Brake-Steering Apparatus for Autonomous Scooter Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high capital and operational costs associated with electric scooters, including the need for economical pricing and minimizing vandalism, as well as the expense of battery recharging, are exacerbated by the reliance on independent contractors for collection and redeployment, which increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A brake-steering apparatus that enables autonomous navigation of electric scooters, using wireless communication with a remote base controller to control brake pads and motors, allowing the scooters to navigate to designated collection areas for recharging and redeployment, thereby reducing the need for manual collection and increasing utilization rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If independent contractors are used for collecting and redeploying electric scooters, then the scooters can be managed and recharged, but the operational costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The electric scooter autonomously navigates to collection areas and recharging stations by itself using the brake-steering apparatus, eliminating the need for independent contractors to manually collect and transport scooters. The system self-manages its own repositioning and recharging needs, directly reducing labor costs while maintaining operational capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If more electric scooters are deployed throughout a city, then customer access is improved, but capital costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The brake-steering apparatus enables autonomous navigation that provides feedback-based positioning and self-correction, allowing scooters to independently return to collection areas and recharging stations. This autonomous capability reduces the need for excessive scooter deployment to ensure availability, as each scooter can reliably return and be redeployed, optimizing the fleet size needed for city-wide coverage.
3Productivity
If autonomous navigation is implemented using brake-steering apparatus, then manual collection costs are reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The brake-steering apparatus serves multiple functions: it provides both braking control and steering control through a single integrated system. The brake pads are positioned to contact the rear surface of the wheel assembly, enabling the same mechanical component to perform both deceleration and directional control, thereby reducing overall system complexity despite the added autonomous navigation capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The autonomous navigation system reduces operational costs by minimizing the need for manual collection and redeployment, increasing the utilization rate of electric scooters and lowering capital expenditures by allowing for more efficient management and maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
The brake pads are positioned to contact a rear surface of the wheel assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A bake-steering apparatus for controlling autonomous navigation of an electric scooter includes at least one electric motor coupled to at least one wheel of the scooter to provide driving power to enable forward momentum of the scooter, at least a pair of brake pads on the scooter such that each brake pad is adapted to make mechanical braking contact with respective ones of the wheels to provide navigational steering of the scooter, and a computational module on the scooter and electrically connected to each brake pad. The computational module is adapted to receive electrical signals and compute them into corresponding braking commands so as to determine the mechanical braking contact to generate corresponding slowing and turning of the forward momentum of the scooter so as to provide navigational steering of the scooter.