It was in Paris, the world capital of micromobility, that Lime presented, this Wednesday morning, its two new features to improve the safety of users and pedestrians.
Lime Vision detects if you are driving on a sidewalk
The first, “Lime Vision”, aims to prevent users from driving on the sidewalk. A camera on the front of the scooter takes pictures. When, using artificial intelligence, it identifies that the machine is approaching or rolling on a sidewalk, the scooter gradually clamps. And as long as it has not returned to the road, it will not be able to exceed 10 km/h. “This protects pedestrians,” explains the company. At the same time, to further encourage the user to get off the sidewalk, a monotone voice pronounces the same sentence without stopping as long as the scooter has not moved: “You are riding on the road, you are riding on the road” . Quite persuasive, you have to admit. “Lime Vision will, for example, allow users who do not necessarily know the rules – like tourists – to know that they are not allowed to drive on the sidewalks, explains Antoine Bluy, director of Lime. And of course, for all the others, to remember it”. Still in the running-in phase, the functionality must gradually be installed on each of the 5,000 Lime scooters that roll in the capital. Then it will be deployed in the United States and in the other countries where Lime is present.
A test to check that you are fit to drive a scooter
Another innovation just announced by Lime: a reactivity test to prevent intoxicated people from using the vehicle. It takes between 10 seconds and 30 seconds on average: “And a little more if you have drunk too much”, we are assured at Lime. This feature will be mandatory, by the end of the year, for all journeys between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. “And if the test is not conclusive, the user will not be able to take the scooter. It will remain locked,” says Antoine Bluy. The application will then direct the user to a VTC.
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Since the beginning of the year, the application has seen a significant increase in the use of its vehicles. + 130% since the beginning of January. A usage record was even beaten during the last music festival with 74,000 journeys made by 44,000 users on the same day. “Paris is dense and historically created more for pedestrian travel. Soft modes are particularly suitable for this, explains Antoine Bluy, director of Lime. And it must be recognized that the regulations move quickly and have been able to adapt to the development of micro-mobility”.