Wheeled travel: domestic electronics began to be installed on kicksharing scooters

Kicksharing companies have started installing domestic electronics on scooters, their representatives told Izvestia. Russian technologies make it possible to solve problems with GPS failures, which have become more frequent recently, they claim. Its own electronics make users' trips more confidential — they cannot be tracked by third parties and competitors, experts say.

Why did kicksharing need Russian electronics

Russian kicksharing companies have begun to independently develop electronic "stuffing" for electric scooters. Representatives of Whoosh and MTS Yrent told Izvestia about this. So, the first company this season introduced its own IoT module into its scooters (the "electronic brain" of the device, as indicated in the company's materials). The scooter will more accurately receive the satellite signal and recognize the coordinates of the means of individual mobility (SIM), according to the company's materials, which were reviewed by Izvestia. This was achieved by choosing a special navigation module: the fundamental difference is the built—in inertial navigation module, which even in the event of loss of satellite signal allows you to continue to correctly identify the scooter in space. This is especially true in large cities, where GPS problems are observed from time to time, Whoosh emphasizes. About 18 thousand electric scooters have already been equipped with the IoT module.

According to the company, solving the problem with satellite navigation failures was not the only one, but one of the main tasks of this development. Modules pre-installed on scooters (they are manufactured in China) are extremely sensitive to interference encountered by navigation systems, says a company representative: it is problematic to find a scooter or monitor the actions of its user in this situation.

According to an interlocutor of Izvestia, who is close to one of the kicksharing companies, Russian navigation and telematics modules are either supplied to Chinese manufacturers (they install them in ready-to-use scooters), or organizations install such modules at their repair bases in Russia, depending on how quickly it is necessary to "bring the scooter to mind".

The running fate: Russians transfer from rental cars to personal electric scooters

What is the reason for the twofold increase in demand for such devices?

The development of its own IoT modules is also an issue of information security, another source in the kicksharing market noted. No one wants user travel data to be shared with third parties, including abroad, he claims.

The Yrent 2.0 scooters run on proprietary electronics, the company told Izvestia. This is necessary to adapt to regulation and market challenges, such as GPS, which currently does not allow accurate geolocation in many cities. Domestic developments can be quickly adapted, but Chinese ones are more difficult, the company's representative notes.

"It is possible to collect telemetry data and analyze it, for example, when it comes to aggressive driving," he says. — We are also talking about the introduction of new technologies: preventing two-person driving and much more. Your own navigation equipment gives you flexibility: for example, you can not only install GPS, but also use other positioning methods, such as WiFi and base stations of mobile operators.

According to a representative of MTS Yuret, about 40 thousand scooters are equipped with their own electronics.

Izvestia also sent a request to Yandex.

Will this help solve GPS glitch issues?

The use of domestic navigation modules makes it possible to make electric scooters more convenient and safer, says Ksenia Erdman, director of the Association of Micromobility Operators. She claims that the IoT modules are assembled in Russia, but Chinese components are still used.

Own systems are required to combat spoofing (GPS coordinate substitution), says Igor Bederov, Director of the T.Hunter Investigations Department. According to him, there is now a tendency to search for scooters and other devices using the coordinates of cellular networks, WiFi and other telecom infrastructure.

The issue is not so much the cost of geonavigation equipment as its accuracy, says Sergey Polovnikov, head of the Content-Review project. It's no secret that there are problems with GPS in our country — Russian GLONASS navigation and the Chinese Beidu system are more stable, he points out. This approach allows you to more accurately determine the location of the scooter and deal with violations when using personal mobility equipment — for example, to block their movement in restricted areas, limit their speed, and the like, the expert points out.

No one knows how long the problems with satellite navigation will last, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. Therefore, the installation of Russian electronic modules in this situation looks logical, he believes. Again, having your own navigation equipment is a competitive advantage: a third party, such as other kicksharing companies, cannot find out where the user is moving, such information may be sensitive from the point of view of business planning and development, the expert concludes.