Irish telematics startup Luna unveils a solution for mass adoption of e-scooters

E-scooters and e-bike services offer various cities the opportunity to move more people quickly in less space. The influx of many mobility solutions has plagued cities with many problems than it solves, including inappropriate parking and riding in unauthorised areas such as sidewalks and pedestrian-only zones. 

In this case, location data information can help monitor how micro-mobility services interact with street infrastructure. And this is where Dublin-based telematic startup Luna comes into play. In the latest development, Luna has launched its flagship product – a telematics device. 

 World-first centimeter-level positioning accuracy

 As per the company claims this device uses world-first centimeter-level positioning accuracy to deliver the geographical accuracy needed for scooter companies to ensure their scooters are being both parked and ridden correctly, within city guidelines and safety regulations. 

 Andrew Fleury, CEO, Luna, said:

 This is a game-changing technology for the scooter market. Correct application of this technology has been long-awaited and compared to existing GPS-based systems will finally provide scooter companies the kind of accuracy to ensure that their scooters are being both parked and ridden correctly, within city guidelines and safety regulations.

At present Luna device is unmatched since most of the scooter companies relying on GPS, which only provides meter-level positioning accuracy making regulation, enforcement, and fleet management extremely difficult. 

Why Luna?

Luna was formed by a group of industry leaders in fields like fleet management solutions, the sensor to cloud technologies and connected mobility analytics. The company aims to solve the challenges faced by eScooter companies and regulators in the safe use and storage of micro-mobility scooters using centimeter-level positioning and industry-leading telemetrics. 

 Fleury added:

The wide-scale European adoption of scooters as a trusted micro-mobility solution is currently at a major impasse. Safety and rider behavior has always been the crux of the problem – not just accidents on the road, but pedestrian hazards from careless riding on footpaths and tripping hazards from scooters abandoned in random locations in between rentals. Our technology will address all of these issues by providing a much more accurate means to locate scooters.

 How Luna achieved the unachievable?

 To achieve the 10cm positioning accuracy, the Dublin startup used GNSS/GPS positioning with an integrated correction service (RTK). Furthermore, the company used machine vision and AI to recognize scooter parking spaces using simple 2D images (QR codes) located in and around the scooter parking site. 

Four internal cameras, obstacle recognition and more

 It’s worth mentioning that Luna unit features with four internal cameras and uses machine vision/AI understand its position relative to these images. It also has dynamic positioning, not accurate to 10cm but still within a meter. It is reliable than existing GPS-based technologies. 

 Additionally, Luna boasts additional features including obstacle/footpath recognition to prevent pedestrian collisions as well as helmet detection, to ensure that scooters can only be operated once a rider is wearing their helmet. 

 The Dublin-based startup believes that their technology will be the trump card for eScooter companies as they battle to determine what research and policy initiatives to pursue, regulations to advocate for, and how to generally smooth the company’s sometimes-bumpy relationships with regulators, riders, and riders-to-be.

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