Lime unveils latest e-scooter technology to combat pavement riding

Credit: Lime

Lime has announced the launch of new safety technology aimed at dramatically reducing crashes, serious injuries, drunk riding and pavement riding on its e-scooters. The package is headlined by the new Lime Vision platform, the industry’s first AI-enabled computer vision platform built in-house.

The initial application for Lime Vision will be Lime’s Advanced Sidewalk Detection, which can accurately detect when a rider is using an e-scooter on a pavement in real-time, alert them via an audible sound and slow the e-scooter, preventing conflict with pedestrians and other pavement users.

“Lime Vision doubles down on our commitment to building vertically-integrated hardware and software as we aim to provide the safest possible service to cities and our riders,” said Joe Kraus, President of Lime. “We’re excited about this transformative array of safety measures, particularly Advanced Sidewalk Detection supported by Lime Vision, which will set a new standard for the industry. Building this in-house means we can integrate Lime Vision into our hardware, constantly refine the technology through learnings from our global operations and scale Lime Vision to new cities with ease.”

Lime will begin testing the new system on 400 scooters in San Francisco by mid-August. By the end of 2022, it has planned to expand the pilot project to six cities, including Paris, where the company demonstrated the new technology for the first time.

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Lime Vision will also be distinct as it will be informed by the company’s data, with service in more than 250 cities. The operator’s nearly-20-person in-house development team will have full control over the Lime Vision product roadmap, including new use cases beyond pavement riding to meet city needs, such as improved parking accuracy.

Lime will continue to collaborate with cities to help determine why pavement riding is higher on certain corridors and inform infrastructure decisions, such as where new protected bike lanes will be most effective. For non-riders–including pedestrians and persons with disabilities, the computer vision platform will help to provide peace of mind that e-scooters will not present a danger when on pavements.

Furthermore, Lime has also announced a new late-night rider test, which gauges reaction time to deter drunk riding. Riders will not be able to start an e-scooter ride unless they successfully pass the test.