Sensor-laden tires could play larger role in autonomous driving applications

As the number of connected cars on the road increases, and we move closer to the reality of autonomous, self-driving vehicles, every automotive system has become more intelligent. The number of electronic controllers and sensors increases with each model year, and each of those systems provides critical data that will play a role in making vehicles smarter.

That’s also true of tires. While tires already include a number of sensors, Goodyear recently unveiled two concept tires that showcase an impressive array of electronics and new physical designs that could make connected or autonomous cars safer to operate.

“By steadily reducing the driver interaction and intervention in self-driving vehicles, tires will play an even more important role as the primary link to the road,” says Joseph Zekoski, Goodyear’s senior vice president and chief technical officer. “Goodyear’s concept tires play a dual role in that future both as creative platforms to push the boundaries of conventional thinking and testbeds for next-generation technologies.”

“The market is moving toward autonomous vehicles, and that will change the role of the driver and of the tires,” says Troy Scully, communications director for global research and development at Goodyear. “The more intelligent the vehicles get, the more intelligent the tires have to get.”

The company showcased the tires at the Geneva International Motor Show earlier this year.

Goodyear floats spherical tire concept

Like concept cars, the tires feature a number of innovations that we’re not likely to see in actual tires any time soon, but that may slowly be incorporated into products over time.

That may be difficult to imagine, particularly in the case of the Eagle 360, a tire that is shaped like a basketball and relies on magnetic levitation.

The Eagle 360 concept tire is spherical shaped and features a sponge-inspired tread design (biomimicry) and multi-dimensional orientation. Because the tires are spheres rather than donuts, the vehicle could move any direction – a feature that would come in handy with self-driving cars, and even the self-parking vehicles that are already on the market.

The tread design was based on the structure of brain coral, and is responsive to road conditions. In wet conditions, the tire softens and becomes more flexible, providing better road grip. In dry conditions, it stiffens.

On the technology front, the tire is loaded with sensors that not only provide tire pressure monitoring, but also tread monitoring and regulation, as well as sensors that provide the ability to assess road and weather conditions.

The tire can even provide a safety boost by sensing nearby cars.

“With autonomous vehicles you reduce the responsibilities of the driver and put more onus on the car itself,” Scully says. “You rely more on cameras and sensors. From our perspective, there is no better place to have more sensors than in the tires themselves. We’ve been investing in this for a while. With embedded sensor technology, you can provide connectivity with vehicle control systems to take that concept even farther.”

The most far out aspect of the tires is that they would be attached using magnetic levitation, offering what would arguably be an incredibly smooth ride. A levitating suspension is probably pretty far off in the future, but Scully emphasizes that a lot of the technology already exists.

“That sounds like science fiction, but the concept is grounded on some pretty real technology,” Scully says. “There are high-speed bullet trains that operate on magnetic levitation. The technology is out there, and conceptually you could use that to support the vehicle in lieu of a suspension.”

In fact, a magnetic levitation train in Japan recently broke a speed record, reaching 373mph and covering 1.8 km in less than 11 seconds. It will be some time before there is an actual infrastructure to support these types of trains (the Japanese system is expected to go into operation in 2027), primarily because of cost concerns. There are operational magnetic levitation trains in other countries, though, and Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has been working on electromagnetic vehicle suspensions (a slightly different concept) for several years

Adaptive tires, additional data

The Intelligrip is a more traditional looking tire, but it is equally packed with technology. Using advanced sensor technology and a specially designed tread, the tire can sense road conditions and weather conditions. The tire also features active wear technology, which assesses the condition of the tire and the vehicle.

Custom algorithms monitor inflation pressure and tire temperature. As conditions change, the tire sends signals to the vehicle to adapt its speed to improve safety.

The technology on the tire can also shorten stopping distance and provide improved cornering response based on external conditions. The sensor systems can also be integrated with collision avoidance systems in the car. In autonomous driving scenarios, the tires would provide additional data to help the vehicle safely maneuver in traffic.

According to Scully, Goodyear is already working with OEMs on adapting chip-in-tire technology to their needs relative to electronic stability control, suspension control systems, and other types of integrations.

“These concept tires are fantastic platforms to drive conversations with OEMs and thought leaders, and to serve as a test bed for the underlying technologies that we are already developing today,” Scully says.

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