Ofo to utilize homegrown BeiDou navigation system

Ofo bikes are lined up outside a subway entrance in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, Jan 19, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Chinese bike-sharing startup ofo will equip its bicycles with BeiDou-enabled smart locks, as part of its efforts to leverage the nation's homegrown BeiDou navigation satellite system to offer better positioning services for consumers.

Ofo inked a deal with the local company，which is roughly translated as BeiDou Navigation Service (Beijing) Co Ltd，on Thursday, under which its bikes in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province will be the first group to have BeiDou-enabled smart locks.

Dai Wei, CEO of ofo said, "The BeiDou locks are tailor-made for bicycles in the sharing-economy sector, which can help users better locate bikes in remote areas and boost operating efficiency."

Currently, Mobike, ofo's biggest rival, equips its bikes with GPS-enabled smart locks. GPS is a navigation satellite system developed by the United States.