Back in December, Voi Technology, a Swedish micro-mobility startup, raised around €132M to cement its position within Europe’s rapidly evolving micro-mobility transportation sector.
Now, the Stockholm-based mobility company has officially unveiled its next-generation e-scooter, the Voiager 4 (V4), the world’s first pollution-fighting e-scooter. The V4 e-scooter will be rolled out this spring in selected cities, with a broader rollout later in 2021.
Fredrik Hjelm, CEO, and co-founder of Voi says, “From beating traffic to protecting the environment, Voi has always been focused on providing the best experiences, benefits, and services to our riders and partner cities. The Voiager 4 is our greatest, most exciting e-scooter to date and represents a culmination of years of research and development. Its combination of all-new hardware and software, especially our proprietary IoT technology, takes e-scooters to the next level.”
Equipped with smart sensors
The Voiager 4 comes equipped with smart sensors that measure noise, light, and air quality as the scooter travels along the street. The sensor will help identify areas with high levels of air pollution, which can be shared with cities to help them improve air quality.
“Our latest e-scooter model is the culmination of years of R&D based on feedback from our cities and users, resulting in an e-scooter model that truly delivers on our mission to create more livable cities,” says Voi.
According to Voi, the air-quality sensor will measure different particles of different sizes in the air, including organic compounds or even humidity levels.
“We’re most interested in measuring particles — such as those from car exhaust — that are harmful to humans and cause persistent health problems, such as respiratory issues, and heart disease,” says Voi.
The noise sensor measures the level of sound around the scooters in decibels. The data collected by the sensors will be processed through our IoT hardware.
In-house designed IoT hardware
The V4 comes with IoT hardware, enabling a range of safety and operational innovations, including high-accuracy, sub-metre positioning.
Detailing about the location accuracy, Voi says, “To improve location accuracy, the IoT compensates for lost or degraded GNSS satellite signals in three ways. In an industry first, the IoT uses dual-band GNSS (L1 and L5 bands); comparing and averaging the two signals minimises positioning error since each signal can be affected differently by urban features such as tall buildings or trees, or by atmospheric disruptions. It also accesses corrections from EGNOS, provided by the European space agency. When GNSS-only positioning is difficult or impossible, the IoT combines information from various sensors (gyro sensor, accelerometer, scooter speed) to calculate the scooter’s current position.”
The V4 comes with an extra slot for sensor devices for future IoT purposes.
Safety features and performance
As a part of the safety feature, V4 also features – audible alarms and indicators to increase the e-scooters’ visibility to vehicles and pedestrians. It also has antimicrobial handlebars to prevent the spread of viruses including COVID-19 by inactivating them on contact.
Furthermore, it has NFC (NearField Communication) technology, which allows users to unlock the scooter with the tap of a smartphone, smartwatch, or transport card.
The V4 comes with a 35 per cent increase in motor performance, compared to its predecessors. Additionally, it comes with Turn indicators (offering 360° visibility), reinforced fender, improved hydraulic suspension, and large, higher-quality tyres, IPX7 rating, and increase shock absorption.
Auto diagnostic checks
Voi says that V4 is the company’s most sustainable e-scooter with a 5+ years lifespan, validated through an independent Life Cycle Analysis by EY.
On top of that, it can conduct automatic diagnostic checks for maintenance or repairs, identifying 55 unique error conditions. If triggered, the intelligent system will make the scooter unavailable instantly and alert the operational team.
Richard Corbett, Regional General Manager UK, Ireland & Benelux at Voi Technology, says: “As we continue to strengthen our market position in the UK, we are thrilled to bring the Voiager 4 to our partner cities and growing customer base. We know that our communities require greener, convenient transport to replace shorter-distance car trips and reduce congestion. The new features, designed in-house, will bring superlative overall performance in safety, efficiency, and sustainability to help our communities meet their transportation needs.”
Recently, the company also announced that it has reached 100K+ unique riders who’ve travelled more than 1 million kilometres.
