Mob Livre - micromobility sharing system for people with disabilities and reduced mobility

• Grant number: 21/03798-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: August 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Transportation Engineering - Vehicles and Control Equipment
• Agreement: FINEP - TECNOVA II Program
• Principal Investigator: Júlio Oliveto Alves
• Grantee: Júlio Oliveto Alves
• Company: Livre Montagem de Produtos Assistivos S/A
• CNAE: Fabricação de bicicletas e triciclos não-motorizados
• Associated researchers: Jeison da Silva ; Lucas Heiji de Moraes Miura ; Otávio Henrique dos Santos Ribeiro
• Associated research grant(s): 21/08313-4 - Mob Livre - Micromobility Sharing System for People with Disabilities and Reduced Mobility, AP.PIPE

Abstract

In Brazil, the 2010th's census, conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, stated that 45 million Brazilians reported to have some degree of difficulty in at least one of the investigated skills (seeing, hearing, walking, climbing stairs) or have a mental/intellectual disability, representing approximately 24% of the population. Furthermore, the elderly represente 8,6% of the population assessed by the Census. It is concluded that approximately ¼ of the Brazilian population exhibit serious mobility impairment issues. In recent years, people with disabilities, which, in Brazil (according to IBGE) make up more than 45 million people, have started to move from an almost invisible stance towards greater social protagonism, driven by national and international campaigns in favor of inclusivity. Assistive technology's advances represent an important factor to allow people with disabilities to "leave home" and be increasingly included in society. The most evident example is the popularization of motorized wheelchairs, which are more efficient and present decreasing costs; technological innovation increases the number of people who can now have their autonomy expanded, strongly aiding inclusion. Moreover, a new trend aiding the propagation of sustainable mobility is the system of sharing alternative means of transport, such as bicycles. This idea, although having first appeared in 1965 in the Netherlands, has only recently popularized, and arrived in Brazil in the form of PedalaRio in 2008, which, in 2011 was replaced by BikeRio. Its popularity can be evidenced by the fact that, in 2017, considering only the city of Rio de Janeiro, the bike-sharing system generated more than 3.000 tons of carbon credit (Bike Magazine, 2017). However, people with disabilities, elderly, pregnant people and people with reduced mobility are not included in most of those initiatives. This project aims to develop Mob Livre, a system of equipment sharing whose objective is to expand this new trend to the portion of the population previously excluded from other projects. It is a telemetry platform which brings together concepts of artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and Cloud Computing, made available through a mobile application, whose objective is to control and monitor data and electrical equipment for active mobility, such as the coupling system KIT LIVRE, electrical tricycles, motorized wheelchairs and other mobility-aiding equipment. Its functionality is not limited only to the supervision of the equipment's location, but it expands to functions such as route analysis, information disposal regarding instructions, maintenance and usage characteristics of the equipment. This control and feedback can be expanded and customized if the user wishes to integrate sensors or homonymous cameras. The Mob Livre platform will also have a physical station dedicated towards the storage and charging of batteries of the equipment made available for use. With a complete hardware and software solution, Mob Livre aims to create a unique experience in sustainable and inclusive mobility for its users, contributing to the improvement of their quality of life and optimizing their time spent in daily activities. The station also makes use of renewable technologies to contribute to the capture of energy to carry out the charging of its devices. Solar plates will be responsible for capturing solar energy and transforming it into electrical energy to assist in charging the devices. The business model will operate in the system of remuneration per minute of use of the equipment made available in the Mob Livre micro mobility stations. In addition, recurring revenue from brand activation of partners, such as small businesses, is estimated. (AU)