Another level of Big Brother in our cars...

[Porsche virgin]

http://www.motorauthority.com/pirelli-smart-tire-uses-microchip-to-improve-safety.html


Three famous Italian automotive firms have joined forces to bring a new “Cyber Tire” to the market. While tire pressure monitoring systems have become commonplace on all but the most entry-level cars, these companies are working on a self-powered microchip-based system that reports temperature, pressure and load wirelessly to the car's computer.

Pirelli will work with Magneti Marelli on the electronic control systems and Brembo for the brakes on the new tire. The goal will be to develop a complete solution for car companies that will reduce their engineering costs and be easy to integrate into current product plans.

The system involves a piezoelectric power generation system and microchip applied to the inside of the tire's carcass. The rolling motion of the tire generates the electricity the system needs to function, so as long as the car is rolling, the tire can report its information. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology underlying the system is well-known and proven, allowing the tire to store its own production date, site and tire type. The hope is that by providing even more information on the tires' current conditions, systems like stability control and ABS will be able to function more precisely, helping to improve traction and safety in all situations.

In addition to the temperature and pressure-sensing features, a tri-axial accelerometer is also embedded in the tires, giving full 3D data to relate the tire's angle to the car's thrust angle, slip angle and the relative friction coefficients of each individual tire, in extremely fine-grained detail. With such ground-level information being streamed constantly to the car's computer, it will allow traction control and ABS systems to effectively respond before the driver is even aware of a problem, and even before the computer-controlled systems currently in use.

A similar product is being developed for motorcycles, and will be called the Cyber Tire Lean. The motorcycle implementation will be delivered to market first, expected to start as early as 2010. The automotive Cyber Tire is expected to enter production in 2011 or 2012.

Scary to think of where this level of detail could go in terms of privacy invasion.

"Sorry sir, you have been denied your insurance coverage because you were found to be creating 0.56 g's in a 23 degree turn while applying 73% throttle. We at Allstate view that as reckless driving. We have turned this matter over to the police."

[Laneco]

This concept could have profound value for commercial trucks and trailers. Tire pressure monitoring systems are being utilized in just a small percentage of these vehicles and they are rudimentary. They read pressure or loss of pressure and notify the driver. Most of the ones currently on the road are "retro-fits" where the sensor is in the tire and communicates wirelessly with an on-board receiver that is commected to a very small screen. Smaller than a GPS screen, we're talking about 2" or so across... New trucks probably do have a more sophisticated built in one that flashes a warning on the driver's dash.

None of them integrate into the traction control or ABS braking systems (which new trucks and trailers DO have). Imagine being able to feed the slip angle/traction inputs into a tractor trailer pulling double trailers? Most people don't realize this, but a set of "doubles" is usually FOUR seperate vehicles (tractor, first trailer, dolly conveter, and second trailer). This could greatly enhance the control of those types of vehicles.

As far as big brother is watching - man I hate that! But it does have some uses for commercial trucks. Abrupt changes in slip angles can mean several things, but one of them (in reference to commercial trucks) is extreme driver fatigue. You know, weaving and abrupt corrections, or just plain erratic driving. Many newer trucks, particularly those with high risk loads, are connected to a central dispatch center via an on-truck communication system. One of the most common ones is Qualcomm, but there are at least 6 or 7 that I know of in the market. If this information is fed back to the dispatch center, a query can be sent out to the driver.

Failure to answer the query, to explain, could be used as an escalation procedure. How sophisticated are these procedures? There are about a dozen companies on the road right now who can shut their trucks down remotely via satellite (on-board computers are pretty cool). These are companies who haul very high risks hazardous materials. Each I've communicated with has chosen a graduated shut down procedure. The speed of the vehicle is dropped steadily over a period of minutes until it gets down to 10-15 mph. If there is still no driver response - well, then there's a problem and then the truck will be shut down.

If the satellite connection is broken - like severing the antenna, this process begins within 15 to 20 minutes for most of them. Driver can call in, find a phone booth, etc., if not - the on-board portion of the computer will shut it down.

Now as far as it goes on a car. Hmm. How far do we want to go with "black box" information? Of course none of us wants someone to know what WE are doing, but all of us want to know what the person who wronged us was doing... If a guy side swipes me, I would LOVE to have the last 15 minutes of his driving behavior on record. But I don't want anyone to know what wicked things I've been doing on backroads with my 911. I especially do not want to explain leaving an autocross and then driving onto the public highway. Imagine looking at THAT driving behavior electronically - sheesh! They would think I was completely crazy!

angela

[tabs]

brave new world indeed, where the freedom to be as irresponsible as we want to be is being denied to us...that ultimatily is a deevolutionary move as how is man to improve himself if not by the challenge of besting his own demons.

[Jim Richards]

No Pirellis for me.

[teenerted1]

no big deal for me...my cars cant talk to the tires anyway.

[Aerkuld]

Don't worry. It's Italian and electrical. Do you really expect it to work?

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by teenerted1

no big deal for me...my cars cant talk to the tires anyway.

Nither do mine, but my tires sure talk to me