Smart scooter, the future of electric mobility is at CES

Smart scooter – A new electric scooter manufacturing company would like to solve the problem of charging the battery by completely eliminating the need to do so.

The Taiwanese startup gogoro plans to create a network of battery swapping stations in major cities around the world. The new Smart scooter will have a battery interchangeable which the company says will be possible to replace in just one six seconds in one of the stations provided within the Gogoro Energy Network. When the battery is about to run out, you can visit a network charging point and change the old batteries for new ones. A demonstration video shows a pilot lifting the battery cover and pulling two out of the milk bottle-sized handle; then he deposits them in the special compartment provided in the charging area and takes new ones for his scooter. Presented at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas the Smart scooter has a maximum speed of 95 km/h and, through the use of their smartphone, it will also allow the driver to adjust the scooter's accelerator response; since it is connected to the cloud it will be able to tell the pilot when and where to recharge the batteries if the levels are too low.

Gogoro plans to build a network of charging stations across cities, where Smart scooter owners would have to pay a monthly subscription to use them, which would replace the monthly budget for traditional petrol. The scooter has an included autonomy range between 48 and 96 km with a set of batteries. Gogoro did not say how much the new scooter will cost or even how much a subscription to it will cost Gogoro Energy Network. One of the main objectives of the company is to contribute to reduce pollution in urban areas, particularly in Asia.

Gogoro, founded by Horace Luke and Matt Taylor, former executives of smartphone maker HTC, has already secured it $150 million in funding. "The Smartscooter and Gogoro Energy Network will capture the hearts of the next generation and become a more efficient, cleaner catalyst for smarter energy choices envisioned in our cities“, said Horace Luke, who also promised how the Smartscooter will be launched, most likely, in 2015.