Tyrata, Inc., a tire sensor and data management company, has been able to produce repeatable results during tests of its IntelliTread sensors in a variety of OEM passenger tires.
IntelliTread sensors use wireless signals to track millimeter-scale changes in tread depth. When commercially available, the sensors will signal when it’s time to replace tires or report information about uneven and often dangerous tire wear conditions, Tyrata says.
This new technology from Tyrata can monitor, track and predict tread wear over the life of any tire. IntelliTread sensors determine tread depth using proprietary sensor and electronic technology mounted inside of the tire. When a voltage is applied to the sensor, an electrical signal passes through the tire. As the rubber wears down, the signal changes. Sensor electronics use these signal changes to determine the tire’s tread depth, which can then be wirelessly transmitted for further analytics and/or displayed to the consumer.
Through advances in sensor design and operation, along with electronics and packaging, the Tyrata team has now successfully validated the technology in OEM passenger tires including steel-belted radial tires from Hankook and Firestone, Tyrata said. Sensors mounted to several sections from each tire produced predictable and repeatable responses when the tread was removed, 1 mm at a time. Tyrata said this step opens up the development of production-level packaging and on-vehicle integration and testing as the company moves forward in its commercialization of the IntelliTread technology.
“With these recent results, Tyrata has demonstrated significant progress in moving from our early bench-top technology demonstrations toward real-world application of our sensors inside of a tire,” said Jesko von Windheim, CEO of Tyrata. “By demonstrating reproducible measurements in various consumer tires, we’ve achieved a major milestone in the development of our technology. Our next goal is long-term, in-tire testing. We are starting to evaluate a host of tires for IntelliTread integration and invite collaborators to join us in this next phase of evaluation.”
A Duke University startup, Tyrata secured $4.5 million in Series A financing from several investors, including Dealer Tire, in February last year. Dealer Tire announced that it was the leading investor in financing the company.
Organizations interested in collaboration opportunities or for tire evaluations may contact Luka Lojk at [email protected]. Tyrata will also take part in the Tire Technology Expo 2019 in Hannover, Germany. Dr. Aaron Franklin, CTO at Tyrata, will speak on Intelligent Tread Wear Sensor Technology at 9 a.m. Mar. 7.
