Dragonfly hyperscooter has a base starting price of $5,000

(December 17, 2019) Cars with special extreme specs and price tags are often called "hypercars" as even the term "supercar" seems a bit tame. Perhaps it is appropriate that UK entrepreneur Jez Williman calls his new e-scooter the Dragonfly a hyperscooter.

Williman invented retractable crowd barriers

Williiman led the Tensator Group. The Tensator Group invented Tensabarriers designed to keep crowds in line at airports, concerts, theaters, and many other places. The Group became the largest crowd control company globally.

Williman is now CEO and founder of the D-FLy Group based in London in the UK. Williman sees his e-scooter project as in some ways like his former project: “In many respects this latest venture of mine is related because it’s about people still waiting in line but waiting in their vehicles and the related issues, the costs that waiting and that congestion and that isolation causes the world and the problems around it.”

The Dragonfly e-Scooter

The D-Fly Group explains that their scooter is hyper in that it uses automotive grade manufacturing, advanced materials, cutting-edge engineering and technology. These features are applied to their Dragonfly in what they call the micromotility sector.

The DragonFly does use premium materials such as carbon fiber, 7000 series aerospace-grade aluminum, and paulownia wood. The powertrain has dual motors and a top speed of 38 mph. Traction control gives each wheel 1,800 watts, and plenty of torque. There is a battery option that gives the scooter a range of 28.5 miles. The Full-Tilt steering technology is inspired by Formula One racing and uses a three dimensional tilt and twist control combination on a central pillar.

The scooter has a 4.5 inch display 4K with ultra-high-definition. Riders can access various apps and also view their speed. They can even use GPS by pairing with a smartphone using Bluetooth. The scooter also sports a high quality sound system so you can blast out tunes while cruising along.

DragonFly has a hyper price tag

The base three wheel model starts at a huge $5,000. For the four-wheel version it is about $6,000. If you also want options the price becomes even more absurdly high. Full pricing will be announced closer to the launch date some time in the mid-2020s.

If you are satisfied with just 15.5 miles per hour and a limited range also of 15.5 miles you could buy the Segway ES2 which you can get for about $479 on Amazon. However, the Dragon could be bought by billionaires to give to other rich people who have everything but the Dragonfly. On the other hand, perhaps there are those who cannot afford a new car just waiting to ride in style and to show off their new $5,000 Dragonfly.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Bird e-scooter manufacturer to release Bird Two this fall

(August 1) Although it is less than two months since e-scooter maker Bird unveiled its Bird One that was designed to be more long-lasting, durable, and powerful than previous scooters, the company is now ready to produce Bird Two.

Bird Two

The Bird Two is claimed to be even more durable, longer-lasting, and powerful than the Bird One. The Bird Two has what is claimed to be an industry-leading automotive-grade battery that will have 50 percent more capacity than the one in the Bird One. The battery will be optimized to function well in a wide variety of temperatures.

The new Bird will also have smart autonomous sensors that will notify company headquarters should the computer break down. Vandalism and depreciation costs have taken a toll on scooter companies' revenues, causing them to try to get newer, more rugged models on the streets. These self-reporting damage sensors will allow Bird mechanics to get damaged or vandalized scooters off the streets quickly.

Seamless screws and puncture-proof tires

Exposed screws on the scooters can cause injuries and also make it easier to vandalize the units. The Bird Two will have no exposed screws. The company said: “The absence of excessive exposed screws helps create a more seamless design while also reducing painful injuries and vandalism."

The new scooter will also have puncture-proof tires and an anti-tipping kickstand. There will also be software that will help deter theft and protects riders from potentially malicious tricks.

Many specifications still under wraps

The battery capacity has not yet been revealed nor have the range or top speed. The Bird Two is expected to appear in the US by early this fall but will not not be available for purchase as is the Bird One. Bird is also expected to release an electric moped.

Scooter companies including BIrd are struggling to be profitable

Since coming on the scene about two years ago, scooter-rental companies are struggling to make money. Profitability depends on how much money each unit brings a company hence the lifespan is very important. The more trips and miles a scooter can log the better. The cost of buying and maintaining the scooter must be recouped before any money is made.

Bird is reported to have lost nearly $100 million in the first quarter of this year while revenue shrank to about $15 million. Bird has managed to raise $700 million over the last 18 months, but has only $100 million in cash remaining now. The company is looking to raise another $200 to $300 million.

Bird

Wikipedia describes Bird company: "Bird is a dockless electric scooter sharing company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded in September 2017, Bird operates electric scooters in over 60 cities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North America[2] with 10 million rides in its first year of operation.In 2018, Bird was named one of Time Magazine's 50 Genius Companies,[3] and one of the most sought-after startups in the United States, according to LinkedIn."

Previously published in the Digital  Journal

Spin, owned by Ford, to deploy 15,000 scooters in 8 US cities

(July 25) Ford-owned Spin, the dockless scooter company announced that it will deploy 15,000 scooters in eight US cities beginning this August. Spin also revealed its latest mode e-scooter with anti-theft technology and custom parts to deter vandalism.

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Spin has grown since Ford acquired it

Since being bought by Ford last November, Spin has grown rapidly and with the new announcement will grow even faster. When acquired the San Franciso-based company operated rentable e-scooters in nine cities and five college campuses. Today it operates in 47 cities and campuses.

Scooters to be deployed in new cities

Starting this August, Spin will deploy thousands of the new scooter in these cities: Portland, Los Angeles, Denver, Washington DC, Kansas City, Memphis, and Minneapolis, and more later. The new scooter is made in China by Segway-Ninebot a joint Chinese-American company that is backed by Xiaomi a globally-recognized scooter manufacturer.

Features of the new scooter

The frame has been enlarged and strengthened with a wider and longer platform. The brake handling-system has been improved and is more intuitive to use and responsive. There are larger 10 inch tubeless tires providing better shock absorption when traveling over rough terrain. There is real wheel drive providing better acceleration and uphill performance. There are also custom-manufactured security screws to help prevent vandalism and tampering.

The battery life has been extended so that the scooter can travel over 37 miles on one full charge. While a much smaller company than its rivals such as Bird and Lime being supported by Ford will give it time to scale its business before making a profit.

Dockless scooter sharing faces problems

During the past year the business has had problems with vandalism, injured riders, and breakdowns. These problems have caused some companies to be unable to recover their investment costs. Bird reportedly lost $100 million in 3 months and seeks new funding to the tune of $2.5 million.

Scooter sharing systems

Wikipedia describes the system for sharing scooters: "A scooter-sharing system is a service in which scooters are made available to use for short-term rentals. The term describes the sharing of mostly electric motor scooters (also referred to as electric mopeds) as well as electric kick scooters. The sharing of scooters is similar to carsharing or bicycle-sharing systems; with some scooter-sharing companies offering more than one type of vehicle via their service. Scooters are generally "dockless", meaning that they do not have a fixed home location, and are dropped off and picked up from arbitrary locations in the service area. This makes them a convenient mobility option for first-/last-mile mobility in urban areas."

Previously published in the Digital Journal

E-scooters caused over 1,500 injuries in the US just since late 2017

Consumer Reports recently put out a report that found since late 2017 until now electric scooters caused 1,542 injuries in the US. The data was collected from 110 hospitals and 5 agencies in 47 cities.

These were all cities where Bird or Lime, the leading tech-enabled scooter-sharing platforms operate.

UCLA study

This news comes a little after the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) also published a study which found that 249 people required medical care after accidents with the scooters. One third of those injured had to take an ambulance to the hospital.

Tarak Trivedi, an emergency doctor at UCLA, the lead author of the study said: “These injuries can be severe.These aren’t just minor cuts and scrapes. These are legit fractures.”

These reports may provide an incentive for those in the business of renting the e-scooters to show more concern about safety matters.

An accident example

Paul Grasso decided to rent a shared electric scooter through Lime, as he had many times before. He expected it to be a routine trip. As he was setting out Grasso noticed that there was construction ahead so he steered up onto the sidewalk to avoid it. However, as he did so the scooter hit a bump and he crashed head-first into the ground. He said "The whole unit just flipped forward and smashed my face into the cement walkway." Grasso was not wearing a helmet. Grasso, 50 years old, spent the next four days in the hospital recovering from his head injuries.

Despite contrary claims safety seems a low priority for e-scooter renters

Wearing a helmet is not required and not having one is the norm. Failed hardware in the scooters, access to the scooters even in the evening and irresponsible riding practices on the part of riders all are factors contributing to accidents. A tragic example of irresponsible riding happened recently in Austin Texas where a person riding a Lime scooter died when struck by an Uber driver. However, the person was driving the wrong way on an interstate. See this report.

Both Lime and Bird along with other leading providers do provide free helmets and don't encourage poor riding etiquette. Ensuring riders actually wear helmets or do stupid thinks such as the rider who died in Austin is impossible.

Previously published in Digital Journal;