Pirelli Cyber Tyre: Reinventing The Wheel

Motoring Channel Staff - 28/August/2008

Melbourne, Australia — The technology behind car safety has advanced significantly in the last 10 years, but one of the most important parts of car safety - the part that connects your car to the road - hasn't progressed as rapidly.

Pirelli is trialling a new type of tyre however that could usher in a new era of safety.

The Italian tyre maker says it is almost ready to release the 'intelligent tyre', which is expected to be on sale in 2010.

This new generation tyre has a microchip embedded within its carcass that can "supply essential information on the state of the tyre and on road conditions to the driver and car, making the electronic control of the car more efficient".

When fully integrated in a cars stability control system, the car could potentially predict loss of traction before it even occurs, rather than reacting milliseconds after the wheels lose traction.

According to Pirelli, this innovation delivers increased active and passive safety when driving.

Pirelli has outlined a two-stage approach to introducing the tyre onto the market: the Cyber Tyre Lean followed by the Cyber Tyre.

Cyber Tyre Lean: This is the first type that will be introduced in 2010 and is more basic than the Cyber Tyre. It features a small microchip glued to the inner liner of the tyre that, says Pirelli, can register data such as tyre pressure and temperature, as well as the average load of the vehicle. 

Pirelli says the device can also detect tyre anomalies, and the Cyber Tyre Lean even has a small amount of memory so it can store other data such as the type of tyre, the production date and the production site.

The Cyber Tyre Lean is self-powered explains Pirelli. It uses the kinetic energy from the mechanical vibrations transmitted to the device from the tyre as it turns, "so that it also has a zero maintenance cost and low environmental impact" says the Italian tyre maker.

Cyber Tyre: More complex and sophisticated, the the Cyber Tyre will be launched further down the track and will include an accelerometer to decipher even more data from the tyre.

Pirelli is calling the Cyber Tyre an "intelligent tyre". 

Featuring a triaxial accelerometer that measures acceleration on the three Cartesian axes (length, width, and height) the Cyber Tyre will deliver information to the cars computer on the actual and potential friction coefficients, the force of the contact between tyre and road, and on the load, instantaneously claims Pirelli. 

Simply put, it will communicate in real time with the electronic devices of the car, such as the ESP and the ABS, supplying even more detailed and precise information on the state of the tyres. Pirelli expects that the electronic sensor will be directly inserted into the structure of the tyre, becoming an integral part of its construction.

Pirelli will be working with stability and brake control software makers to ensure the new microchips can communicate with the the on-board computers in cars that control stability control systems, so as to transfer the information and improve response times. 

It could herald a huge leap forward in terms of the accuracy and immediacy of stability and braking control systems, potentially correcting stability and traction issues before they occur, rather than as they occur.

Related Links:
- Pirelli Calendar (2006)
- Michelin Tweel (2006)