The latest vehicle innovation stems from a collaboration between the automotive supplier Continental and mobile network provider Vodafone. This is in the form of smart connected to a digital data platform.
The focus is with safety and reliability for commercial vehicles. This is through an assessment of critical tire indicators, like pressure and temperature. These parameters are collected via mobile radio, using Vodafone’s mobile network, and sent to a digital platform. The platform will be the ContinConnect, which is a central web portal. The portal will allow a truck company or retail arm to monitor all of the vehicles that constitute a fleet that are on the road at any point in time.
Tire pressure monitoring systems work through the data processing and radio frequency transmitter circuitry being powered wirelessly by radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers located outside the tire. Where tires are showing danger signs, the platform will automatically send an alarm to defined receivers. These will include the control center plus the driver, and data can be sent via display units of by SMS. The platform is capable of sending out recommendations, such as to out stop driving in order to lower temperatures. This system can also be used to help optimize the operating times of commercial vehicles.
As well as addressing safety concerns that require immediate attention, the platform also provides companies with greater transparency, and for real-time analytics to be collected. Speaking with Smart2zero, Michael Neuheisel, who is in charge of digital solutions for Continental Commercial said: “The data enable fleet managers to achieve higher operating times and lower maintenance costs as well as save fuel.”
Real-time data enables fleet managers to schedule tire changes and to commission maintenance in a more targeted manner. There can also be environmental saving, through driving with tires at the optima pressure. The new system will begin operation in the U.S. Europe and Asia in 2018.
In other smart tire news, automotive supplier Continental AG has developed a technique that can detect if a tire has insufficient tread depth. With these sensors, a sensor positioned on the contact patch of the tire increases pressure as a result of the weight bearing down on the tire, causing a signal to be sent.
