Sensors will warn drivers when Tires become unsafe

A new tire pressure sensor developed by international automotive supplier Continental, capable of reading the pressure, load and tread depth, to alert drivers.

The Continental Future tire sensors have been designed with intelligent software making the new feature possible.

The close cooperation between electronics and tire developers at Continental, the international automotive supplier, continues to bear fruit. Future tire pressure sensors, for instance, will be able to detect when a tire change is necessary due to insufficient tread depth. Explaining the importance of regular tread depth monitoring, Andreas Wolf, head of the Body & Security business unit, points out, “It’s not for nothing that legislators all over the world have defined a minimum tire tread depth for safe driving. We are delighted that we will, in future, be able to conveniently read tread depth electronically with the aid of sensors embedded in the tires.” Intelligent software makes the new feature possible. The software deduces tread depth from gradual changes in tire rolling characteristics. The in-tire pressure sensor infers running characteristics from the variations in tire deformation. The new feature is tentatively slated to be available as of 2017 in new vehicle models equipped with direct tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) from Continental (electronic Tire Information System, eTIS).