China's Self-Driving, Electric Scooter

Segway-Ninebot New Scooter Self-Drives to Base for Recharge for Next Rider

Source:  Segway-Ninebot's New Scooter in Beijing

Boon for the Scooter-Sharing Market

China's Segway-Ninebot, an electric scooter manufacturer, just unveiled a new piece of innovation.  A scooter that can drive itself back to its charging station with no human onboard. This could prove to be a boon for the growing scooter-sharing industry, which is booming in big city, heavy traffic areas globally.  Ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft have expanded their business into the lucrative scooter-sharing market.

Self-Returning Scooters

Segway-Ninebot's new scooter is semi-autonomous, has three wheels, electric power and is able to drive itself back to its base charging station when someone's ride time has expired.  This self-return feature could save companies like Lyft and Uber a lot of time and money.  Up until now, the scooter ride sharing companies have generally dispatched paid employees to fetch the scooters and give them a recharge for the next rider.  The next new innovation for scooters beyond self-returning is self-charging.