Sensata Technologies announced a collaboration with NIRA Dynamics AB to deliver an accurate and robust tire Tread Depth Monitoring (TDM) ‘virtual sensor’ system for automotive OEMs that optimizes tire health and improves vehicle safety, efficiency, and uptime. The TDM solution, powered by NIRA Dynamics’ tread wear estimation software, is designed to give vehicle OEMs, drivers, and fleets timely alerts when tires have worn to unsafe levels and need servicing.
Combining Sensata Technologies’ expertise in automotive sensors with NIRA Dynamics’ proficiency in developing embedded software and cloud services, the TDM solution adds new safety and maintenance capabilities to Sensata’s existing tire safety products.
The virtual sensor system is a new, innovative technology that gathers and combines data from multiple existing sensors on a vehicle, including Sensata’s tire pressure sensors, to provide accurate information about tire wear and tear.
See also: Overcoming tire supply and maintenance issues
This software-based system uses a complex algorithm that monitors the tire tread’s decreasing depth, while compensating for a wide range of real-world environmental challenges. The system tracks tires through changes and rotations and provides a more comprehensive solution than just measuring the distance travelled.
The virtual TDM can be integrated into existing Electronic Control Units (ECU) and is designed to work with many combinations of tire and vehicle designs. Vehicle manufacturers can quickly introduce and implement the solution across vehicle platforms without the need for custom software development.
“We’re excited to collaborate with NIRA Dynamics on new technology for the automotive industry,” said Eric Sorret, VP of Automotive, Sensata. “Sensata has developed tire technologies for more than 20 years, and we believe that this new virtual sensor builds on this experience and takes it to the next level. Using and analyzing data already being captured by other sensors, this solution provides accurate and useful information to our customers.”
“The cooperation between NIRA and Sensata is a perfect match,” said Lisa Åbom, CEO at NIRA Dynamics. “By combining our decades of experience in vehicle data cloud services with Sensata’s Tire Pressure Monitoring System, infrastructure, and extensive customer base, we can offer vehicle manufacturers additional insights and information for customers without the need to fit additional hardware on the vehicle. This solution will improve safety, creating more driver awareness about the quality of their tires to decrease the number of tire-related accidents.”
