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Lime Vision tech to keep e‑scooters moving in the bike lane, not on sidewalks

This morning in Paris we unveiled brand new safety technology to build on our commitment to preventing incidents before they can occur. The new features are headlined by Lime Vision, the industry’s first AI-enabled computer vision platform built in-house by an operator, which will set a new foundation for our safety innovation going forward.

The first application of Lime Vision will be Advanced Sidewalk Detection, which aims to reduce conflicts between pedestrians and scooter riders on sidewalks. Using Lime Vision’s camera sensors and machine learning, Advanced Sidewalk Detection can accurately determine when a rider is using a scooter on a sidewalk in real time, alert them via an audible sound and slow the scooter, preventing conflict with pedestrians and other sidewalk users.

We were proud to successfully demonstrate this new technology with Parisian and French officials to highlight the next generation of safety technology in the micromobility industry. Advanced Sidewalk Detection, which we plan to launch in six cities by the end of the year, will be a gamechanger in reducing sidewalk riding and ensuring the safety of all sidewalk 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 at 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.”

We also announced a new late-night rider test, which gauges reaction time to deter drunk riding. The short test helps riders determine whether they are capable of safely riding a scooter. We’re beginning to test it in close to thirty cities around the world. In cities where it’s active, the test will be a requirement for any ride starting after a designated time, agreed upon with City leaders. Riders will be prompted with the test once a scooter is scanned but before it unlocks. Riders will either pass or fail the test based on their reaction time and will not be able to start a ride unless they pass.

Advanced Sidewalk Detection builds on our early-generation sidewalk detection technology, also an industry-first, and is designed to prevent unsafe riding on sidewalks. The technology can distinguish between the sidewalk and the roadbed using Lime Vision’s AI-enabled image detection and can be customized to individual cities with wide ranges of road and sidewalk surfaces. The technology can sense if a scooter is being used on a sidewalk in under a second. Once detected, the scooter can make a sound to let riders know they should move off of the sidewalk, while slowing the scooter to a low speed.

Building this technology in-house means we’ll be able to iterate on it quickly and adapt it as needed. It’s designed to integrate seamlessly with our hardware and firmware, removing hurdles created by shoehorning software not native to the underlying system. Lime Vision will also be distinct as it will be informed by our unparalleled data and service in more than 250 cities. Our nearly-20-person in-house development team will have full control over the Lime Vision product roadmap, including new use cases beyond sidewalk riding to meet city needs, such as improved parking accuracy.

We’re glad that Lime Vision will help support our three key constituencies: riders, cities and non-riders.

For non-riders–including pedestrians and persons with disabilities–Lime Vision will help to provide peace of mind that e-scooters will not present a danger when on sidewalks.

For riders, Lime Vision will facilitate responsible riding, reducing circumstances that can lead to conflict on sidewalks, and instead encourage riding in bike lanes.

And for cities, Lime Vision can play a crucial role in data collection and reduce residents’ concerns over sidewalk riding.

Ultimately, the best way for cities to ensure rider safety is to build quality protected bike lanes. Riders often choose to use sidewalks because they feel unsafe on streets next to cars. Lime will continue to collaborate with cities to help determine on what corridors sidewalk riding is highest and inform where new protected bike lanes will be most effective.

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