The Israeli startup company, hereO, has developed a platform that adds smart capabilities to a wide range of consumer products, from wearable gadgets to vehicles, and everything in between. For example, hereO's Core solution can turn any pair of bicycles into smart bicycles, thus allowing operators to know at any given moment where the bicycles are and in what condition. This development will facilitate the integration of electric bicycles in urban fleets.
hereO is one of the eight Israeli companies that reached the finals of the Visa's Everywhere innovation competition that took place recently in Copenhagen, out of nearly 200 companies from all over Europe. Participating companies were required to show how they will use the Visa APIs in the solutions they offer in three categories. hereO competed in the category: "urban transportation solutions".
Alon Gladstone and his two partners founded hereO a few years ago for the purpose of developing 'locator for children' - a device for locating children who disappear to their parents in crowded areas.
"The company's initial funding was in a crowdfunding campaign in 2014," says Gladstone. "We wanted to raise 100 thousand dollars and in the end we raised 215 thousand. In 2016 we started sending the product to those who backed us and to customers who bought the product after financing. After we received the feedback from 60 different countries, we upgraded the core technology of the device, so that it overcomes cellular reception problems that are common in many regions around the world, including the USA.
"After we sold about ten thousand devices, Intel joined us to develop an engine that supports Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi, GPS, cellular connectivity and a wide range of sensors including temperature and humidity sensors, barometer, compass, accelerometer and gyrometer. We realized that the initial application we had set for the device was only the tip of the iceberg, and that our system could be used for many other uses, including as the basis for a secure payment platform for lending mobile transportation devices mentioned earlier.
"Administrators of bicycle rental systems for trips within the city, for example, will be able to know at any given moment where the bicycles are, and not only when they are in their parking positions. It will also be possible to expand the rental to electric bicycles and electric scooters that are not used today due to their being expensive, without an effective means of preventing theft. You can disconnect the bike remotely, so that it cannot move. We will also be able to detect when users are handling the bike in a rude or careless manner and ultimately provide the operator with a scorecard for the user," explains Gladstone.
The company plans to test its IoT platform in collaboration with the manufacturer of electric bicycles and scooters, Inok, at the train station in Herzliya. The Chinese company Inoc, a manufacturer that ordered the anti-theft chip, decided to try to use it in collaborative electric bicycle driving projects. The idea is that the users will be able to rent the devices, place them wherever they want and not necessarily at a designated station, and the next user will take them from there."
Oded Salomi, CEO of Visa in Israel, said: hereO was among 8 Israeli companies that advanced to the final stage and competed for the prizes against 7 other young companies from around Europe. The competition was tough, but the contestants stood out with their innovative ideas, advanced technologies and advanced solutions, which will change the way people buy and use money."
Bill Gajda, senior vice president of innovation and strategic partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Visa, said: "We have been looking, and we continue to look, for a wide range of fintech solutions. In places like Tel Aviv, Berlin and London there are many companies that work in these fields. Israel is strong in many technologies. Not only in everything traditionally related to security. Israel is starting to become a world leader in the field of biometrics and now a vibrant Bitcoin community is also emerging there. In general, there are many good fintech companies in Israel that we want to work with and accelerate their development."
In order to contact Visa's innovation division in Israel, click HERE.
