West Bengal, India: IIT Kharagpur launches 4th generation “Make in India” Public Bicycle Sharing system including a smart electro-mechanical IOT module for locking bicycles and its software. Integrated Hardware, Software and Firmware development for a fully automatic bicycle lock and a cloud-based sharing system which is freely available on a subscription basis so that the system can be setup by private individuals without specialized equipment and personnel. This project is funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and involves pilot-scale demonstration within the IIT Campus. Dr. Subhas Sarkar, Minister of State for Education inaugurated the Public Bicycle Share System in the presence of Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Debapratim Pandit, Department of Architecture & Regional Planning, and other dignitaries.
PUBBS being a provider of a product-service system for enabling a smart and hassle free public bicycle sharing system that fasters bicycling for a sustainable future presents the following products, developed indigenously for enabling the service. One bicycle sharing app connects multiple PUBBS operator. Some of its important features are listed below:
- GSM/GPRS/GPS Manual Lock – features GSM/GPS/Communication; GPS Location tracking; theft detection with GPS location; energy efficient hardware design; enhanced battery life.
- GSM/GPRS/GPS Manual Lock- features GSM/GPS/Communication; GPS Location tracking; efficient locking and unlocking with robotic hardware driver; energy efficient hardware design; enhanced battery life.
- BLE Semi Automatic – BLE Communication; GPS Location tracking from user device; update circuit and battery protection; energy efficient hardware design; enhanced battery life.
- BLE Auto Lock – BLE Communication; GPS Location & operations Tracking from user device update circuit and battery protection; efficient locking & unlocking with robotic hardware driver; enhanced battery life.
Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, “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. We will make the system available free of charge initially for a few weeks and then make it available at a minor charge which will be fixed. PUBBS was also demonstrated at IInvenTiv 2024. A separate project proposal will be prepared before deploying the system on a commercial basis.”
The PI of the project Prof. Debapratim Pandit, Department of Architecture & Regional Planning, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “Multiple variants of the product are created including Bluetooth based, GSM-GPS based, Semi-automatic and Fully-automatic. The product offers extensive customization options based on product and operator requirements. This product will enhance last mile connectivity, reduce travel time and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The product has the potential to promote entrepreneurship where the rental/sharing system can be deployed using our cloud-based services with limited technical knowhow.”
City Future Research group of the Architecture & Regional Planning at IIT Kharagpur has also developed PUBBS Transit v2.0, India’s first Integrated Planning and Operation Software for Bus Transit Operators. This software can be used for building solutions synonymous to current manual practices of depot and rout0.32e level bus operations and management, with the advantages of artificial intelligence, information technology, and data visualization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsiD1oovee8&t=14s
