Abstract

The COPED concept deals with the question how an urban peer-to-peer E-bike-sharing system with minimal capital expanditure could work, based on the announced technology of a connected electric bicycle, the Copenhagen Wheel, as well as existing mobile information systems.

The concept is based on crowdsourcing the vehicles as well as the charging infrastructure. It incorporates a mobile app for users of the Copenhagen Wheel which contains

a control interface with interactive battery range management
a planning tool for the Copenhagen Wheel’s exercise function
a trip planner for fleet customers

and for contributors of vehicles and charging/ parking facilities with

facility management tools
a map-based demand visualisation.

Roles

The Private Owner

The Leaser

The Fleet Provider

The Station Provider

Private Copenhagen Wheel owners can use the COPED charging facilities. Ownership of CWs can be privately shared between individuals, which makes them private owners too.
A private owner can become a part-time or full-time fleet provider agent by renting out their owned bike as part of the COPED bike fleet.

The App

An important function of the app is operating the Copenhagen Wheel. Besides locking and unlocking it, the most important control mechanism is setting the assistence level. There are three different levels of linear pedaling boost (»Eco«, »Normal« and »Turbo«), an adaptive assistence mode for hills, and an »Exercise« mode that lets the user paddle harder and charge the battery.

The control interface in the app lets the user select the assistence level with a picker element. A map shows the bike’s location and the expected battery range, based on

battery level,
assistance level,
street routing,
terrain, and
geographic obstacles.

With time, the compound data of Copenhagen Wheel tracking and corresponding battery level can refine these range estimates.

Leasers use the bike finder function to lease a bike. They can find nearby vacant bikes on a map, select one, see the walking distance and range management for that bike and can reserve it from here.

They can also plan a journey by dropping a destination pin onto the desired location. The journey planner will calculate route alternatives that may involve different walking distances and may or may not include bike swaps due to unsufficient battery levels.

The Map

The long-term efforts to balance supply and demand described in the previous chapter presume that the provider agents get relevant information about the discrepancies between supply and demand of

stations,
free-floating bikes,
homing bikes and
maintenance.

Information about station demand is location-sensitive since they are stationary.

Short-term efforts which try to answer the question how the existing bike fleet could be shifted from areas of lower demand to areas of higher demand need location-sensitive information about free-floating bikes. Information about how many free-floating bikes are needed altogether is not location-sensitive.

Bikes that are operated in homing mode are stationed. Demand information about them is, like with stations, location-based.

Maintenance demand information is also location-sensitive since it occurs location-based.

Ekkehard Petzold

2015 Potsdam University of Applied Sciences
Bachelor Thesis Interface Design
Supervisors Prof. Dr. Frank Heidmann, Dr. Till Nagel

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