China’s bike-sharing platforms connect with BeiDou satellite navigation network to improve efficiency
- The bike-sharing industry has seen an uptick in business amid the coronavirus pandemic, as more commuters shift away from crowded modes of transport
- Hellobike, one of the biggest bike-sharing platforms in the country, said that all its bikes were connected to the BeiDou navigation system
China's bike-sharing companies have joined hands with the country's home-grown BeiDou navigation system to offer users a better experience based on improved operations and more precise positioning data.
After the launch of the final satellite in the BeiDou global navigation system last week, bike-sharing platforms said the Chinese rival of the US global positioning system (GPS) will enable them to manage their fleets more efficiently through more precise location data.
Hellobike, one of the biggest bike sharing platforms in the country, announced that all its bikes were connected to the BeiDou positioning system, while Didi Chuxing-owned Qingju Bike said its Geographic bike, equipped with a BeiDou high-precision navigation chip, has been put into operation in Shenzhen, Wuhan and Beijing.
“With the help of BeiDou, the positioning of the bikes can be determined to within centimetres. Operators can access information on bikes on the road in real-time, and effectively control traffic flow and solve the problem of vehicle accumulation,” Qingju Bike said in a statement.
