STMicroelectronics helped Panasonic Bike Technology bring artificial intelligence to electric bikes

     Panasonic Bicycle Technology Co., LTD. (Panasonic) has announced the development of the TiMO A electric bicycle using the STM32F3 microcontroller (MCU) and edge artificial intelligence development tool STM32Cube.AI. St's Edge AI solution provides Panasonic with a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) that utilizes advanced AI capabilities to improve bike safety and convenience.

     Panasonic is one of Japan's domestic head electric bicycle manufacturers, providing various uses of electric bicycles for the Japanese market, of which the campus commuter electric bicycle TiMO A uses STM32F3 MCU to run tire pressure monitoring artificial intelligence applications, without pressure sensor data, only the motor sensor and bicycle speed sensor data information. Can infer whether the tire pressure is normal, when the need to inflate the tire, the system will issue a tire pressure warning. St's edge AI development tool STM32Cube.AI enables edge AI capabilities to be deployed in the STM32F3 MCU. This new feature simplifies tire pressure maintenance, improves rider safety, and extends the life of tires and other components by eliminating the need for additional hardware, such as pressure sensors, and also helps reduce costs and design effort.

     Hiroyuki KAMO, Manager of Software Development Group, Panasonic Bicycle Technology Corporation, said: "Our mission in developing electric bicycles is to provide an environmentally friendly, safe and comfortable means of transportation that everyone can afford and use. ST's STM32F3 MCU makes e-bikes cost competitive as well as superior features and performance. The STM32F3 MCU is paired with the STM32Cube.AI, allowing us to implement innovative AI capabilities without changing the hardware. We will continue to add a range of AI-enabled vehicles, leveraging ST's edge AI solutions to fulfill our mission."

     Marc Dupaquier, General manager of Artificial Intelligence Solutions at ST, said: "ST has been actively working to promote edge AI hardware and software globally, providing edge AI solutions for a wide range of products from industrial to consumer products. "This collaboration marks a key step for us and we are excited to be able to help Panasonic electric bikes achieve AI capabilities for the first time." We will continue to develop AI use cases and solutions suitable for different markets to help people improve their lifestyles."