Ola testing ADAS tech for its scooter lineup might come off as overkill for a city scooter, but will be useful to deal with chock-a-block traffic
There seems to be a theme that most 2W EV manufacturers are following. This theme is a culmination of two different things. One is a distinctive design and the other is a bucket load of features with respect to regular ICE 2W vehicles we are familiar with. This theme is immediately evident too as almost all manufacturers are following it.
Ola follows it too. It has a distinct retro-futuristic design that screams EV. In terms of features, helpful or gimmicks, Ola has a plethora of them that regular ICE scooters just miss out on. Now, there is a new feature under testing which is an absolute novelty in 2W vehicles. It is ADAS and is teased by CEO Bhavish Aggarwal on Twitter. Let’s take a look.
Ola Scooter ADAS Tech Testing Starts – Launch Expected Soon
Currently, there are just a handful of 2W vehicles with ADAS tech onboard. These are the creme-de-la-creme of motorcycles commanding more than just a kidney. In scooters, this is unheard of. Even in big buck touring scooters, manufacturers haven’t bothered with offering ADAS and enthusiastic CEO of Ola Electric, Bhavish Aggarwal has teased it on Twitter.
Yes, we’re talking about the same ADAS tech which is currently the hottest thing in the 4W vehicle realm. Most recent vehicle to launch with ADAS in India is Hyundai Verna, Tata Safari and Harrier and Honda City facelift. We’re not yet sure what Ola is trying to accomplish in terms of functionalities with its ADAS tech, but it is coming, nonetheless.
Will share more in a tech demo soon! pic.twitter.com/8GVirNMOAP
— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) March 18, 2023
In a video posted by Aggarwal, we can see an Ola test mule trundling around in Bengaluru city traffic. Only, this is equipped with a camera at its front and a digital display, replacing its left ORVM housed inside a weather-proof case. On the screen, we can read OpenADAS, which might be the name of this project internally.
The system is found tracking objects in real-time and also monitoring test mule’s speed in relation to traffic. Even though ADAS might come off as overkill for a city scooter, Bengaluru’s chock-a-block traffic might suggest otherwise. We can see it being a useful safety net to glide through traffic with minimal rider inputs.
Ola is highly likely to be using camera-based ADAS tech, something similar to Honda’s Sensing suite found in the City sedan. To enable ADAS to have adaptive cruise control, Ola needs to have an actuator for brakes as well for emergency braking. Or engineering a stronger regen, bringing the scooter to a complete halt might come off as less complicated as well. It is not yet sure whether existing customers can retrofit this on their scooters, but we have to wait for Ola’s tech demo.
Front Single-Sided Forks Replaced
On the onslaught of front suspension break-downs, Ola has issued a voluntary recall. Replacements of said single-sided front forks are currently underway. It was earlier speculated that Ola would replace it with a double-sided fork, found on Ola S1 Air, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. They are getting replaced by updated single-sided forks.
