Hardware overview for shared micro-mobility (2/3): IoT & GPS devices, connectivity
May 2, 2020
min. read
At ATOM Mobility, we know there is a lot to consider when starting a mobility company. To help make the process easier, we’ve put together a breakdown of some most frequently recommended manufacturers of IoT, GPS and connectivity on the market that are currently integrated with ATOM Mobility. Contact us in case you need a guidance or more information.
To remotely control and monitor kick scooter, e-bike, moped, car or any other vehicle you will need to install so called IoT device which allows to remotely send commands to the vehicle and execute them, as well as monitor real-time location and track possible errors. What IoT & GPS devices are the in the market?
Teltonika is used by the largest shared mobility operators in the world. The company has sold more than 10 million IoT devices during their 10+ years on the market and has more than 500 employees. IoT devices by Teltonika can be used for kick scooters, scooters/mopeds, e-bikes, cars, trucks and even forklifts. The list of supported vehicles is very long. Some examples:
Teltonika EMB100 is an e-bike IoT with GNSS, GSM and Bluetooth connectivity. Integrated ECU data reading will expand your capabilities even more.
Teltonika E-SCOOTER TRACKERPLUS is a small, professional and waterproof tracker for a variety of electric scooters. The device has internal high gain GNSS/GSM antennas, Bluetooth and high capacity internal Li-ion battery and 10-97 V power supply range for integration variety.
TST100 by Teltonika
Teltonika TST100 is a kick e-scooter tracking device with integrated GNSS, GSM and Bluetooth connectivity, designed for sharing applications. TST100 enables the possibility to read information from kick e-scooters ECU and control them remotely.
FMB130 is tracker with internal GNSS, GSM antennas, configurable digital/analogue inputs/negative input/impulse inputs, three DOUT outputs, Bluetooth connectivity and backup battery.
Suitable for: kick scooters, scooters, mopeds (both gasoline and electric), e-bikes, cars, trucks and more.
Price: 60 USD - 120 USD / 50 € - 120 € depending on model and quantity. No monthly fees.
Company based in China and provides IoT devices mostly for kick scooters and bikes. It is widely used by vehicle manufacturers that use Omni IoT as a default built in option (like Segway, Acton and many others).
Suitable for: kick scooters, bikes and e-bikes.
Price: 45 USD- 85 USD / 40 € - 80 € per piece depending on model and quantity. In some cases manufacturers that use Omni IoT by default may charge some monthly fee for connectivity.
Comodule is rapidly growing startup headquartered in Tallinn (Estonia), with business development offices in Berlin (Germany) and Taipei (Taiwan). They worked with many large companies including Jump and Bolt. Comodule provides both IoT device and cloud server with API. This is why they have additional monthly fees.
Suitable for: kick scooters and e-bikes.
Price: 80 USD - 150 USD / 80 € - 130 € depending on quantity + monthly fees.
We decided to add to the list also Lighbug device that is actually not an IoT device (not connected to the vehicle), but can be used in some cases just to monitor real-time location and trigger alarm sound if needed. Lightbug’s remote GPS solutions can be used in cases if you do not want to integrate to the vehicle. Model has battery that lasts 30-60 days if send location data every minute and up to 10-15 years if update regularity is lower. Great result! You can attach GPS basically everywhere, not only on a vehicle.
Lightbug Pro is industrial grade tracker, designed to have a battery life of up to 15 years
Suitable for: real-time location tracking of any asset or person
Price: 95 USD - 115 USD / 89.90 € - 104.00 €
Connectivity and data
Each IOT device will require a SIM card that has data capability in order to send and receive commands. While some manufacturers offer IoT devices together with SIM cards and data, other give you more flexibility to choose from. Data usage varies depending on IoT device you use and configurations, but in general every SIM card will consume around 5-30 MB/month. Local SIM card providers can offer you a price estimation which should be around 0,5 - 2 EUR/month per SIM card. Some global connectivity providers that focus on shared mobility market:
Straightforward pay-as-you-go pricing in 180+ countries. In average around 2 USD/month per SIM card + data.
1oT has great coverage all over the world and flexible pricing without monthly fees (you pay only for data usage).
The 1NCE IoT Flat Rate is an all-inclusive price model for IoT connectivity. It is a pre-paid offering to connect IoT devices for up to 10 years at a price of 10 EUR, including all necessary features such as data allowance, SIM card cost, APN, OpenVPN and SMS (250 sms). For 10 EUR you will get sim card with 500 MB (most probably will be enough for 1,5 - 2 years). If you are ready to pay upfront 10 EUR/sim this is the best offer available.
Truphone is another great alternative to take a look at. For 12 EUR per SIM you will get 250 MB to use within 3 years.
This is the second part of hardware overview. In next blog post we will cover list of popular smart locks. Contact ATOM Mobility for any additional questions or inquiries you may have about available products and suppliers.
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