Bosch eBike Systems enhances COBI.Bike App

Stuttgart/Reutlingen - The COBI.Bike app from Bosch eBike Systems now offers, on top of its other features, the new "Rydies" function - free of charge. This module allows eBikers to find the nearest public charging stations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on a map, which can then also be navigated to directly with the COBI.Bike app. "Rydies" appears as a standalone module in the COBI.Bike app, which is open to custom third-party applications thanks to its unique COBI.Bike DevKit developer platform. "The COBI.Bike app is a living product. It always offers users new added value and is continuously expanded with new features that make the eBike experience even richer and more individual," says Andreas Gahlert, Chief Digital Officer at Bosch eBike Systems.

COBI.Bike App is continuously expanding

The COBI.Bike DevKit developer platform is an important building block for the modular expansion of Bosch eBike connectivity. It contains different open source components to develop customised features for the COBI.Bike app. JavaScript applications can be easily programmed via the COBI.js interface, independent of Bluetooth connection, CAN bus or authentication. Because within DevKit, these often complex interfaces are automatically integrated. This not only saves developers time, but also gives them room to concentrate on the essentials - their creative ideas.

When it comes to coming up with ideas for the COBI.Bike app, the sky's the limit for developers and providers. In addition to "Rydies", the "SKS" module is now also available in the COBI.Bike app, a tyre pressure calculator developed by the company SKS GERMANY. This feature allows eBikers to calculate the optimal air pressure based on various data such as the bicycle type, the rider's weight and the tyre size. The free "Goals" feature has already been available since last year in cooperation with the football magazine Kicker: This allows eBikers to find out about all the scores and results of the 1st Bundesliga in real time while riding. Recently, the premium function Help Connect has also become available, which was developed in cooperation with Bosch.IO GmbH. This provides pedelec riders with a digital companion that alerts a trained service team in the event of a fall and further enhanses eBiking safety.

Development of new features for the 'Connected Biker'

Each feature is integrated into the COBI.Bike app in such a way that information is clearly displayed or transmitted acoustically via voice output. Since the applications can be operated by voice command or with the thumb-controlled control unit, both hands remain safely on the handlebars even while riding. Even the basic version of the COBI.Bike app offers everything an eBiker needs for a ride - with speed display, navigation, weather forecasts, fitness data or telephony.

Thanks to the COBI.Bike DevKit developer platform, the app can be expanded with additional smart functions. Registered developers can use the platform for free. "In our community, developers exchange ideas and develop the open source idea together. Everyone can contribute personally with their experience, which makes it easier for new members in particular to get started in our COBI.Bike ecosystem," says Gahlert.