Goodyear connected tyres concept – 30% shorter stopping distance with tyre-to-vehicle communication

Tyre manufacturer Goodyear has been running road tests and other field trials for its tyres embedded with sensors, which transmit information regarding the tyres’ characteristics, the company said. This is particularly important with the evolution of road vehicles towards autonomous operation, the company said.

Initial studies have shown that connected tyres – ones embedded with sensors – can reduce the loss of stopping distance between a new and used tyre by 30%, it said. The tyre manufacturer’s connected, intelligent system continuously measures and records tyre-derived information, which is then paired with other sets of vehicle data and connected to Goodyear’s proprietary, cloud-based algorithms, it said.

The data measured in real time includes tyre wear, load, inflation, temperature and road surface conditions; with the data transmitted to the vehicle, it can then adjust and respond accordingly to these measurements and optimise the vehicle’s performance as a result, says Goodyear.

“Consider someone driving on a slick, curvy road in wet conditions. The driver adjusts his movements by slowing down, tapping the brakes or avoiding sudden steering. But what about when nobody is behind the wheel? The tyre is the only part of the vehicle that touches the ground and it can communicate vital information to the vehicle, enhancing safey and performance,” said chief technology officer Chris Helsel.

Though these connected tyre technologies have yet to become available to consumers, Goodyear has so far elapsed a 4.8 million km equivalent in data collected from road tests and other field trials, and these connected tyre are being continuously tested with automakers and other automotive suppliers. The information collected will go towards developing custom products and solutions for improved road safety for eventual use by consumers, said Goodyear.

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