E-scooter company teams up with UCD to design safety features  for city use

UCD Energy Institute said e-scooters are a practical and sustainable transport choice but their growing popularity means steps to ensure safety need to be considered.  

University College Dublin's (UCD) Energy Institute and Zipp Mobility are teaming up to design technology to make e-scooters safer in urban environments. 

Supported by Enterprise Ireland, the collaborative research project aims to develop lights and smart noisemaking features to make them easier to see and hear. 

Speaking about the research project, Dr Paul Cuffe from UCD Energy Institute said the scooters are a practical and sustainable transport choice but their growing popularity means steps to ensure safety need to be considered.  

"Electric scooters can be rather quiet and inconspicuous, and pedestrians may not always be aware that they are approaching. In this research collaboration, we will work with Zipp to upgrade their e-scooters with smart noisemaking and lighting features, so they are visually and audibly more noticeable,” he said. 

Charlie Gleeson, Zipp Mobility's CEO, said safety is at the foundation of their approach to  their product rollout next year in Ireland and that the research was informed by customer feedback in the UK and Poland. 

"Zipp’s mission is ‘mobility done right’ and having world-class technology that prioritises safety is a cornerstone of our approach. 

"When we launch our service in Ireland next year, we want it to be as safe as possible and this research follows on from feedback received from our existing customers in the UK and Poland," he said. 

At least six companies are finalising plans to launch e-scooters across Irish towns and cities. 

Leglislation

The Government is preparing legislation to regulate their use for the end of the year. 

Safety issues have been flagged though after a study conducted by Conolly Hospital in Blanchardstown found more than half of those injured, 60% while using e-scooters were not wearing helmets. 

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The study established that more than one-third of patients who presented with injuries while using an e-scooter required some type of operation and were frequently severe and complex.

Working in the UCD Energy Institute’s IELab, a team from the UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering will undertake practical prototyping work on a number of Zipp e-scooters to further develop safety features. 

Zipp has raised €2.1 million from investors and is already operating in the UK and Poland and plans to operate in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford next year. 

Zipp is headquartered at NovaUCD, an entrepreneur's hub for hi-tech companies.