Goodyear demonstrates accurate tyre-road friction for automated driving
Goodyear and autonomous transport firm Gatik have deployed tyre technology that feeds information on road conditions to autonomous systems in Canada.
The intelligent tyres are powered by Goodyear SightLine technology and can accurately estimate tyre-road friction potential and provide real-time information to Gatik’s automated driving system.
Goodyear says this will add more value to what a tyre can deliver by providing critical data that can help enhance vehicle safety and performance.
Goodyear and Gatik recently deployed road-friction detection capabilities in Canada through continuous measurement of tyre sensor-derived information, which is paired with other vehicle data and connected to Goodyear’s cloud-based proprietary algorithms to optimise vehicle performance.
Friction estimates from Goodyear’s SightLine solution were successfully able to detect low grip conditions, such as snowy or icy conditions, and make this information available to Gatik’s autonomous fleet, enhancing safety and performance for Gatik’s commercial operations in Canada’s challenging winter climate.
With road-friction data, Goodyear says tyres can help enable smoother, safer and more sustainable driving; critical information for autonomous vehicles in terms of path planning and providing recommendations for safe driving speed, vehicle acceleration limits and vehicle following distance.
Goodyear SightLine technology is designed to measure the tyre wear state, load, inflation pressure and temperature.
It combines that with real-time road-weather data and proprietary rubber friction models to estimate the tyre-road friction potential.
Having this information in real-time enables Gatik’s fleet to safely and efficiently respond to challenging conditions within its operational design domain.
Goodyear anticipates that it will this year deploy its Goodyear SightLine technology on select original equipment vehicles bringing immediate utility to today’s mobility market.