IIT Kharagpur launches cloud-based bicycle sharing for clean commute

IIT-Kharagpur has launched a bicycle sharing system, as part of an eco-friendly initiative for non-polluting and clean transport.

The ‘Public Bicycle Sharing System’ (PUBBS) launched on its campus will be initially rolled out free of cost for a few weeks, after which it will be available for a small fee on subscription, an official was quoted as saying.

"It has the potential to promote entrepreneurship where the rental/sharing system can be deployed using our cloud-based services,"Prof Debapratim Pandit of the Department of Architecture & Regional Planning, the department which was involved in the development of the 'Make In India' software said.

As part of the mechanism, a smart electro-mechanical IOT (Internet of Things) module is incorporated for locking the bicycles.

Anyone can set up the system without the requirement of any extraordinary equipment or personnel, the official stated. 

Funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the green project was demonstrated within the campus on a pilot level successfully the previous week, a spokesperson from the institute said. 

The features of the one bicycle-sharing app is for connecting with several operators of the bicycle sharing system, which also consists of GPS location tracking, detecting theft, and creating an energy-efficient hardware design which can be locking and unlocked using a robotic hardware driver, IIT-Kharagpur said.

Institute Director Prof V K Tewari said “PUBBS is the first 'Make in India' smart lock for bicycle/e-bike sharing system. Currently, we have manufactured our first batch of smart locks (Bluetooth based), and we plan to deploy the system for the benefit of guests at the Technology Guest House on campus." 
 
(With PTI Inputs)