Podbike
A native application to control an innovative electric vehicle
Client: Podbike
Solution: Mobile App, Firmware Support
Release date: February 2025
About Podbike
The Frikar e-bike was created to make cycling appealing for everyone, all year round, with a focus on safety, sustainability, practicality and good design. It aims to bridge the gap between bicycles and cars by combining the comfort and safety of a car with the environmental and health benefits of cycling. The concept builds on years of research, development and experience with e-bikes and velomobiles.
Project goal
Podbike already had a mobile solution in place, but the legacy codebase required extensive maintenance and updates. The decision was made to rewrite the application using native technologies (Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android).
They sought a reliable partner with proven expertise in mobile development and connectivity. Additionally, part of the project focused on improving the firmware to ensure stability and overall system efficiency.
Roles in the project:
Podbike Team:
• Provided technical documentation for firmware and backend
• Actively participated in mobile app development and gave continuous feedback throughout the project
Softcraft Team:
• Solution Mobile Architect
• Native Developers (Android, iOS)
• QA
• Project Manager
The main task of the development team was to rebuild the existing application using native technologies. Working within the Scrum framework, the team delivered successive increments on a predefined schedule.
The Challenge:
The primary challenge was effective communication and coordination between the development teams, particularly regarding the connectivity module. As the mobile development progressed, it became clear that some firmware protocols and modules required updates, rendering existing documentation outdated.
Ongoing collaboration was essential to avoid unnecessary costs or delays. Concurrent testing of changes on both the firmware and mobile sides was critical to ensuring continued progress and reliable integration.
The Solution
Drawing on our experience with mobile applications involving connectivity, we designed a robust architecture for native solutions. Given the customized nature of the firmware, several bespoke implementations were required—solutions not commonly found in off-the-shelf products.
Using the outdated application as a benchmark, we also introduced numerous UX/UI enhancements and optimized the app’s overall performance, especially regarding its BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) module.
Achievements
Thanks to the close collaboration between Softcraft, responsible for mobile app development and Podbike, in charge of firmware and backend, the project successfully delivered new mobile applications and a complete ecosystem.
The resulting system is modern, stable and high- performing—ensuring users can interact with their Frikar e-bikes smoothly and reliably through the mobile app.
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