Food delivery giant Eleme wants to make riders safer with smart helmets

Recently, Eleme, China’s food delivery giant who rivals Meituan, was granted a smart helmet patent by China’s State Intellectual Property Office. According to the Office’s public records, Eleme’s helmet contains a number of modules.

There is a communication module which contains bluetooth and microphone, etc., which would allow riders to communicate directly with customers through the helmet, make voice calls without pick up their cell phones. There is also a detection module which contains pressure sensors and gravity sensors, which  can detect and identify abnormalities and trigger warnings as early as possible.

Lastly, there’s is also an prompt module, which connect’s to the rider’s Eleme account, and broadcast notifications for riders via the helmet, thus reducing the need for riders to look at their phones while on the road.

The smart helmet has reportedly been promoted nationally as a pilot program. Eleme is offering subsidies for each smart helmet, while allowing each rider to choose whether or not they wish to use the helmets according to their own needs.

Due to the need for speed while delivering foods, many riders have resort to violating traffic rules such as run red lights, going in the wrong directions and overspending to avoid late penalties. Riders’ safety and how riders’ behavior affect other drivers on the road has been the center of concern in the industry.

According to a white paper released by Shanghai Putuo District People's Court, disputes relating to traffic accident among food delivery riders have been increasing from 2016 to 2020. In the first half of 2019, a total of 325 traffic accidents involving riders and food delivery industry took place in Shanghai, resulting in 5 deaths and 324 injuries.