---
title: "Autonomous Scooter Uses AI to Learn Your Favorite Routes"
description: "UK-based design agency Layer teamed up with Chinese electric car maker Nio to create a smart scooter that can learn where you want to go."
date: "2019-04-26"
modified: "2019-04-26"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/autonomous-scooter-ai-layer-pal"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "advanced transport"
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "electric scooter"
  - "the digest"
---

# Autonomous Scooter Uses AI to Learn Your Favorite Routes

![UK-based design agency Layer teamed up with Chinese electric car maker Nio to create a smart scooter that can learn where you want to go.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/autonomous-scooter-uses-ai-to-learn-your-favorite-routes.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Layer\</em\>*

## A Smarter Last Mile

UK-based design agency Layer has teamed up with Chinese electric car maker Nio to create a smart scooter that can learn where you want to go.

Once "Pal" learns your preferred routes, the smart scooter can autonomously take you to your destination. On its website, Layer [calls](<https://layerdesign.com/project/pal/#top-page>) the scooter a "near-future prototype" that "embraces AI and machine learning to offer flexible and convenient 'last mile' travel."

It's a stunning example of industrial design that could make short-distance travel much more convenient — whether it will ever actually be sold to the public or not.

https://youtu.be/XODiPmGjYSo

## Truly Modular

A number of accessories can be attached to Pal's steering column, including bags, baskets, and even a shopping cart.

The battery is a sleek little pod that can be swapped out when needed. A smartphone app hooks up to the scooter's electronics while a small, barely perceptible display on the top displays the speed and remaining charge.

And when it comes to riding, all you have to do is give your Pal a voice command. The brains behind the AI is Nio's Nomi system, an advanced AI assistant for its lineup of smart electric cars.

This is just a prototype, so no pricing or sale date. But if you happened to be around for design week in Milan, Italy, earlier this month, you might've had the chance to see it in person.

**READ MORE:** [Layer and Nio's intelligent Pal scooter learns your favourite routes](<https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/26/pal-scooter-layer-nio-electric-autonomous-machine-learning/>) \[*Dezeen*\]

**More on Layer:** *[These Futuristic Airplane Seats Could Make Flying Economy Better](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/airplane-seats-prototype-layer-move>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)