Drive Thru Tire Check, For Cars, Bus and Truck. Automatic Measurement of Tire Pressure, Tread Depth and Sidewall, in Seconds, to the Internet

Unique ID

TO84593

Technology Status

Available

Technology Readiness Level

TRL9

Published on

19th Aug 2018

Updated on

23rd Feb 2019

Technology Overview

The global vehicle fleet runs on over 5 Billion tires. Their maintenance is critical to safety and fuel efficiency. Yet drivers rely on manual inspection for tread depth and tire condition and a simple gauge for pressure. Automation is absent or limited to Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

The technology is a step change in the inspection of tires. Vehicles drive through an array of unique instruments and tire pressure, tread depth and sidewall data are calculated and displayed in seconds sent to the Internet. The vehicle may remain in motion, up to 12 mph. No sensors are fitted to the vehicle or tire. The system is suitable for cars, buses and trucks. Other functionality includes vehicle recognition, weigh-in-motion and communication with a roadside touch screen, and alerts reports on a smartphone.

The latest developments include advanced computer vision and machine learning technology to automatically find faults in the 360° tire surface and sidewall. Also automatically “reading” the embossed information of the sidewall of each tire.

The Company owns all the IP including, an array of patents, sensor design, algorithms, software, extensive tire condition database for further machine learning and production know-how. Massive Big Data opportunity from automatically collecting information about the condition of tires in operation.

Users include; commercial fleet operators, fuel stops, SMART City authorities, enforcement, car parks, tire manufacturers, tire retailers, car wash, QSR sites – anywhere vehicles pass.

Partnerships sought to introduce the technology to users.

Technology Features & Specifications

Tire inspection is currently a manual process. The technology automates the process, without stopping the vehicle or removing the tires to inspect the tire tread surface or exposed sidewall. The array of instruments and supporting algorithms is unique.

The key advantage is checking tires can be completed rapidly, with ease and accurately at a very low cost per inspection. Allowing for more regular inspections, improving the standard of tire maintenance at a level of the driver, fleet, the city and nationwide.

The system is very data rich, at a typical gas station over 80,000 tyre pressures, 24m tread depth readings and over 1.6m tire images are collected in a year.

With the introduction of new forms of vehicle ownership and design, the system offers the opportunity to independently check safety critical tires automatically.

Potential Applications

The technology is able to check tires on vehicles using the public highway; cars, buses and trucks. It requires a location where vehicles can gain easy access and can simply drive through and have their tires checked. For example gas stations, car parks, QSR’s, fleet depots, ports, etc. In the USA and the EU, there are over 500,000 such locations.

The system is linked to the internet and currently has operational sites in gas stations, fleet depots and car wash in the USA and the EU. Existing customers include major bus and truck fleet operators, tyre manufacturers' and retailers, gas station operators.

Customer Benefits

The technology delivers a significant range of benefits, both commercial and social; fuel savings, extended tire life and improved safety. Reducing environmental pollution and waste, saving lives by reducing traffic accidents and increasing operational efficiency of fleets.

The data collected records the real-time status of vehicle tires in operation.

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