Segway-Ninebot has announced a new partnership with tech startups Drover AI and Luna Systems. The announcement was made at the Micromobility Europe event in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The move is aimed at driving the development of Segway’s AI-powered e-scooter plans.

Segway

Segway-Ninebot is working on introducing computer vision tech to its AI-enabled electric scooter. The company’s new partnership with Drover AI and Luna aims at developing computer vision capability into e-scooters. This will enable the machine to detect and correct improper e-scooter riding. Segway hopes to integrate the tech into its AI-enabled e-scooters for optimized performance and safety.

The Segway S90L AI-enabled e-scooter was launched in 2022. It was viewed as the vertically integrated solution to the Scooter Advanced Rider Assistance Systems (ARAS). It offered a unified platform that provided for all-round and intelligent management of the scooter. It was a decent alternative for micromobility operators than having to retrofit third-party hardware and software systems on their e-scooter fleet. The ARAS was already the in-thing among operators before the introduction of the Segway solution.

Segway has sold over 20,000 S90L e-scooters to shared micromobility operators like Lyft since its release. However, the new move aimed at expanding the outlook of its operations. It will enable Segway to focus on its core area of hardware development while its partners, Drover AI and Luna take care of the software solutions. Drover AI and Luna are leaders in the ARAS ecosystem. They test and sell attachable IoT modules to several companies including Fenix, Beam, and Spin.

Segway says that the deployment of AI-based scooters in cities requires the training of the computer vision system in the scooter so as to learn the city’s architecture. There is therefore a huge amount of data that needs to be collected in every new city where the S90L is deployed. The model also has to be built in a way that is suitable for each city, according to Segway. Both Drover and Luna will provide the needed capacity for such city deployments. It is a non-exclusive partnership and buyers of the S90L can choose any of the startups for the needed support.

Segway still retains its own alternative software solution that buyers can also choose to retrofit into their e-scooter. Its new modular AI system is called Pilot Edge and is an add-on box with the necessary sensors. Drover is Segway’s preferred software partner and the brand will also recommend that customers purchase Segway’s hardware platform. The win-win situation for the software partners Drover and Luna, means both can fully focus on software development and deployment.

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