Artificial intelligence set to transform tire industry

TORONTO—Artificial intelligence is coming quickly to both tire manufacturing and tire technology, and they are transforming the basic concepts of the tire industry, according to speakers June 12 at "Driving to the Future," the 2019 Tire & Rubber Summit in Toronto.

Hosted by the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada, the summit presented speakers who described major changes in materials, regulations, manufacturing and design that affect the tire industry in fundamental ways.

The term "artificial intelligence" was first used in 1955, according to Khaled Boqaileh, co-founder and CEO of AI consulting firm LabsCubed.

AI, Boqaileh said, is the use of algorithms to predict outcomes, and you can easily replace the term "AI" with "prediction."

The cost of prediction has fallen dramatically, from $250,000 per calculation two years ago to $12.75 today, according to Boqaileh.

Manufacturing, he said, is quickly achieving the status of "Industry 4.0," in which automated systems are combined with AI to create a smart factory.

"Industry 4.0 will improve all sectors," Boqaileh said. "AI will predict what you need."

The key to running a smart factory effectively, according to Boqaileh, is clean data, which he described as "data that is organized, accurate, traceable and in the same format."

An automated lab is crucial to running clean data, he said. Automation increases data consistency by up to 10 times, ensures consistency across plants, speeds up testing for each sample and allows the work force to complete higher-value jobs, he said.

Cimcorp Automation Ltd. has successfully brought Industry 4.0 to tire plants, according to Cimcorp Sales Manager Don Heelis.

Cimcorp has built and equipped high-tech plants in 40 countries on six continents, Heelis said. Among them are facilities for tire manufacturers including Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin, Giti, Yokohama and Linglong.

"We've branded our tire factory as a dream factory," Heelis said. "All raw materials are tracked through the factory. We know where the material is in the factory and which equipment is handling it. If problems occur, we have the traceability to pinpoint them."

The Industry 4.0 tire plant, according to Heelis, consists of two webs: A physical network, featuring interconnected automation and process equipment, and a cyber network that offers electronic integration and flow of information.

The Cimcorp "dream factory" offers any number of physical and production advantages over traditional tire facilities, Heelis said. These include:

• Reduced floor space;
• Fewer components;
• Modular structures allowing scalability of capacity;
• Design flexibility to allow production changes;
• Maximum overall equipment effectiveness (OEE);
• Reduced power consumption;
• Intelligent power saving components; and
• Effective management and control of all production parameters.

Creating intelligent tires for the future is not a one-size-fits all proposition, according to Mike Nehls, general manager of the Tire & Wheel Test Center at Smithers Rapra.

"Electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles are different entities, with different sets of rules," Nehls said.

Smithers conducts third-party, independent testing for every tire manufacturer on every type of tire, according to Nehls. In its testing, Smithers has found that EVs create new performance expectations, but AVs add expectations beyond that, he said.

"AV tire development will not detract from EV development, especially for AV/EV vehicles, and AV technology will be applicable to all engine power types," he said.

The "cool factor" of EVs has caused an exponential increase in the sale of luxury EVs, according to Nehls. "Tesla's boom in sales is the primary factor in the EV sales jump," he said.

Urbanization and aggressive regulation of air pollutants also are driving the popularity of EVs, which should further increase as battery range improves and the number of charging stations increases, Nehls said.

However, EVs present new challenges for tire design, according to Nehls. Tires for EVs must handle higher and differently distributed vehicle weight compared with gasoline-powered vehicles, he said. They must also handle higher torque, reduce cabin noise and provide lower rolling resistance.

AVs are governed by a different set of parameters, according to Nehls. Their development is driven by the need to reduce accidents and traffic congestion. The automation of trucking and buses is also a significant factor, he said.

Intelligent tires connected in real time are a must for AVs, Nehls said. So are excellent traction for self-braking vehicles; ride comfort to make up for additional vibration; run-flat capabilities; and reduced emphasis on speed capabilities to achieve the desired vehicle dynamics, he said.

"Intelligent tire innovation shouldn't wait for AVs," Nehls said. "Tires need to keep pace with innovation in transportation, mobile technology, and customer expectations. Tire intelligence is needed now."

Jay Spears, director of standards and regulations for Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C., described what Conti is doing to meet the challenges of intelligent tire design.

Conti has developed two technologies, according to Spears: ContiSense, which measures tire status, including tread depth and the presence of punctures, through the electrification of tire rubber; and ContiAdapt, which actively adapts the tire footprint to the detected road condition or the driver's preference.

Conti's concept tire, according to Spears, offers an optimized tread pattern design that enables the benefits of these advanced technologies.

Meanwhile, Michelin is also intensely involved in tire AI, according to Anthony Reyes, Michelin director of partnerships and innovation.

Quoting figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Reyes said 94 percent of all road accidents are caused by driver error. More than 37,000 people were killed in crashes last year, at a cost of $242 billion to the U.S. economy—overriding reasons to promote the safety benefits of AVs.

AV manufacturer Waymo introduced a fully autonomous car last December in Arizona, Reyes said, adding that he thinks fully autonomous vehicles could be on U.S. roads by 2025.

AVs, he said, will be especially useful for buses and shuttles serving assisted living facilities.

"Waymo has 10 million miles of autonomous driving already," he said. "In that time, there have been 35 accidents, only one of which was caused by Waymo, and that was a fender-bender."

Reyes spoke of "Moore's Law," which states that the processing power of integrated circuits doubles every two years. The current status of AV development, he said, attests to Moore's Law.

"The processors on a current AV are 32,000 times more powerful than the system that sent Apollo 11 to the moon," he said.