Development of smart locks supporting the share cycle "Charichari" and Soracom (1/2)

　We asked Neuet, which works on the share cycle service "Charichari", about the development of a smart lock that literally key to the service.What are the difficulties of developing smart rock development, which are the basis of the service of opening a bicycle key from your smartphone and capturing location information?

From Melchari to CHARICHARI, in Fukuoka City, already on the feet of citizens

　Charichari is a share cycle service launched by Mercari's subsidiary in Fukuoka City in February 2018.Originally known as the name of "Melchari", it has been changed to a service name Charichari after the business entity moved from Souzou to the current Neuet (Newt) in 2019.The red bicycle was a landmark from the beginning, but the identity is still protected.

　A simple service that you can check the bicycle in the nearby port from the smartphone app, use it for 6 yen for 6 minutes, and finish using it on various ports.Following Fukuoka City, the service was started in Nagoya in July and Tokyo in September.It is a service of a share cycle ride share where major and emerging players are crowded, but the service is still growing the fastest growth as Charichari.

　In particular, Fukuoka City, which has been developing with local governments since the start, has already secured more than 370 ports in the Tenjin / Hakata area, and recently announced the expansion of the use area in Higashi Ward.The number of bicycles has reached 2,200 units, and the number of rides has exceeded 5.5 million times a day, a total of 12,000 times a day, and seems to have been completely established as a daily foot of Fukuoka citizens.

　The introduction of electric assist bicycles with high needs is nearing, and not only "little riding" but also long -distance movement is expected.Also, although it is not well known, Neuet's parent company Clara Online is focusing on bicycle -related businesses and businesses with China, so it is quite one -stop from the manufacturing and development of the body.It's unique.

Trial and error to realize "it is natural"

　Shinya Hiruda, who has been involved in service development since the Melchari era, is the point of share cycle operation: "Locking and locking properly", "Efficiency of operations such as reorganizing bicycles", and "ease of use of apps".Is listed.This is a smart lock that accurately grasps the location and time of the bicycle to get on and off the bicycle, and realizes the key to the key.Mr. Hiruda pointed out that "it is possible to unlock a bicycle from the app and ride a bicycle from a customer.

Neuet VP of Engineering Shinya Hiruda

　The first smart lock in the Melchari era was a mechanism to unlock the key from the server according to the request of the app.As a result, it took almost 10 seconds to unlock it, and there was a weak point that the battery decreased quickly to keep it connected to the server.Mr. Hiruda said, "Initially, I was charging while running on a dynamo, but I couldn't catch up at all.Looking back.In the first place, it was difficult to accurately grasp the location information with the GPS mounted on the smart lock, and it was necessary to use the application together because the position could not be grasped in the underground or eaves.

　Apart from these hardships, I felt the possibility of the service itself, so I worked on the second -generation smart rock development in parallel.Unlocking, which had previously required communication with the server, was changed so that it could be performed directly via Bluetooth from the app, and the response was reduced to a few seconds.In addition, since the location information was transmitted to each other so that it was not required to communicate at all times, the consumption of the battery was greatly reduced.It is also possible to charge the solar panel in the basket, and the problem of power consumption has progressed significantly.

　The adoption of SORACOM is actually from the second generation smart lock."Originally, it was a specification to put a card -shaped SIM, but I was worried that it could withstand the hot and humid climate in Japan. Bicycles have a large vibration, so there is a risk that will come off. If possible, I want to use ESIM.It was SORACOM who arrived. "(Mr. Hiruda).

Soracom seen by an engineer who went from the embedded to IoT

　Although it was a second -generation smart lock that could solve a major issue, there was a problem that the contents were black box because the hardware used in China was customized."At that time, I could only choose something to customize something, but considering the future production, I thought it was a risk that parts and firmware could not be tampered with" (Mr. Hiruda).Decided to develop a rock himself.Kosuke Matsui has applied for a hardware engine recruitment.

Neuet Embedded Engineer Kosuke Matsui

　Matsui has worked at a family business printing company for nearly 10 years, and has had the experience of jumping into the embedded equipment industry to develop the microcomputer that he was interested in.He has been working on hardware development in several companies, and he has joined Neuet and develops smart locks as a hardware engineer.

　Mr. Matsui said, "Built -in devices have been working independently, which has not been connected to the Internet for a long time. It was a closed world product.I was looking for engineers because I needed a new smart lock development.

　From Matsui, who stepped up from built -in devices to IoT, Soracom was a groundbreaking.In the prototype of a medical device manufacturer, a WiFi module was used to upload medical data to the Internet, but it was expensive and there were many inconvenienced communications."I have been doing it since the IoT was called ubiquitous, but I was just playing with the microcomputer, but suddenly connected to the net or raising the data, I knew what to do.Matsui recalled, "said Matsui.

　However, SORACOM just connects to the microcomputer and quickly leads to the net.Mr. Matsui, who had been using it personally before changing jobs, said, "It was impossible to keep raising a small amount of data on the Internet. The development period was on a yearly basis, and expensive equipment was needed, but SORACOM.If there is, sending data from the microcomputer to the cloud can be easily and cheaply done. You can do what you want to do from one to ten, and even amateurs like me can have a veteran -like face.(Laughs) "