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Stark Drive Torque - NFC / Fingerprint Recognition - Say Goodbye To Keys

04/26/2019

Hello Everyone,

Development on the feature packed upcoming Stark Drive Torque (SDT) is progressing as planned and we are super excited to share with you some of our more recent accomplishments including a fully functioning fingerprint recognition solution that will be available for Stark Drive Torque doing away with the need to carry around a key in order to start the electrical systems on your bike as is the case now with our first two models Stark Drive and Stark Drive Mini as seen below.


We have opted to improve not only the security of SDT by enabling biometric authentication but also to improve the overall usability of the bike in some very significant ways. For example with a key based system (which is the common standard in the ebike industry) it's an excellent way to lock out the powered functions of an electric bike so that if for example the bike was stolen, the thief would not be able to take advantage of any type of electrical assist. They have still made off with the bike however which is why we have always offered GPS tracking solutions built into our electric bikes so that in the event the worst happens the bikes location can be triangulated to a smaller area and hopefully recovered.

Keys are great and while Stark Drive's company mission or 'mantra' has always been to lower the cost of entry into electric transportation. We achieved this with Stark Drive, which started at $399 and further went onto achieve this again with Stark Drive Mini which launched at an incredible $299.


It's Hard to Forget Your Finger

The problem with keys for me personally has always been that they are a physical object that must be carried with you and there are a limited number of them. For example Stark Drive only ships our bikes with 2 keys, sure you can make more yourself however in the event that you lose your key(s) you no longer have a way to start SD as we dont keep any records of your keys.

Share Stark Drive With Your Friends

There of course is a better way which is using biometrics such as your fingerprint. Apple brought this into the mainstream with their iPhone 5S which introduced fingerprint recognition a few years ago. A phone is considerably more 'personal' than a bicycle can be however that did not mean that people could then go ahead and share their phone by registering several different fingerprints on the device. The same is going to be true for SDT. The fingerprint reader can record several dozen fingerprints and once registered anyone of these registered fingerprints can unlock the bike. You can of course still opt to use 20th century technology and go 'keyed' however just as the horse and buggy was replaced with ICE's and will eventually succumb to pure electric transportation, we believe that keys will go by the wayside as technology makes other forms of 'unlocking' more accessible and useful.

Stark Drive Torque Fingerprint Solution Proof of Concept


The fingerprint reader will be electrically integrated and protected on Stark Drive and will function similar to models produced by the incredibly innovative

Greyp Bikes in Croatia

which have included this technology in their bikes for several years and with a starting price of about $10,000 they are excellent value for the raw power they pack in. We at Stark Drive strive to develop equally powerful technology for our electric bikes but at a price-point making affordable to anyone that wants one.

All Teslas Are Keyless

Tesla's did away with the key almost a decade ago with their vehicles opting instead for a keycard and eventually moving onto your mobile phone for authentication. In addition to fingerprint unlocking, SDT will also include NFC options for those that want to skip having to use their fingerprint and instead use their NFC enabled mobile phone or NFC keycard or ring which will be options available on SDT


Two factor authentication?

A key can be stolen, and so can a mobile phone so SDT will have the option of including more than one factor of authentication to enable the power systems if that is something that is important to you. Giving our supporters the choice of how they want to use the technology that we pack into Stark Drive is our number one goal.

SDT during our Launch campaign

We are building SDT from the ground up with our own trademarked frame design which works exclusively with the most powerful mid drive motor that BAFANG produces. Our Frame will support up to the Bafang Ultra Max mid drive motor which tops out from our supplier at 1000W however has been tested and works reliably at far higher power capacities. In fact the motor itself has been tested to work at 2500W noting that this is over 6X the average max power that a cyclist can sustain for a short period of time, if we are talking about a trained cyclist.

Configure Your Perfect Bike

As always our backers on the upcoming launch as can be seen here:

https://starkdrive.world/

Will be able to configure their perfect bike be it:

  • 36V total System power up to 48V of total system power
  • fingerprint recognition
  • up to 1000w Mid Drive Bafang Motor
  • NFC
  • battery capacities up to 22ah
  • FAT Tire or Standard
  • Color or B/W display
  • Ludicrous mode topping out at 60kph!
  • DISC or Hydraulic Braking System
  • and much more!

How does NFC work and how will it be implemented:

NFC stands for Near Field Communication and is included in most current generation mobile phones as a standard feature. Its currently mainly used for making wireless payments through services such as ApplePay or GooglePay. This allows you to skip the credit card or sliding or inserting anything into a machine and simply waive your phone above a reader. SDT will include a reader which will connect to the electrical systems on the bike so by using your mobile phone or another device you will be able to unlock the bike without needing a key. The NFC unlock can also be shared with those you would like to allow to use the bike when you are not using it.

We will publish more information about SDT over the coming weeks in preparation for our launch in August 2019.

Thank you

Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC