Ather Energy revealed the S340 - India's first smart electric scooter at the SURGE conference in Bangalore.
This e-scooter will be a game changer for the Indian e-bike market due to its connectivity features, uber cool dashboard, its lithium-ion battery, quick charging times, more power than current generation VRLA based e-bikes and remote diagnostics.
This e-scooter will be a game changer for the Indian e-bike market due to its connectivity features, uber cool dashboard, its lithium-ion battery, quick charging times, more power than current generation VRLA based e-bikes and remote diagnostics.
Ather S340
We profiled Ather Energy as India's most exciting EV startup back in 2014 and so it proved. After acquiring funding and support from investors, the result of last two years hard work is the Ather S340 electric scooter.
Ubercool Dashboard
The Ather S340 has GSM and Bluetooth connectivity. The dashboard uses Linux as the dashboard operating system, which would use Google Maps for navigation through the web browser. The apps would be simple HTML 5 apps.
We hope Ather would release an SDK for custom apps that could open up tons of possibilities.
The Ather S340 has GSM and Bluetooth connectivity. The dashboard uses Linux as the dashboard operating system, which would use Google Maps for navigation through the web browser. The apps would be simple HTML 5 apps.
We hope Ather would release an SDK for custom apps that could open up tons of possibilities.
Mobile Phone connectivity
Users will be able to track the e-bike using their smartphones, remotely control and monitor the vehicle, enable fast charging directly on the app.
Mr Tarun Mehta, co-founder at Ather says - "You could create custom riding profiles from your mobile phone itself, so that when the vehicle starts, on your profile, those settings will already be pre-saved. So you can specify, what kind of acceleration response, top speed you want, and then save them on your profile, and then go to the vehicle, and select your profile again, those are the exact settings you will find."
Another aspect of these profiles, is gamification. Apparently the team is working on the data analytics - like building their own profiles, to observe their energy efficiency.
Vehicle analytics can help inform the user if they are an unsafe rider who takes sharp turns, Mehta says, adding that good riding behavior would not influence just the battery lifecycle, but other components as well.
Mr Tarun Mehta, co-founder at Ather says - "You could create custom riding profiles from your mobile phone itself, so that when the vehicle starts, on your profile, those settings will already be pre-saved. So you can specify, what kind of acceleration response, top speed you want, and then save them on your profile, and then go to the vehicle, and select your profile again, those are the exact settings you will find."
Another aspect of these profiles, is gamification. Apparently the team is working on the data analytics - like building their own profiles, to observe their energy efficiency.
Vehicle analytics can help inform the user if they are an unsafe rider who takes sharp turns, Mehta says, adding that good riding behavior would not influence just the battery lifecycle, but other components as well.
Remote Diagnostics
Sensor data from at least four of its components (battery, motor, charger and the vehicle control unit) so they can inform the rider when a replacement is due or if there are any issues.
"Electric drive trains already have most of those sensors and data logging happening inherently," Mr Mehta says. "You just need to start tapping into it, and pile up software and intelligence on top of it, to come up with outcomes like this. As we get more and more data from the vehicles, our understanding and insights on this is only going to get far deeper."
"Electric drive trains already have most of those sensors and data logging happening inherently," Mr Mehta says. "You just need to start tapping into it, and pile up software and intelligence on top of it, to come up with outcomes like this. As we get more and more data from the vehicles, our understanding and insights on this is only going to get far deeper."
Range and Battery Life Cycles
When we spoke to co-founder, Mr Swapnil jain (our discussion video will come out soon in our Youtube channel), he did say that a range of 65 km is what they were looking at. But at the same time careful and efficient riding could bump it up to 75 km.
The lithium-ion battery pack are rated to last for around thousand recharge cycles, following which it will lose 20-30 percent of its original capacity. We estimate an efficient EV rider can extend the life of the Ather battery pack to upto 1500 to 2000 recharge cycles.
We did speak to Mr Swapnil about battery pack safety from bumps, accidents etc. Apparently the battery pack, encased in an aluminium block that's completely sealed, and waterproof, and functions three metres under water.
The lithium-ion battery pack are rated to last for around thousand recharge cycles, following which it will lose 20-30 percent of its original capacity. We estimate an efficient EV rider can extend the life of the Ather battery pack to upto 1500 to 2000 recharge cycles.
We did speak to Mr Swapnil about battery pack safety from bumps, accidents etc. Apparently the battery pack, encased in an aluminium block that's completely sealed, and waterproof, and functions three metres under water.
Launch - Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune
The S340 will first be available in three cities - Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai. The company will have service centres and experience centres operating in these three cities, where people can come and take a test ride.
You can pre-order now. There will be a waiting period of five to six months.
The startup has a plant for assembly in Whitefield, Bengaluru, to keep production as close as possible to the design centre. While the manufacturing of its components are being outsourced, the scooter is completely assembled, built and tested in Bengaluru. The battery pack is also completely assembled and built by Ather.
The S340 will first be available in three cities - Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai. The company will have service centres and experience centres operating in these three cities, where people can come and take a test ride.
You can pre-order now. There will be a waiting period of five to six months.
The startup has a plant for assembly in Whitefield, Bengaluru, to keep production as close as possible to the design centre. While the manufacturing of its components are being outsourced, the scooter is completely assembled, built and tested in Bengaluru. The battery pack is also completely assembled and built by Ather.
Final words
This is one cool looking e-bike. The connectivity features, super cool Linux based dashboard, remote diagnostics, fast charging of around 1 hour, and power matching petrol scooters. The Ather S340 is truly a next generation e-bike.
We at PluginIndia will review the bike and give you more real world details. Stay Tuned!
This is one cool looking e-bike. The connectivity features, super cool Linux based dashboard, remote diagnostics, fast charging of around 1 hour, and power matching petrol scooters. The Ather S340 is truly a next generation e-bike.
We at PluginIndia will review the bike and give you more real world details. Stay Tuned!
Update - 26/02/2016
We spoke to Ather about the booking and delivery process. They answered some questions.
Do ask other questions in comments and i can get the nice people at Ather to answer them for you guys.
Q) Pre-Booking is open now on your website? Is that right?
A. No. We have a basic Pre-order Interest form in the new website right now. If anyone is interested in owning an S340 they can fill in their basic details in it. The signed up enthusiasts will get all the updates regarding the product, features, pricing and timelines on a regular basis.
Q) Pre-order will happen after 2 and half months. Also what will happen after 2 and half months if i order now?
A. Once open for pre-orders, you will have to pay a minimum amount towards pre-booking the S340.
Q) When will experience centers open? Chennai, Blore and Pune (Any approximate month)
The first experience centre will open in Bangalore by May 2016. Other city roll outs will be in June-July.
Q) And finally - Estimated month of delivery?
Production is slated to start by end of this year. While technically shipping can start almost at the same, delivery dates will vary from 15-30 days depending on the city.
We spoke to Ather about the booking and delivery process. They answered some questions.
Do ask other questions in comments and i can get the nice people at Ather to answer them for you guys.
Q) Pre-Booking is open now on your website? Is that right?
A. No. We have a basic Pre-order Interest form in the new website right now. If anyone is interested in owning an S340 they can fill in their basic details in it. The signed up enthusiasts will get all the updates regarding the product, features, pricing and timelines on a regular basis.
Q) Pre-order will happen after 2 and half months. Also what will happen after 2 and half months if i order now?
A. Once open for pre-orders, you will have to pay a minimum amount towards pre-booking the S340.
Q) When will experience centers open? Chennai, Blore and Pune (Any approximate month)
The first experience centre will open in Bangalore by May 2016. Other city roll outs will be in June-July.
Q) And finally - Estimated month of delivery?
Production is slated to start by end of this year. While technically shipping can start almost at the same, delivery dates will vary from 15-30 days depending on the city.