/ CORY DOCTOROW / 7:49 AM SAT DEC 8, 2018

$30 plug-and-play kit converts a Bird scooter into a "personal

scooter"

p
P
Privacy - Terms

When scooter companies like Bird started illegally deploying their gadgets
in city streets, there was intense interest in both the street value of the
components to be found within each of these VC-backed ewaste-in-waiting FROM THE BOING BOING SHOP
devices, and tactics for hotwiring them.
CuriosityStream:
Now, with hundreds of these scooters abandoned and rotting in impound 2-Yr Subscription
lots, likely never to be recovered, maybe now is a good time to invest in a
$30 scooter "conversion kit", which ships direct from China, and plugs-and-
plays to convert one of these scooters to a "personal scooter," with all
recovery and payment components permanently disabled. The Complete
Python Data
The subject of this conversion are scooters deployed by Bird, which Science Bundle
are in actuality Xiaomi MIJIA M365 scooters with a few added
electronics to connect to the Internet. The ‘conversion kit’ for a Bird
scooter comes directly from China, costs $30, and is apparently a The 2019 Ethical
plug-and-play sort of deal. The hardest part is nding a screwdriver Hacker Master
with the right security bits, but that again is a problem eBay is more Class Bundle
than willing to solve.

Right now, [humanbeing21] is in contact with a towing company that

Graphic Design
has well over a hundred Bird scooters on their lot, each accruing daily
Certi cation
storage fees. Since these scooters only cost about $400 new, we’re
School
probably well past the time when it makes sense for Bird to pay to get
them out of storage. This means they’ll probably be heading for an
auction where anyone can pick them up — all of them — for a uTalk Language
hundred bucks or so. Education:
Lifetime
Right now, scooter hacking is becoming one of the most interesting
Subscription
adventures in modern-day hacking. You’ve got batteries and
(Choose 6
electronics and motors just sitting there, ready for the taking (and yes,
Languages)
through these auctions you can do this legally). We’re looking at a
future lled with 18650-based Powerwalls from discarded electric
scooters and quadcopters built around scooter motors lling the skies.
See all deals
This is cyberpunk, and we can’t wait to see the other builds these
scooters will become.

Liberating Birds For A Cheap Electric Scooter [Brian

Bencho /Hackaday]

Convert a Bird to a Personal Scooter [Scooter Talk]

(via JWZ)

(Image: Hackaday)

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