Sidewalk detection and safety monitoring are creating ‘watershed moment’ for micromobility

Transportation robotics company Superpedestrian announced last week it had closed a $125 million funding round to expand its scooter safety technology. The investor interest also represents the current “watershed moment” for micromobility, said Director of Development and Public Affairs Paul White.

Superpedestrian spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013 with a system that could detect mechanical problems on scooters and small electric vehicles. That has evolved into its Pedestrian Defense safety system, which uses onboard sensors to detect when a vehicle is riding on a sidewalk, going the wrong way down a street or veering wildly. It can intervene by redirecting or stopping the vehicle.