OEM focus to start
Tactile Mobility will focus on OEMs to start, in part because "it takes some considerable effort to adapt the solution into different platforms," Tzur said.
The current technology fully meets each and every passenger car model and also light truck.
Since the tire tread depth measurement solution is a safety-related solution, it needs to be accurate. This is easy to achieve when working with an OEM directly, Tzur added.
"Tactile Mobility started this aftermarket device company and we focused initially on the heavy trucks market to develop solutions for optimizing fuel consumption and then pivoted to OEMs," Tzur said.
The company has the knowledge and the ability to provide this solution to OEMs and aftermarket, but is starting with OEMs. "We believe this will help us to bring this excellent product to fulfill the vision globally, quickly and effectively," Tzur said.
While Tactile Mobility previously focused on optimizing fuel consumption as it saw oil prices starting to drop, it needed to find another commercial business case to fulfill its commercial target, Tzur said.
When the company shifted to its current focus, it approached a few different OEMs, including BMW, which Tzur credits as one of the most advanced OEMs in terms of innovation. BMW is planning to implement Tactile Mobility virtual sensors in their vehicles.
"We are looking forward to working with them to develop new capabilities," Tzur said.
Additionally, Tactile Mobility is collaborating with six other OEMs and Tier 1s, including Porsche and Nexteer Automotive. The company said it has executed partnerships with 10 road authorities and municipalities across the globe, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Singapore and Detroit.