HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G. has developed a technology it claims can provide real-time tire tread depth monitoring to fleet operators.
Demonstrated in a pilot program with electric vehicles of car-sharing provider Share Now Denmark and developed in cooperation with project partner and telemetry specialist Traffilog Ltd., the cloud-based technology "connects" information from tire sensors and telemetry data of the fleet's cars with a proprietary algorithm.
"As a result, Continental can predict tire tread depth in real time with an accuracy of below one millimeter," the Hanover-based company said, without offering details of how the technology works.
Continental said it expects smart digital tire solutions such as this to enable "need-based" servicing of tires, instead of regular, scheduled servicing.
"With this pilot we are first in the market to offer significantly accurate tread depth monitoring via an algorithm," said Tansu Isik, the head of business development and global marketing for Conti's tire business unit.
The technology, he added, sets "an industry benchmark" in smart digital tire solutions.
The monitoring system can particularly be beneficial to fleet providers, as it provides accurate information about the condition of their tires at any time, reducing downtime and costs, while increasing safety and efficiency.
"Real-time telematic-based tire monitoring is a huge benefit for us. We can monitor and service our tires at any time and take actions proactively," said Steen Herlov Andersen, Share Now Denmark's head of operations.
The real-time tread-depth measurement pilot is part of a bigger project with Traffilog to deliver real-time remote tire pressure and temperature monitoring of Share Now's fleet of roughly 600 vehicles in Denmark.
Share Now Denmark is part of a larger Share Now network that comprises car-sharing services in 16 major cities in eight European countries, including: Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands and Spain
Park Afek, Israel-based Traffilog describes itself as a provider of telematics solutions for the auto manufacture, insurance, SVR and fleet-management industries using technology based on automotive engineering knowledge, real-time programming skills and modern web-based applications.
