The Cyber Tire from Pirelli
Everything seems as if it’s “smart” nowadays. You can get smart refrigerators, smart lights, smart locks for your doors, and now smart tires. What exactly makes a tire smart? According to Pirelli, the manufacturer of the new “Cyber Tire”, their tires can sense if you’re losing traction and radio that information to you while you’re driving. In some cases, Pirelli says, the tires can integrate with the cars onboard safety features and make corrections for you.
Pirelli’s Cyber Tires basically have sensors that can communicate with your vehicle and by proxy, to you. These tires can not only relay information to your vehicle, they can also communicate with the wireless networks of racetracks. Better yet, these new tires can make autonomous vehicles more sensitive to road conditions.
Autonomous Cars Get a New Sense
Autonomous vehicles use several methods to “sense” what is in front of them. These include radar, sonar, and lidar. Lidar uses light from pulsed lasers to measure the distance of objects. With Pirelli’s new Cyber Tires, autonomous cars will also gain a sense of “touch”.
The tires have a sensor embedded in the rubber that relays information back to the vehicle. The sensor, experts from Pirelli say, is shaped like a sombrero and about the size of a quarter. With sophisticated software, it can relay information about road conditions to the onboard engine control unit where it can make recommendations on what the vehicle should do.
The first models will be used by race car drivers and communicate with the wifi infrastructure of tracks, but the first smart tires may be finding their way into the general markets sooner than you think. While the technology is still experimental, innovations like these could prove extremely beneficial to regular drivers.
One potential pitfall is making Pirelli’s system fully integrate with the car manufacturer’s smart features. The biggest hurdle will be integrating the new technology with the old technology so that drivers get the most out of the new smart tires.
As the sole company that provides tires to Formula One, it seems more than likely that Formula One racecars will act as the guinea pigs for Pirelli’s smart tire. Pirelli has also been active in relaying data gleaned from its smart tires concerning road noise and more.
It’s not uncommon for racetracks to be the frontier of new technology. The bead, which was the last great advancement in tires, also got its start on the racetrack. Racecars also provide extreme stress tests for vehicles which can help determine whether or not a tire is safe for your typical everyday driver.
Talk to a Florida Tire Liability Attorney Today
If you’ve been injured in a tire blowout accident, the Coral Gables tire defect attorneys at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert can help determine who is liable. The tire manufacturer may be liable in a defective tire accident. Call us today to set up a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.
Resource:
nytimes.com/2020/02/13/business/smart-tires-pirelli.html
https://www.tiredefectattorney.com/arkansas-court-of-appeals-upholds-ruling-against-hankook-tire/
