Many companies have participated in the RFID/USN Korea 2009 to show their innovative technology related to RFID. Energy savings and a clean environment are two key issues that most industries are focusing on. One of the solutions is to use more bicycles instead of gasoline-powered cars.
Currently, the government is building more bicycle roads to encourage people to use bicycles and new policies will also improve the conditions. The RFID/USN Korea 2009 introduced a few public bicycle rental systems.
Victek Company's ubiquitous public bike system offers a bike rental service to the public. The system consists of a kiosk, a bike holding fixture, and a bike with a rental device built in. After registration, a renter can use a credit card, mobile phone, or member id card to rent a bicycle. An electricity generator is installed on the front wheel of the bicycle and charges the built-in monitoring device. The monitor displays various information including distance traveled, traveling time, and amount of calories burned. Currently, 200 bicycles are running in the City of Daejeon, and expansion will follow after next month.
Initus is another company that offers a public bicycle rental system. The biggest problem of the current system is that each bicycle needs a holding fixture, and crowded places such as near subway stations and bus stops do not have enough holding fixtures available. Initus' patented technology uses a cable to hold the bicycle, which does not require holding fixtures for each bicycle. Since the monitoring system is built in to the bicycle, the renters can use a cable to connect to the base station or to other bicycles when they return. It is easy to expand the base station without a high cost of construction and space.
Currently, there are no standards for bicycle rental systems in Korea. When the government sets new policies and standards, the companies will improve the system and make it more convenient for people to use. The future of the environmentally-friendly bicycle industry is bright.
