Tire manufacturers Bridgestone and Goodyear are working on technology that would allow tires on autonomous vehicles to monitor road conditions in real-time.
The data, captured by sensors, could help vehicles determine how soon to begin braking or how quickly to take a turn. The manufacturers, however, must first identify a power source for the sensors and learn how to combine the tires’ data with other vehicle data-collection sources.
Existing advanced tires already boast tire-pressure monitoring sensors and systems, but the features cannot provide data in real-time. Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s chief technology officer and senior vice president of operations, said that a real-time system would require a significant amount of power.
Bridgestone Americas Senior Vice President of Product Development Hans Dorfi suggested a potential power solution in energy harvesting. According to Dorfi, Bridgestone is exploring the process, which could power the sensor via energy created by a tire’s vibration.
Despite the potential benefits, John Baldwin, the senior vice president and chief product and technical strategist for Discount Tire, said the demand for tires with sensors is “simmering but not boiling.”
However, Helsel said the focus on advanced tires could grow as autonomous driving expands to climates with snow and ice. For example, Goodyear is collaborating with autonomous truck company Gatik on a pilot program that uses data to make self-driving cars safer in rainy and snowy conditions.
