Voi Unveils the Voiager 4, an E-scooter Truly Built for Cities for Living, Featuring Noise and Optional Air-Quality Sensors
Start spreading the news! Today, Voi has announced the launch of its next-generation e-scooter, the Voiager 4 (V4), rolling out in our cities starting this spring. As cities seek to limit pollution and gridlock, we have designed the V4 to contribute to lowering traffic congestion and fuels, as well as helping cities to collect data for improvements. Equipped with smart sensors that measure noise and air quality as the scooter travels along streets, the V4 will open a new frontier against pollution and poor air quality in our partner cities.
Our latest e-scooter model is the culmination of years of R&D based on feedback from our cities and users, resulting in an e-scooter model that truly delivers on our mission to create more livable cities. It offers new safety features — including audible alarms and indicators — designed to increase the e-scooter’s visibility to vehicles and pedestrians, including vulnerable road users.
With a lifespan of 5+ years and a 35% increase in motor performance, the V4 is designed for frequent urban use and delivers Voi’s most stable, secure ride yet. Turn indicators offer 360° visibility and ensure riders are able to communicate their intended maneuvers safely. A reinforced fender, plus improved hydraulic suspension and large, higher-quality tyres, increase shock absorption and ease impact from cobblestones and potholes.
The scooter’s technology has been developed to deliver superior operational efficiency. The intelligent system on the e-scooter conducts automatic diagnostic checks that predict the need for maintenance or repairs, identifying 55 unique error conditions, which, if triggered, instantly make the scooter unavailable to hire and alert the operational team.
All-new IoT (Internet of Things) hardware, the connected control hub of the scooter that has been fully designed in house, enables a range of safety and operational innovations, including high-accuracy, sub-metre positioning. To improve location accuracy, the IoT compensates for lost or degraded GNSS satellite signals in three ways. In an industry first, the IoT uses dual-band GNSS (L1 and L5 bands); comparing and averaging the two signals minimises positioning errors, since each signal can be affected differently by urban features such as tall buildings or trees, or by atmospheric disruptions. It also accesses corrections from EGNOS, provided by the European space agency. When GNSS-only positioning is difficult or impossible, the IoT combines information from various sensors (gyro sensor, accelerometer, scooter speed) to calculate the scooter’s current position. The V4 also includes a dedicated slot for extra sensor devices, expanding the IoT’s future capabilities.
The V4 also delivers on Voi’s commitment to increase multimodal transportation and create more sustainable cities. With the tap of a smartphone, smartwatch, or transport card, a scooter can be unlocked via contactless NFC (Near Field Communication) technology.
Additional key V4 features include:
- Widened, all-weather, solid (not air-filled) honeycomb 10” tyres and hydraulic front suspension provide unrivalled grip, brake effectiveness, and shock absorption on all road surfaces.
- Antimicrobial handlebars facilitate safe shared use and prevent the spread of viruses (including COVID-19) by inactivating them on contact.
- Onboard Bluetooth technology communicates with iBeacons at Voi parking racks to ensure scooters are parked with sub-centimeter accuracy.
This article was originally published by Voi.
