Ather e-scooters can now warn riders about potholes ahead
What's the story
Ather Energy has launched its highly-anticipated Pothole+ Alerts feature for select electric scooters. The innovative technology was first unveiled at Community Day nearly a year ago. Now, it is being made available for Gen 2 and newer Ather scooters such as the 450 Apex, 450X, and Rizta Z.
Feature evolution
Feature developed using real-world riding data
The Pothole+ Alerts feature has been in the making for almost a decade. Ather Energy says it was made possible by the massive amount of riding data collected from its connected scooter fleet over the years.
Each of these scooters comes with onboard computing and connectivity, creating a huge database of real-world road conditions to develop features based on actual rider experiences.
Safety feature
How does Pothole+ Alerts work?
The Pothole+ Alerts feature uses the data collected from Ather's connected fleet to detect road hazards like potholes, broken roads, uneven surfaces, and poorly designed speed breakers.
When riders use navigation on their scooters, they will get alerts about these hazards in advance.
The warnings will be displayed on the scooter's dashboard and delivered through audio prompts for those using the Ather Halo smart helmet or Bluetooth headset.
Future prospects
Future of navigation with smoothest route suggestions
While the current rollout of Pothole+ Alerts focuses on warning riders about upcoming road conditions, Ather Energy has bigger plans.
The company intends to use its growing road intelligence database to make navigation smarter by suggesting not just the fastest but also the smoothest routes.
This could help riders avoid poorly surfaced roads and make their daily commutes more comfortable.
Future features
More features in the pipeline for connected Ather scooters
Ather Energy has said that Pothole+ Alerts is just the beginning of what can be done with its connected vehicle ecosystem.
The company has confirmed plans to develop more features using the same data-driven platform in the future, although specific details are yet to be revealed.