DB Call a Bike: IoT for Efficient Bike Sharing

The bikes first had to be equipped with future-proof connectivity. DB Call a Bike had already installed the new design of the backend and the electronic locks with their built-in SIM cards and communications module. The network technology had to be so powerful that hiring and returning bikes took just seconds. It also had to be as energy-efficient as possible. DB Call a Bike and Telekom opted for LTE-M Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technology. LTE-M can process optimally the swift movement of bikes between radio stations. Switching from one radio or base station to the next presents no problems and the low latency of LTE-M when compared with, say, NB-IoT is is in this use case an advantage.

Bike hiring is faster and easier than ever. LTE-M enables bikes to be unlocked in next to no time. That is also partly due to the newly developed backend, which in performance is an improvement on the previous system. Hiring is easy. Users simply scan the bike’s QR code with their smartphone’s camera to unlock the bike by means of the app. Returning the bike also takes no time at all.

Thanks to the high level of energy efficiency the communication modules can communicate continuously with the backend while the bike is on the move. An LED on the bike indicates to users when they stop whether or not they are in an authorized parking area. Give it a try first? Complicated, may need to be repeated more than once if you want to return the bike to a drop-off place, and no longer necessary thanks to LTE-M. Improvements of this kind are designed to make Call A Bike appeal to users, and environmental and climate protection stand to benefit in the long term.

Along with various cities and municipalities Deutsche Bahn has been able to convince the automobile and motorcycle manufacturer BMW of the advantages of its bike sharing service. BMW uses the bikes as a works fleet in the public space, enabling employees to travel quickly, easily and sustainably from one deployment location to another.

LTE-M technology also offers DB Call a Bike itself future benefits. Combined with other factors such as the solar panels that are now a feature of the bikes, low energy consumption ensures that the bikes less frequently need to be collected and recharged. They can be used for longer, increasing value creation and cutting running costs. Throughout the entire project Telekom has provided DB Call a Bike with comprehensive support to ensure the interplay of components as part of the new connectivity.

The bike sharing provider also plans to use the IoT Solution Optimizer, a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, to plan and implement IoT projects optimally. DB Call a Bike can use it to trial new developments on a digital twin, a virtual image of a real object. How long do different types of battery last in different hardware constellations? How do different reception conditions affect energy consumption?

These tests can show the bike sharing provider which changes or new technologies are promising. If, for example, a battery’s service life does not meet requirements in certain framework conditions the company can rectify matters before launching the real hardware and thereby avoid bad investment and waste of resources. In this way the IoT Solution Optimizer – like LTE-M connectivity – is a Green IoT technology. And Deutsche Bahn’s sustainable mobility concept combines environmental protection, profitability and an optimal user experience.