Dunlop reveals intelligent tyre concept at Geneva

Tyre company Goodyear Dunlop has revealed a new conceptual tyre that can communicate with a car's onboard computer at the Geneva motor show today.

The new rubber is embedded with a battery-less microchip attached to the inside of the tyre. It sends information on tyre pressure, temperature and the tyre identification details to the vehicle’s computer.

Using that information, the car’s central computer system is able to automatically refine the vehicle’s longitudinal and lateral control algorithms, to deliver an improved driving performance.

Improvements include a reduced stopping distance when the ABS kicks in, enhanced cornering response, improved yaw stability and optimised stability control systems, all based on data from the tyre.

“Today’s advanced vehicle control systems can greatly benefit from tyre specific information”, says Marc Engel, senior engineer at Goodyear Dunlop.

“We have always understood that when we were able to gather this information, we could deliver new levels of driving performance to the car. We are showcasing a first concrete step in that direction as we begin to translate the wealth of information received by the tyre back to improving and enhancing the overall driving experience – it is a major step forward.

“Tyre properties change significantly and tyre type, inflation and temperature play a major role. If a vehicle knows those dynamic properties, its control systems can take them into account and deliver an improved overall performance.”

With this new technology the chip is embedded in the tyre, and not on the rim. This means that tyre-specific information can be embedded on the chip. The placement inside the tyre also means that the chip is not subject to damage, during the tyre mounting process.

The system is still in its development phase, and there are no plans for a market launch at this time. However, Dunlop has experimented with the technology on its SportMaxx RT tyres.