4 ms·

Why GPS? Why not low tech transponders? They're precise enough to help you locate a scooter but too imprecise for navigation or tracking the exact path someone

Why GPS? Why not low tech transponders? They're precise enough to help you locate a scooter but too imprecise for navigation or tracking the exact path someone took. Especially if they don't ping frequently.

alistairSH 7y ago
Partly because some cities have no-ride zones where scooters and bikes are banned outright or supposed to be speed limited. The boardwalks in some CA cities fall into this category. You can ride in the street parallel at whatever speed you want. But on the boardwalk, you're capped at X mph (usually <10mph, if I'm remembering correctly). Yes, the city could just use traffic enforcement to issue tickets. But, I'm inclined to have software enforcement and not hire more traffic cops.
- mschuster91 7y ago
  > But, I'm inclined to have software enforcement and not hire more traffic cops. I can contest what a police officer is claiming in a court. With automated systems? Good luck. If society wants to enforce traffic laws, it should hire more cops, not hackable AI blackboxes.
  - alistairSH 7y ago
    The software doesn't issue you a ticket, so there's nothing to contest. It simple slows the scooter down in the restricted zone. And if the software is wrong, you stop using the system, and move to a vendor that makes it work. Anyway, not claiming this is ideal. Just sounds (without much thought) like a better solution than traffic cops.
    - hombre_fatal 7y ago
      Maybe if we're going to go down this route, we should have these systems in our cars, too.
      - scelerat 7y ago
        No one wants to go there because freedom but I (reluctantly) agree. There might be safety considerations, too, but I'm guessing they are mostly edge case type issues
        samatman 7y ago
        There are massive safety implications. We expect pressing the gas pedal to have a predictable outcome. Subverting this expectation is potentially quite dangerous. Consider that someone might temporarily exceed the speed limit while passing, legally, in the oncoming traffic lane. Then this system kicks in, they can't pass, and get hit by oncoming traffic because they're pinned by the car they tried to pass.
        alistairSH 7y ago
        Can you legally exceed the speed limit to pass? I don't believe you can (at least not in most locales).
- pmoriarty 7y ago
  Ok, but why does a scooter have to send any position data out to accomplish this? Why couldn't a scooter just figure out its own position and limit its own speed if it's on a boardwalk?
  - alistairSH 7y ago
    The scooter could figure it out without an internet connection and sending location data back to the mothership. The OP asked why they had GPS at all - I was responding to that. And I mostly agree. In an ideal world, Jump/Bird/etc wouldn't need a constant stream of data to locate their scooters. But, I don't see them getting away from at least having real-time data when a scooter is parked, for service/charging and theft prevention/recovery.

alistairSH 7y ago

Partly because some cities have no-ride zones where scooters and bikes are banned outright or supposed to be speed limited. The boardwalks in some CA cities fall into this category. You can ride in the street parallel at whatever speed you want. But on the boardwalk, you're capped at X mph (usually <10mph, if I'm remembering correctly). Yes, the city could just use traffic enforcement to issue tickets. But, I'm inclined to have software enforcement and not hire more traffic cops.

mschuster91 7y ago
> But, I'm inclined to have software enforcement and not hire more traffic cops. I can contest what a police officer is claiming in a court. With automated systems? Good luck. If society wants to enforce traffic laws, it should hire more cops, not hackable AI blackboxes.
- alistairSH 7y ago
  The software doesn't issue you a ticket, so there's nothing to contest. It simple slows the scooter down in the restricted zone. And if the software is wrong, you stop using the system, and move to a vendor that makes it work. Anyway, not claiming this is ideal. Just sounds (without much thought) like a better solution than traffic cops.
  - hombre_fatal 7y ago
    Maybe if we're going to go down this route, we should have these systems in our cars, too.
    - scelerat 7y ago
      No one wants to go there because freedom but I (reluctantly) agree. There might be safety considerations, too, but I'm guessing they are mostly edge case type issues
      - samatman 7y ago
        There are massive safety implications. We expect pressing the gas pedal to have a predictable outcome. Subverting this expectation is potentially quite dangerous. Consider that someone might temporarily exceed the speed limit while passing, legally, in the oncoming traffic lane. Then this system kicks in, they can't pass, and get hit by oncoming traffic because they're pinned by the car they tried to pass.
        alistairSH 7y ago
        Can you legally exceed the speed limit to pass? I don't believe you can (at least not in most locales).
pmoriarty 7y ago
Ok, but why does a scooter have to send any position data out to accomplish this? Why couldn't a scooter just figure out its own position and limit its own speed if it's on a boardwalk?
- alistairSH 7y ago
  The scooter could figure it out without an internet connection and sending location data back to the mothership. The OP asked why they had GPS at all - I was responding to that. And I mostly agree. In an ideal world, Jump/Bird/etc wouldn't need a constant stream of data to locate their scooters. But, I don't see them getting away from at least having real-time data when a scooter is parked, for service/charging and theft prevention/recovery.