Voi have just included a new ‘helmet selfie’ feature which uses AI to confirm whether the user is wearing a helmet when using one of the firm’s electric scooters. Further safety features have been included such as a ‘reaction test’ to discourage drink riding and also a ‘beginner’s mode’ which will limit the scooters top speed at 10mph.
The government is currently running a number of different trials in varying cities across the UK. Voi has a scooter sharing system in six of these cities and has been granted licences for another ten cities. The company has recently raised £120 million as it further seeks to attempt to solidify itself as the biggest operator in the European electric scooter rental market and it looking to triple its UK fleet by the end of the month.
Voi have been under scrutiny recently in regards to rider and public safety surrounding the electric scooter rental scheme and tripling their fleet will only exacerbate issue unless addressed. Government ‘guidance’ suggests that “You should wear a cycle helmet when using an e-scooter. Helmets are recommended but are not a legal requirement”.
Typically in the UK when something is not a ‘legal requirement’ it basically means nobody will comply. However Voi have attempted to address this with the selfie feature that will use AI to instantly detect if the user is wearing a helmet with 95% accuracy and to encourage this, they will offer 5 loyalty points which can enable users to receive discounted rides.
A further ‘reaction test’ safety feature has been introduced in an attempt to discourage drunk riding. Riders will now be asked, at certain times of the day associated with drinking, to tap a random sequence of helmets as they appear on the screen. This in a attempt to get users to think twice about hiring a scooter with impaired cognition. This also comes along with the release of ‘beginner’s mode’, which limits the scooters speed in order to help new users adjust to using an electric scooter.
All of these safety features follow last months announcement that Voi will be trialling a new ‘pedestrian detection’ technology. Luna, a Dublin-based micro mobility company has developed a specialist software to detect when pedestrians are close, or when the rider moves from the road to the pavement, and can adjust the scooters speed.
UK and Ireland general manager, Richard Corbett commented that “We recommend our users to wear helmets as they play a valuable role in rider and e-scooter safety, and the helmet selfie feature fits into our growing lineup of safety tools, including the Reaction Test and the Beginner's Mode, that serve to educate riders about making good when they take a ride.”