By fitting a sensor in the tyre, Goodyear has developed an intelligent tyre.

Team CV

Tyres account for a big chunk of the operational expense of a commercial vehicle operator. The hard usage of commercial vehicles, and their extensive travel over widely varying surfaces, puts much load on the tyres. Also, the operation of commercial vehicles under different climatic conditions and for long hours results in tyres bearing the brunt. Ensuring that the tyres last longer, and provide optimum life under the conditions

commercial vehicles operate, Goodyear has develped an intelligent tyre that uses sensors and cloud-based algorithims to communicate with fleet operators via an App. The development may be limited to Europe and Africa at the moment, its proliferation to other markets of the world, including India, may not be far.

Fitted with not one sensor but a few, which gather data that is combined with the data from the vehicle itself and from third-party information, the intelligent tyre through the App. communicates performance and wear to ensure optimal use. Going a step ahead of the use of tyre pressure monitors that involve a sensor situated at the tyre valve level, the intelligent tyre works by gathering data and feeding it into Goodyear’s algorithms. Information on tyre status including wear, temperature and pressure is continuously updated and shared with fleet operators. This provides a continuous stream of data sharing and helps the tyres to operate in optimum condition. This,

in-turn helps not only to reduce downtime, but also to maximise cost efficiency. With Goodyear estimating a rise in shared mobility from four-per cent global kilometres in 2015 to over 25 per cent global kilometers in 2030, technologies like intelligent tyres are set to play an important role in efficiency and environmental care.

With shared mobility set to grow, and in a way where kilometers driven per vehicle will substantially increase, the need to pro-actively manage tyre service issues will grow. In the case of shared fleet operators, such a need will have to be carefully managed since it will be critical to both, the customer in terms of experience and the business model of the operators. An interesting part of the development of intelligent tyre developed by Goodyear is the real-time information of its performance and wear; real-time formation about the service needs of the tyre, the fuel economy and other information. The pro-active maintenence the tyre will enable, will allow fleet operators to precisely identify and resolve tyre-related and potential service issues before they happen.