Client problem
A mobility technology client required the development of a low-power street-based bicycle rental station capable of operating reliably in outdoor public environments with minimal installation and operational costs.
The platform needed to:
- Support unattended public bicycle rental operation
- Operate for extended periods using battery power
- Minimise installation costs by avoiding permanent mains infrastructure where possible
- Provide secure bicycle identification and docking
- Communicate with remote cloud systems over GSM networks
- Support large user and bicycle databases
- Operate reliably in harsh outdoor environmental conditions
- Allow remote software and content updates
Power efficiency, reliability and long-term maintainability were critical due to the distributed outdoor deployment model and battery-powered operation requirements.
Solution
Designed and developed a complete embedded bicycle rental station platform incorporating custom electronics hardware, embedded firmware, RFID-based bicycle identification, GSM communications and engineering support software.
The system architecture included:
- Ultra-low-power embedded control electronics
- RFID bicycle and user identification
- GSM cloud connectivity
- Colour LCD user interface
- Battery and optional solar-powered operation
- Embedded graphics and file management systems
- Smart lock control systems
- Real-time event logging
- Remote software and interface updates
- Engineer configuration and diagnostic tools
The platform was specifically engineered for extremely low power consumption, incorporating advanced power management and deep sleep functionality to achieve operational lifetimes of many weeks between battery replacement cycles.
A modular hardware architecture was also developed to support future scalability and additional station functionality while maintaining low manufacturing costs.
IBEX Role
- Full electronics hardware design
- Embedded firmware development
- System architecture and technical design
- PCB schematic and layout design
- RFID system integration
- GSM communications integration
- Ultra-low-power system design
- Battery and solar charging system design
- LCD graphics and UI framework development
- Database storage architecture
- PC-based engineering application development
- Remote firmware and graphics update systems
- Prototype development and manufacturing preparation
Technology Stack
- Embedded C/C++
- GSM / GPRS communications
- RFID systems
- RS485 communications
- Embedded graphics systems
- Battery and solar power management
- LCD UI frameworks
- microSD storage systems
- UART communications
- PC engineering software
- Embedded database systems
Challenges Overcome
- Achieving ultra-low-power operation for long-duration battery-powered deployment
- Designing reliable outdoor electronics suitable for harsh environmental conditions
- Managing complex power switching and subsystem sleep states
- Supporting secure bicycle and user identification using RFID technologies
- Implementing scalable embedded database storage and lookup functionality
- Designing remote software and graphical interface update mechanisms
- Integrating optional solar charging and intelligent battery management
- Maintaining low production cost while supporting future system expansion
- Engineering reliable locking and control systems for public unattended operation
Outcome
Successfully delivered a complete embedded bicycle rental station platform including custom hardware, embedded software and PC-based engineering tools.
The resulting system achieved multi-week battery-powered operation, remote management capability and scalable public bicycle rental functionality suitable for large-scale outdoor deployment.
