In major cities like Barcelona, ​​Paris, Copenhagen, Hangzhou, and New York, public bike-sharing systems play a vital role in efforts to make transportation more sustainable. To simplify bike-sharing, Mobilock developed a bike lock that uses a smartphone app as a key. The system can be deployed worldwide without checkpoints, docking stations, or storage facilities. Mobilock cleverly utilizes existing infrastructure such as bicycles, storage, and smartphones.
After launching Mobilock last January, the company was overwhelmed with requests from bike rental companies, holiday parks, hotels, and other businesses in the tourism industry. The first locks will be ready for market use in April.
KPN's LoRa technology is being implemented within the locks. LoRa stands for Low Power Wide Area Networks, and it enables billions of devices to connect over long distances using the internet, via 3G or 4G. Because LoRa chips and sensors require very little power, the system consumes almost no energy. A device connected to the LoRa network can send data and commands for 15 years using only two Penlite batteries.
For MobiLock, this technology offers several advantages. Bikes with this lock can be located and monitored in real time, even when someone is riding them. This improves bike-sharing management. "We are the first in the bike industry to implement this new technology," said Managing Director Walter Nieuwendijk, who developed this innovative technology with co-founder Willem-Jan te Riele. "Thanks to LoRa, rental companies can locate bikes at any time and see who is riding them. Furthermore, the system requires very little power, whereas older GPS systems—for example, those used in cars—require a lot of energy. With this addition, MobiLock becomes the most compact and comprehensive bike-sharing system in the world."

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