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Lime launches geofencing safety information technology

Posted: 23 March 2020 |

Lime has launched a new zone detection technology that rapidly informs riders of safety information in relation to their geographical location.

Lime launches geofencing safety information technology

Despite the fact that Lime has suspended some of its services due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, the micromobility service provider has launched a new, patent-pending zone detection technology that aims to enhance Lime’s precision when it comes to encouraging more responsible rider behaviour.

Using GPS to determine a scooters precise location is said to be essential to scooter and bike rental services, from connecting riders to the nearest scooter to showing cities popular routes to build priority lanes.

The new technology will allow scooters to react and implement geofence zone commands, such as regional speed limits, up to 90 per per cent faster.

Depending on the type of zone, vehicles can slow down, stop, or warn a rider. Riders may see ride zones in the Lime app as shaded areas outlined in red on the map and riders can tap on the zones to see the type of zone and the rules associated with it. The following are the types of zones used in cities around the world: 

  • No Locking Zones: Riders cannot end or pause a ride in this zone. Locking is disabled
  • Low Speed Zones: The scooter’s top speed is restricted in this zone and riders can tap on the zone to see the top speed
  • No Scooter Zones: Riders cannot ride in this zone. The vehicle will safely stop and locking will be disabled. Riders must walk the scooter out of this zone to resume riding
  • No Parking Zones: Riders cannot park their scooter in this zone. Riders should confirm that their vehicle is not in a ‘No Parking Zone’ to avoid potential fines.

Currently, the geofenced zones Lime creates are housed in Lime’s servers, ‘cloud’-like data sources for the scooters. Communicating back and forth to the server can sometimes be slow, according to Lime, causing confusion for riders after entering or exiting a zone. Now, with the new technology, the scooter itself will host all of the zone maps, removing the need to go back and forth to the server as often. With this improvement, the scooter will reportedly be able to tell if it’s within a zone perimeter as frequently as every second.