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Autonomous e-scooters could ride themselves back to charging points

Teams of staff usually return e-scooters to where they will be needed, but adapted scooters that can balance and stop themselves, and be controlled remotely, are a step towards autonomous ones that can take themselves wherever they have to go

By Matthew Sparkes

19 April 2024

An e-scooter with ultrasonic sensors and collision avoidance software

An e-scooter with ultrasonic sensors and collision avoidance software

University of Stuttgart/ SimTech

E-scooters may soon zip across cities without a rider, removing the need for workers to collect them and redistribute them, charge their batteries or ensure they are neatly parked.

Rental e-scooters have become a common sight in cities around the world with users able to hire them via a smartphone app and leave them wherever their journey ends. But this tends to mean the hire companies have to go to great efforts to round them up to recharge and redistribute them…

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