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Beam Mobility isn’t any stranger to Asia Pacific markets however, in spite of its expertise in the area, the corporate is striving to study extra about the place it operates and the way it impacts cities and communities.
The Singapore-based firm is APAC’s largest and fastest-growing micro-mobility firm, working throughout 5 international locations. But, in a bid to study extra about these markets, Beam lately launched the Micromobility Research Partnership, bringing collectively lecturers from Australia and New Zealand to “identify and promote priority pathways to reduce global transport emissions.”
Beam is funding the analysis and, with lately introduced $93 million in Series B funding, the corporate ought to have a lot to go round. Auto Futures spoke to CEO and Co-Founder Alan Jiang to get the complete image about Beam and its APAC operations.
“Beam was founded in 2018 with the vision of helping cities flow better for everyone. Today, the most popular vehicles on the streets are combustion engine cars, which are often driving around with fewer passengers than passenger seats – i.e. a lot of empty seats moving around on the streets. This wastage is not only environmentally unfriendly but also contributes to congestion and the high cost of mobility for citizens. Our mission is to shift ‘single person journeys’ onto shared small electric vehicles – which are more environmentally friendly for the planet, help reduce congestion for cities, and help reduce the cost of mobility for customers,” stated Jiang.
Micro-mobility is massively widespread in the Asia Pacific area, so for Beam to dominate the market so rapidly isn’t any imply feat. For starters, the corporate has needed to differentiate itself from the various different gamers already current in this house. This is the place Beam’s Micro-mobility Augmented Riding Safety (MARS) expertise comes into play, differentiating it by leveraging the newest developments in digital camera expertise, place accuracy expertise, and sensor expertise to ship protected using experiences throughout e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-mopeds.
To obtain this, Jiang defined, Beam companions with ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) to supply customized e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-mopeds which are purpose-built for sharing and have gone by means of a rigorous security testing processes. These partnerships allow Beam to remain on the slicing fringe of small electrical automobile tech and produce new security and parking options to market.
Keeping it Local
With operations throughout 5 international locations in APAC, Beam has a thorough understanding of the micro-mobility panorama in the area, particularly of the native nuances of every of its places.
As Jiang explains: “Micro-mobility is a local business. At the end of the day, it is all about understanding the travel needs and patterns of the local community and supporting these travel needs. Every city is different, and requires a bespoke solution, which Beam works closely with cities to provide.”
But working in a number of areas brings the problem of managing totally different laws. Beam has been tackling this problem head-on.
“As governments and local councils require more control of the city’s spaces, and the rules for riding e-scooters become more nuanced – with varying speeds required for footpaths, bike paths, and shared path riding, e-scooters need to get smarter. For example, in Australia and New Zealand shared e-scooters have mostly been reliant on GPS, and it is becoming increasingly clear that this is not the path forward. We believe that cities in Australia and New Zealand will require a higher level of technological capability for widespread adoption of micro-mobility. This is why we will be introducing our MARS technology, harnessing onboard computer vision and AI, to give cities more control over where the vehicles can travel,” Jiang defined.
The major problem, based on Jiang, is that e-scooters are nonetheless a very new mode of transportation. The world hasn’t seen a widespread new mode of transportation because the introduction of the automobile, and the introduction of one thing new could make individuals uncomfortable.
Understandably, residents have considerations or questions on new types of transport like shared micro-mobility, and the way the service shall be built-in into their neighbourhood. “Beam has the technology that addresses many of the concerns these citizens have, so the next step for us is to work on shifting perceptions and educating the broader community,” he added.
Keeping Safe
Beam has been taking pedestrian and rider security very significantly, and rightfully so. When requested how Beam is tackling security considerations linked to micro-mobility, Jiang stated:
“Safety has and always will be the number one objective for Beam in our operations. We have the best safety record across Asia Pacific and that’s not by chance. We focus on having the best technology and rider education programmes to promote and ensure safety and have a comprehensive insurance programme for our riders.
“We also have a comprehensive in-app rider education programme to educate riders on the rules. The vast majority of trips happen without incident, and our focus is always on reducing the number of anti-social behaviour happening on our platform by both disincentivising it through bans and suspensions and working with government officials to ensure those breaking the law are identified.
“We are also the only company in Asia Pacific to run an in-person safety training course, the Beam Safety Academy, to teach real-world e-scooter safety. Whilst the ultimate target of the safety programme are riders themselves, we also see huge value in raising broader awareness of safer e-scooter riding amongst the community – particularly the non-riding public. This is incredibly important to reduce negative perceptions of e-scooters and encourage acceptance of the new mode of mobility,” he added.
![Beam Series 2](https://preview.autofutures.tv/2022/04/29124017/Beam-Series-2.jpg)
“In 2022, we will be introducing our 5th-generation Saturn e-scooter to roads as well as our MARS technology, which includes increased pedestrian and rider protections, such as the ability to detect different road surfaces (such as footpaths) and adapt the speed accordingly, and the ability to slow down before a potential collision. We will also be introducing sensor-based riding behaviour analysis to detect and reduce dangerous riding, such as riding whilst intoxicated.
In March 2022, Beam started trialling its Pedestrian Shield across six cities in Australia – Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Hobart, Launceston, and Adelaide. In the first phase, the Pedestrian Shield allows an e-scooter to detect road and pavement surfaces and adjust speeds accordingly. Beam’s e-scooters will also be able to accurately and reliably identify whether the vehicle is travelling on sidewalks, streets, or bike lanes and account for the differing restrictions on each.
“The technology enables Beam’s e-scooters to employ riding restrictions such as reduced speeds or no riding on pedestrian paths even in GPS-challenged areas, and will allow Beam to educate riders on safe riding in and around the cities, by providing in-trip and post-trip feedback.
“The technology was developed in a huge part for Australia, particularly due to the safety and legislative requirements for cities. For example, Queensland’s State Government recently announced reforms to the legislation governing e-rideables, requiring varying speed limits for footpaths and roads. Western Australia and Tasmania both also introduced similar legislation in late 2021. At this stage in Australia, no operator has adapted their technology to suit the more nuanced requirements from Council. Beam is committed to being the first operator here to do so,” stated Jiang.
“Phase two of Pedestrian Shield, launching in mid-2022, will consist of pedestrian collision prevention, with technology to enable detection of pedestrians of footpaths and the e-scooter slowing to prevent a collision. The data gathered in the trial cities will power a nationwide roll-out of the technology later this year.”
For Jiang, the street forward is evident, as is the reply to what the current Series B funding could be used for. “Funds raised will be used to bring Beam’s shared micro-mobility vehicles and technology into new markets including Japan, Indonesia, and Turkey. In addition, Beam will use the funds to further enhance our suite of safety technology through the deployment of MARS,” he stated.
“We will also introduce our new 5th Generation Beam Saturn e-scooter to cities, featuring 12-inch wheels (20% larger than the average e-scooter) combined with hydraulic suspension for the smoothest riding experience. Beam also plans to be the first tri-modal micro-mobility operator in Asia Pacific by introducing eMopeds into our vehicle portfolio in certain countries.”