Zehus implements a connected bike-sharing service

Case Study | August 2018

Pedal-assisted bikes communicate with cities and users via the cloud

Business Need

Pedal-assisted e-bikes are becoming increasingly popular, both for private use and as part of bike-sharing services, in cities all over the world. Many of these bikes (including those used by bike-sharing platforms) are also connected, enabling geo-location, locking/unlocking and usage monitoring for calculating charges. Zehus entered this market with a simple yet brilliant idea: place all the components of an e-bike into a hub: battery, motor, sensors, electronic circuits and the communication apparatus that transmits and receives data. In 2017, it began to develop the connected bike, seeking a partner that not only had the technology and service, but also the right mentality to support the complex process.

Solution

Zehus and Vodafone for Business worked together, not only on the implementation of the Vodafone IoT service and technology on the first 400 bikes in the bitride service (used in the test phase for Milan Municipal Authority), but also on the development of the connected bike of the future. Thanks to the transmission apparatus equipped with Vodafone Automotive technology integrated into the pinion of the wheel, the bike transmits the GPS location to identify the bike, calculate the route, the cycling time and speed, as well as locking and unlocking the bike at the start and end of the service.

Business Benefits

• Vodafone supplies Zehus with the electronics, connectivity and cloud infrastructure required to implement the bitride service in an efficient manner
• Zehus is not only able to identify the bike’s location, but also how it is being used and the environmental conditions along the route
• This information can be used by the bike-sharing service manager to improve the service, as well as by users to improve their travel experience