This Scooter Might Be Smarter Than I, And I’m Not Sure How I Feel About That
Image Credit: Omoway.
Over the years, I’ve parallel parked cars that felt like landing a 747, I’ve tried to elegantly dismount from motorcycles with all the grace of a newborn foal, and I’ve certainly had my fair share of “where on earth did I leave my scooter?” moments in a crowded city square. So when a new electric scooter comes along that seems to have solved all of these problems without any help from me, I’m both impressed and a little offended.
Meet the Omo X, the latest creation from a new company called Omoway. At its big debut in Jakarta, it didn’t just sit there looking pretty under the stage lights, since that would be far too boring. Instead, it just drove itself onto the stage. No rider, no remote control visibly in sight, just a scooter with a mind of its own, rolling out to greet the world. It was the most dramatic entrance by an inanimate object I’ve seen in years.
Image Credit: Omoway.
This party trick is powered by a system Omoway charmingly named “Halo Pilot.” It sounds like something from a video game, and honestly, its list of skills isn't far off. The company says this scooter has adaptive cruise control, can be summoned with your phone like a loyal robotic puppy, and it can park and reverse all by itself. I’ve seen teenagers spend three months and half their parents’ sanity trying to learn that. This two-wheeler just does it.
The list of "things it does better than I" continues. It has a full suite of safety features borrowed from the world of high-end cars - collision warnings, emergency brake assist, and blind spot monitoring. It can even communicate with other vehicles through something called V2V, or vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This scooter is basically ready to join a group chat with the car in front of you to coordinate braking.
Image Credit: Omoway.
While we know all about its prodigious brain, some of the more traditional specs are still a bit of a mystery. Omoway has been a little coy about things like exact power output, top speed, or how far it can go on a single charge. We know it’s expected to launch in early 2026 for around $3,800, but we don't know if it has the legs for a long commute or just a quick, albeit very smart, trip to the coffee shop.
What we do know is that it’s a master of disguise. The Omo X is built on a modular frame, which is a fancy way of saying it has multiple outfits. You can set it up in a classic step-through scooter style for easy city riding, a sportier "straddle" configuration, or even a full "touring" posture for when you want to feel like you’re on a proper long-distance machine. It's the multi-tool of the scooter world.
Image Credit: Omoway.
This all sounds wonderful, but it does lead me to my favorite question: But why? A self-parking scooter is an amazing feat of engineering, but is it solving a problem that scooter riders in, say, Southeast Asia - its initial target market - actually have? This is a region where over 120 million people get around on two wheels because they are simple, rugged, and affordable.
I can just picture the scene now. A rider somewhwere in busy Jakarta, weaving through traffic, thinking, “If only my scooter could handle my social media and schedule its own charging appointments.” The level of tech here feels a bit like using a supercomputer to toast a piece of bread. It’s impressive, sure. But is it really necessary?
Image Credit: Omoway.
All my gentle ribbing aside, I have to admit, I’m completely charmed. In a world of incremental updates, Omoway, a company started by former executives from the electric car maker Xpeng, has decided to swing for the fences. Instead of playing safe and building just another electric scooter, they’re building a two-wheeled robot assistant.
And that’s what makes this so exciting. Even if some of the features feel like a solution looking for a problem, the ambition is infectious. Pushing the boundaries of what a vehicle can be is how we get to the next great thing. Will the Omo X be a runaway success or a quirky footnote in the history of electric vehicles? It’s too soon to say. But a little more cleverness in the world, even in our scooters, can’t be a bad thing.
