All About Cars

Why Your Tyres Could Soon Talk to You

30 July 2018

Gladys Carter

Technology is constantly evolving as engineers try to make the open road a safer place to be. As you know, there are an increasing number of deaths on the highway across Australia, and every new invention should be welcome if it can reduce those statistics in any way. If you're in the market to buy some new tyres for your own vehicle, you will undoubtedly be happy to use the latest tech today, but did you know that there are some great innovations on the horizon that could make your future set of tyres truly space-age?

Maximum Connectivity

Have you heard of the Internet of things? In short, this describes a trend towards maximum connectivity, where everyday items have some form of electronic sensor. The aim is to make them more efficient or beneficial in some way by communicating with other devices. In the tyre industry, the tyres that you fit to your car may soon be able to 'think' for themselves and provide you with information in real time.

Real-Time Information

For example, sensors fitted to the tyre may be able to warn you when pressure drops past a given threshold or tell you if you pick up a slow puncture. These sensors will send their information to a receiver that is attached to the car's central computer, and the information will be displayed on the dashboard in front of you.

If the tyre is overheating and has passed a certain temperature, you will get this data, and if the tread depth reaches a prescribed minimum, then you will be advised to replace the tyre as soon as possible.

Some people think that this technology may be able to detect the presence of black ice on a road surface as soon as it forms, which could be a real lifesaver. As you may know, it's almost impossible to see this hazard with the naked eye, and by the time you become aware of it, it is often too late to avoid a collision.

Dynamic Wheel Rims

It may also be possible in the future to change the footprint of a tyre in real time to take into account changing road conditions. The plan is to use microprocessors embedded into each wheel that can change the configuration of the rim itself. This will then adjust the amount of rubber that comes into contact with the road or the amount of pressure within. To do this, the width of the rim may be dynamically adjusted inward or outward in real time.

Buying the Best

These are just some of the potential innovations to hit your tyre depot in the years ahead. In the meantime, rest assured that current-day tyres are technologically advanced in their own right and you should upgrade as soon as possible to take advantage of this. Contact a company that sells brands like Toyo tyres to learn more about your options.

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