pm
I had to rewrite this again due to the system logged myself out, so I will keep it short.
SF recently requires fleet scooters companies to implement sidewalk detection technology, lime use better GPS in combination of sensor fusion, Bird Uses sensor fusion technology or/and blox module which supposedly is gps but down to centimeters, and Spin Uses Drover (Spin Insight). Let's focus on the Drover AI And why it fails to detect sidewalk riding. Bird has low accuracy and randomly slows down the scooter, Lime only works with geofences and they did the pier where it occurs the most in SF, and on other places, the scooter's sensor fusion is so inaccurate that most of the time, it yells "Abuse Sidewalk" when walking the scooter, or riding it on the street.
Some with expensive screw bits can even remove the device entirely, so that fails the SF Test. In SF, Anything can happen.
A message to the fleet managers: When Lime + Bird join forces, to put Spin away, maybe equity is restored to the city.
*This news article is updated to reflect eggshell stickers which causes more residue, and updated again to reflect that the lime scooters are also using inaccurate sensor fusion technology, and updated the conclusion.*
SF recently requires fleet scooters companies to implement sidewalk detection technology, lime use better GPS in combination of sensor fusion, Bird Uses sensor fusion technology or/and blox module which supposedly is gps but down to centimeters, and Spin Uses Drover (Spin Insight). Let's focus on the Drover AI And why it fails to detect sidewalk riding. Bird has low accuracy and randomly slows down the scooter, Lime only works with geofences and they did the pier where it occurs the most in SF, and on other places, the scooter's sensor fusion is so inaccurate that most of the time, it yells "Abuse Sidewalk" when walking the scooter, or riding it on the street.
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If you peel off the stickers on the fleet scooter, and stick it on the drover camera, the system can't detect sidewalk riding, for the duration of your ride. You can buy dollar store stickers or shipping labels and it has the same effect. Moreover, Tamper Proof Stickers Leave Residue, which can cause annoyance to the fleet managers servicing the scooters. Going Far and wide, Eggshell Stickers are the worst as they cling very hard and is not designed to be removed, however could be expensive to purchase in the first place, but sure it does have it's value. After it is applied and 2 hours has elapsed (curing process) the sticker is very difficult to remove, like evident stickers, but worse and breaks off piece by piece. Level 1. Stickers, tamper evident stickers, and eggshell stickers.
Some with expensive screw bits can even remove the device entirely, so that fails the SF Test. In SF, Anything can happen.
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Fleet scooters are only a percentage of the sidewalk riding problem, Starting at $100, personal scooters don't come with sidewalk riding technology to stop users from riding it on the sidewalk, no ride zones, and usually no speed limits, so it can go 20mph in some cases. There are $1k "off road" scooters that can go 40mph, so it can definitely rekt havoc on the sidewalk.Level 2. Personal Scooters, or a UnagX monthly subscription "The IphonX of scooters"
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Same As Level 2, but on a fleet scooter, Sidewalk detection Tech (if installed) can either be removed, not hooked up to power, or repurposed as a QR Code scanner, Dashcam or anything else imaginable. It can make the fleet scooter company look so bad if it is completely unpainted and is ridden on the sidewalk. So with great power comes great responsibility, use it wisely. Level MAX. Modified Fleet Scooters (Skill Required)
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Sidewalk Detection Technology is retar3ed, as proven above, and eventually they will improve, but not without the cost associated with the implementation of technology. The best solution for the 97% of people is before they start their ride, or text to start their ride, they should type this phrase into their text or app: "I rather ride on the street with associated risks then risk someone else by riding on the sidewalk." Bad example because it's supposed to be, but whoever wants to use this idea can tweak it to their liking or/and branding. For the other 3% that is not abiding by your expectations, just write them off as loss cuz life is a sure shot, make 100k running a fleet, expect 5 scoots to be missing every day.Conclusion:
A message to the fleet managers: When Lime + Bird join forces, to put Spin away, maybe equity is restored to the city.
*This news article is updated to reflect eggshell stickers which causes more residue, and updated again to reflect that the lime scooters are also using inaccurate sensor fusion technology, and updated the conclusion.*