The phrase “where the rubber meets the road” refers to the friction point when a situation gets serious. When it comes to track racing, the rubber (the tires) are the critical point of contact between the asphalt and the car itself. Tires make all the difference between a strong finish at the checkered flag and a horrific slide into the wall. And if they’re not working together, the whole system falls apart.
Knowing this intimately, Italian tire company Pirelli teamed up with juggernaut technology company Bosch to jointly develop and create a tire communication network. As such, Pirelli “Cyber Tire” contains a sensor that gathers and transmits data to the car, creating a connection that channels critical information. In essence, these sensors take a look at the temperature of the tires, tire pressure, the status of the road, and more, and advise the car’s controllers about adjustments that need to be made.
It’s as if each tire is an individual athlete, checking in with its sensors and chiming in with a “Put me in, coach”; or conversely, “We might need to take the intensity down a notch.”
Think way beyond tire pressure monitoring systems. This is the next level of information tires can collect, and the difference is akin to comparing a flip phone to a smartphone.
Tires that communicate more than just pounds per square inch
Pirelli began working on finding ways for its tires to “speak” directly to the car’s onboard computer nearly 25 years ago. However, it’s only in the last year that the company developed its partnership with Bosch. Collaborating with Bosch Engineering—which is well respected in the prestigious world of supercars like Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin and also works closely with typical commuter car manufacturers—the tire manufacturer harnessed the power of the technology giant’s high-end controllers.
“The aim was to get information from the tire, as the tire is the only point of…
Read the full article here
