The hill assist control feature makes for a balanced all-terrain journey and as per the company, ‘eliminates any possibility of accidents when on inclined ground’. On a gradient, hill-assist control engages and stops the two-wheeler from rolling backwards.
This in turn gives the rider a few seconds to accelerate forward. In addition, hill assist control prevents a two-wheeler from rolling backwards during bumper-to-bumper traffic, which in essence would be worth its mettle in urban road traffic conditions.
22Motors’ Flow electric scooter (below) will feature three modes: Reverse mode, Cruise mode and Drag mode. Reverse mode quite obviously will eliminate the need to manually back up the vehicle when exiting a parking area. Drag mode is quite literally a take at dragging on as it will let riders continue riding the scooter 3 kmph in case of a breakdown.
While the feature does do away with having to push a scooter along busy roads or having someone give you a push, at that speed it could very well hold up traffic, and riders would need to use their judgement so as to not get in the way of fast moving traffic. It is the average walking speed, but obviously the scooter won’t be on a pavement.
A first for two-wheelers, hill-assist a feature seen in AT cars stops a car from rolling back on an upward slope when the vehicle is stationary. 22 Motors Flow scooter is likely to begin deliveries in 2019, and thereby will be the first scooter from the new brand with hill assist feature.
While the scooter was on display at 2018 Auto Expo, a comprehensive feature list wasn’t presented at the time. As India works on plans to adopt EVs in a big way, it would seem electric scooters are to lead the way over other vehicle categories.
Parveen Kharb, CEO and Co-founder – 22Motors said, “We often underestimate the dangers of riding uphill and while most four-wheelers are complete with safety features like hill start assist, we firmly believe that everyone has an equal right to safety. We felt the need to engineer similar technology for two-wheelers and we are thrilled that our commitment to deliver the best to our consumers has been recognised in the form of this patent. At 22Motors, rider safety is integral to our business and our products speak for our philosophy. This invention is yet another step in our journey to make premium products that are futuristic, powerful and practical.”
