How can companies ensure their sharable scooters are disinfected?

Go X, an operator of rentable e-scooters, has found a way to keep its products on the streets while maintaining cleaning and social distancing protocols. The company has teamed up with Tortoise, which makes autonomous software, for a pilot project that allows the scooters to move themselves.

For the next six months, all Go X scooters on the streets of Peachtree Corners, Ga., will be equipped with Tortoise’s cameras and remote-piloting technology. After each ride, the scooter will be remotely driven by a Go X employee to one of six disinfecting stations throughout the area. The scooters will move slowly, no more than 5 mph, and employees can drive them from the safety of their homes using a 4G network connection.

Once they reach the cleaning station, the scooters will be thoroughly disinfected by staff and given a sticker to show riders that they are clean. They will then be remotely piloted to a pickup location to await the next rider.