science

Superpedestrian

Superpedestrian is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Superpedestrian rather than just read about it. In short: Superpedestrian Inc., is a transportation robotics company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that developed electrified and AI technologies for micro mobility vehicles. The company ran the LINK e-scooter sharing program, which was active in 57 cities across the US and Europe.

Key takeaways

Superpedestrian belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Superpedestrian to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Superpedestrian from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Superpedestrian Inc., is a transportation robotics company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that developed electrified and AI technologies for micro mobility vehicles. The company ran the LINK e-scooter sharing program, which was active in 57 cities across the US and Europe. In December 2023 Tech Crunch reported that the business would close by December 31, 2023, with all scooters recalled into warehousing. Superpedestrian was acquired in February 2024 by the Norwegian SURF Beyond group led by the two founders Julian Alexander Hahn and Mats André Breesth.

History Superpedestrian's first product, The Copenhagen Wheel, was developed at MIT's Senseable City Lab in 2009 in partnership with the city of Copenhagen, and unveiled at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In December 2012, Assaf Biderman, a co-inventor of the Wheel and associate director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, founded Superpedestrian to commercialize the Wheel. After several years of engineering, testing, and validation, the Copenhagen Wheel officially launched in April 2017. In December 2018, the Boston Business Journal reported the company would shift its focus to start building electric scooters and supplying the scooter sharing fleet operators such as Bird and Lime. In 2020, the company instead began operating shared scooter fleets itself in the US, before expanding to Italy and Spain. In 2021, the company opened sharing services in Austria, Sweden and Portugal.

Products

VIS The Vehicle Intelligent Safety system (VIS) is a network of sensors, micro-computers and AI that enable micromobility vehicles to self-detect problems and respond.

Copenhagen Wheel

The Copenhagen Wheel converted bicycles into e-bikes. It replaced the existing rear wheel. The Copenhagen Wheel contained a custom brushless motor, advanced sensors, control systems, and a lithium-ion battery, all contained within the hub of a single rear bicycle wheel. Combining actual torque, power, cadence, pedal position, and acceleration sensing with high-speed controllers and actuators, the Wheel generated power that seamlessly synchronized with a rider's pedalling. Bluetooth connectivity enabled riders to personalize their cycling experience from their smartphone. A self-diagnostic safety system (VIS) monitored components and proactively responded to events within milliseconds, protecting both rider and Wheel. The Copenhagen Wheel is no longer available for sale. The company no longer responds to emailed requests for assistance, and login to utilize the wheel via the app no longer functions, stranding purchasers with a non-functioning wheel. Some former employees and diehard customers have created a new app for the Copenhagen Wheel named "Redwheel."

LINK

LINK is a shared electric scooter designed, engineered, manufactured and operated by Superpedestrian. During prototype road-testing, it was called "the Volvo of e-scooters" for its robust build quality. The LINK scooter features an operating system that can be updated wirelessly, over-the-air. The second version of the operating system was released in March 2021 and is called "Briggs". On board the scooter, VIS runs 1,000 health checks every second during rides and monitors 140 safety-critical conditions. VIS also allows the scooter to enforce onboard geofence commands in 0.7s. LINK has a 61-mile battery range. According to Superpedestrian's VP (EMEA), Haya Verwoord Douidi, the LINK scooter cost $75 million in R&D.

Scooter sharing In June 2020, Zagster was bought by Superpedestrian to create an in-house shared mobility division using LINK scooters. Superpedestrian beat Bird in a competitive tender process in September 2020 to offer e-scooters in Seattle, US. By April 2021, the company was operating shared e-scooters in 21 cities and announced plans to begin e-scooter sharing services in Ireland. In May 2021, LINK scooters were available in 30 cities in the US, Spain, Italy and Austria. Superpedestrian partnered with ACI in May 2021 to launch a safety course for e-scooter riders in Italy. In December 2021, Superpedestrian acquired the UK subsidiary of Wind Mobility, which operates the e-scooter trial zone in Nottingham. The company then replaced the scooter fleet with its proprietary model. Silicon Republic reported in February 2022 that Superpedestrian was operating shared mobility fleets in 57 cities in the US and Europe.

Labor Superpedestrian states that it has never used gig workers in its history, in contrast to the early shared e-scooter sector. Paul Steely White, a long-time active travel advocate in New York City, is Public Affairs Director at Superpedestrian. Haya Verwoord Douidri left Bird to join Superpedestrian on 1 July 2020, heading up the company's scooter expansion in Europe.

Funding In December 2020, the company secured $60 million in funding to scale-up e-scooter sharing fleets. Investors included Citi Impact Fund. In February 2022, the Boston Globe revealed that Superpedestrian had secured new investment of $125 million. Investors included the Sony Investment Fund. In December 2023 TechCrunch reported that the business would close by December 31, 2023, with all scooters recalled into warehousing.

Awards European Product Design Awards – Platinum – Urban Sustainable Design 2017 European Product Design Awards – Gold – Bicycling and Bicycle Accessories 2017 European Product Design Awards – Gold – Design for Sustainability 2017 European Product Design Awards – Silver – Robotics 2017 CNBC – Top 25 Startup 2017 TIME Magazine - Best Tech of 2017 Red Dot: Design Concept Awards – Luminary 2014 Red Dot: Design Concept Awards – “Best of the Best” 2014 TIME Magazine – The 25 Best Inventions of 2014 Deutscher Werkbund Label – Werkbund Label for design 2014 Green Dot Awards – Winner 2011 Living Labs Global Awards – Shortlisted 2011 Index Award – Finalist 2011 Edison Awards – Silver in Personal Transportation – 2011 U.S. James Dyson Award – Winner – 2010 World Technology Summit and Awards – Winner – 2011 The Grand Challenge Stories Award of the US National Academy of Engineers – Winner – 2010

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Superpedestrian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Superpedestrian claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Superpedestrian before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Superpedestrian ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Superpedestrian

In research: Superpedestrian appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Superpedestrian in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Superpedestrian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cycle manufacturers of the United States, Cycle types, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Superpedestrian outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Superpedestrian in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Superpedestrian means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Superpedestrian out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Superpedestrian in simple terms?

Why does Superpedestrian matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Superpedestrian?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Superpedestrian.