Researched and developed in Taiwan, OTO Hunter is a smart solution that integrates Sigfox's world-leading IoT connectivity service to greatly reduce the power consumption of smart locks. This solution will resolve the ongoing global issues of maintaining shared bicycles.

Recently, indiscriminate parking of shared bikes on the streets has rapidly gained the concerns of city planners and urban administration authorities all over the world. A major waste in resources and an environmental pollution problem, how to manage shared bicycles in an effective and sustainable model is one of the greatest challenges facing shared bicycle operators today.

The shared bicycle market is split into docked and dockless bicycles. Ineffective asset management, high operation, and maintenance costs are problems affecting most operators. Most bicycles on the market currently adopt short-range wireless technologies, such as a traditional cellular network, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. For 2G or 3G schemes, the high cost in implementation is unsustainable in the long term. Whereas for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the high power consumption and inefficient communication make them a poor choice operationally. This directly impacts the positioning and operational costs of shared bicycles on the market.

By integrating a smart lock with Sigfox's transmission technology (its power consumption is 10% of NB-IoT, 5% of traditional 2G and 3G networks, and does not incur any international roaming charges). Operators of shared bicycles can now use this solution to manage their assets globally, effectively and at a much lower cost.

In addition, GPS and geo-fencing capabilities in the smart lock can inform operators of the exact whereabouts of their bicycles, greatly reducing the risk of assets being stolen, going missing or being vandalised. With these features, more diversified functions and value-added services can be expected in the future.

"We are proud to be part of this state-of-the-art product," Derrick Wei, CEO of M2COMM, said. "With its wide coverage and low energy consumption, Sigfox is surely the most-suited LPWAN technology to enable IoT use cases like this. To optimize the product advantage, however, it takes close collaboration between chipset and solution vendors to deliver the result. With M2C8001 single-chip, OTO Hunter is enabled with global coverage and offers best-in-class battery life, 10x better than 2G offering, for shared-bike industry. A similar design can be enabled for other applications requiring tracer capability in all Sigfox coverage terrains"

Fox-Tech will resolve the operators' problems by offering integrated solutions through Sigfox transmission technology and cloud-based services. These solutions can then be deployed to any Sigfox operated countries worldwide, particularly in Europe.

At the Sigfox World IoT Convention held in Czech Republic last year, Fox-Tech made an announcement to adopt Sigfox to develop exclusive IoT tracking and locating features. With the LPWAN transmission channel and accurate geolocation, it is simply the best option for tracking dockless shared bicycles.

General Manager Dai from Might Electronic said, "With over 30 years of experience specialising in the OEM business of PCB and electronic assembly, Might Electronic is committed to ensuring premium hardware quality for the smart lock. Together with Sigfox IoT technology, Might Electronic will transform and unify the traditional IoT ecological chain in Taiwan to lead the international development of IoT solutions and drive the future of lifestyle technology."