How often does an Indian company make a buzz at an international electronic show? Some small ones might do but we don’t get to hear much about them.
This time, Mahindra has stolen the show with their electric scooter GenZe 2.0 which is connected to the internet through AT&Ts network. While it stood out, the technology blew away everyone’s mind considering the plethora of launches at CES 2016.
Mahindra GenZe, which is a US subsidiary of Mahindra based in Bay Area, has partnered with AT&T, an American multinational telecommunications corporation, to create the world’s first scooter connected to the internet at all times.
Employing AT&T’s Internet of Things(IoT) methodology, the rechargeable electric scooter connects with the user’s AT&T network and provide real-time information on the application on the smartphone.
Vish Palekar, CEO, Mahindra GenZe said, “We continue to focus on meeting the demands of today’s connected urban commuters and GenZe is redefining urban mobility. We deliver a fun and practical commute experience by incorporating cutting edge technology, like AT&T’s IoT connectivity.”
Technology on GenZe 2.0
Priced at a hefty $2,999, the E-scooter weighs at about 105 kgs, with a top speed of just less than 50 kmph. There is some space for carrying luggage around, but no expect a lot of weight to be carried. A full charge can take around 3.5 hours which sounds decent, and allows a travel of nearly 50 kms. The battery is removable and can be charged anywhere through normal plug points. There is regenerative braking in the vehicle which allows lesser power usage overall and longer trips. There is a 7-inch display up front which shows all the meters and indicators as expected.
What is unique about the scooter is the connection between the bike and the smartphone. The app on the smartphone can give information about the trip, pre and post. Such information can be helpful to the rider to make sure of the places to go through during the trip, weather condition, traffic etc. The infotainment system on the scooter might not be that helpful, but the app comes in handy.
As the user uses the scooter, the data is transmitted and recollected later on to provide information on the route, maps etc. Driver’s patterns are also noted and produced whenever necessary. The scooter houses GenZe Cruise–Connect System which brings together the data from various parts of the scooter and connects to the cloud based system.
Such scooters have been tried and tested in the past, but they have not shown significant growth in terms of volumes and popularity. Cloud based information collection has only started becoming a mainstream feature and some other companies are also trying to build them on this, to make the bikes like the Tesla cars currently do. It seems 2016 will be the year of smart-bikes, connecting the riders to real-time data ahead of us.
