Goodyear’s Smart Tires Can Sense Rain And Ice For Improved Emergency Braking

Under caller rules announced past year, each cars sold successful nan US will petition to recreation pinch automatic emergency braking by 2029. But automakers are asking for a delay, saying nan exertion isn’t bully enough, peculiarly successful adverse conditions.

Here’s Goodyear to nan rescue. The tyre institution teamed up pinch TNO, an independent investigation connection based successful nan Netherlands, to nutrient a tyre embedded pinch sensors that tin observe slick, susceptible roadworthy conditions and tin too activity pinch a vehicle’s precocious driver-assist system. The caller exertion is being rolled retired astatine CES successful Las Vegas this week.

The thought is to trigger nan vehicle’s automatic emergency braking (AEB) strategy earlier erstwhile an obstacle successful nan roadworthy is detected and erstwhile roadworthy conditions are dangerous. With a safer braking distance, a conveyance is small apt to collide pinch different stopped conveyance aliases different entity successful nan road, Goodyear says.

Road conditions tin find really apt a conveyance is to successfully brake earlier nan collision. Typical AEB systems are tuned for high-friction surfaces for illustration barren asphalt. But pinch Goodyear’s smart tyre technology, named SightLine, nan institution says it tin successfully forestall collisions moreover successful low-friction environments for illustration rain, snow, aliases ice. The caller strategy tin moreover activity astatine speeds of up to 50mph (80km/h), Goodyear says.

“The AEB tin beryllium assertive way earlier,” said Werner Happenhofer, vice president of tyre intelligence and e-mobility solutions astatine Goodyear. “They say, ohio well, clasp a minute, my maximum deceleration imaginable is astir apt conscionable half a G because of nan small conflict potential. Hence nan system would respond measurement earlier if it spots a situation where a clang is imminent.”

Goodyear first announced SightLine successful 2021 arsenic a suite of “smart tire” technologies enabling tires to measurement their ain aerial pressure, consciousness nan magnitude of conflict betwixt nan rubber and nan roadworthy surface, and observe erstwhile nan rubber is becoming excessively worn. Now, nan institution says it plans connected pitching its SightLine-equipped tires and package to automakers arsenic an added accusation strategy for AEB.

“We recreation nan automotive embedded package standards,” Happenhofer said, “so we tin merge very easy pinch immoderate of nan OEMs and Tier 1 systems.”

The caller exertion has arrived astatine an opportune moment. Last year, nan National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized a caller norm requiring each vehicles sold successful nan US to personification AEB by 2029. Around 90 percent of light-duty vehicles connected nan roadworthy coming recreation modular pinch AEB. But regulators are requiring automakers to adopt a overmuch robust type of nan exertion that tin extremity vehicles stepping astatine higher speeds and observe susceptible roadworthy users for illustration cyclists and pedestrians moreover astatine night.

The car industry, though, has asked for a clasp successful nan implementation of nan rule, arguing that complying pinch nan caller norm would beryllium “practically intolerable pinch disposable technology.” But Goodyear says nan exertion will exist, and it intends to fto its automotive partners cognize astir it.

“The exertion is disposable and it’s just an clasp of immoderate of nan different activity we’ve been doing for a less years now,” said Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s vice president for world invention and nan company’s main exertion officer. “Success retired of this is [the automakers] scope retired [to us] and say, ‘Oh, hey, let’s spot really you tin thief america meet that regulation. We didn’t really deliberation that nan tyre could thief america to do that.’”

When it will beryllium disposable is still TBD. Goodyear spokesperson Caitlyn Duran said today’s announcement is astir a exertion objection “showcasing nan imaginable benefits of specified an integration, and not an in-market product.”