Bridgestone shows CAIS tyre surface sensor technology

Bridgestone Corporation has developed a new technology designed to provide real time road surface condition information to the driver by way of the tyres. The new technology is based on a concept called Contact Area Information Sensing (CAIS) and it was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

According to the company, CAIS is a general term for future technology which collects and evaluates road surface condition information. Capable of sensing instantaneous vibration input data and digitalising it by in-vehicle analysis equipment, the new technology classifies the current state of the road surface into seven conditions and transmits this information directly to the driver through an in-car display.

The new technology aim to help drivers be better prepared for rapid changes in dangerous driving conditions, such as ice, snow and rain, and also reportedly provides the opportunity to alert other motorist travelling with them on the same road.

Here’s a brief summary of how the technology works: An accelerator sensor located inside the tread of a tyre detects vibrations in the tyre’s tread and wirelessly sends that information to the vehicle’s analytical equipment. CAIS is powered by Bridgestone’s “proprietary power generation equipment.” Analytical equipment analyses the vibrations in real time, and determines which of seven road surface conditions (dry, semi-dry, wet, slush, fresh snow, compacted snow, ice) exist. The results of the determination of road surface conditions are displayed on a monitor inside the vehicle.

According to Bridgestone, the high precision of this road surface determination technology has been verified through extended testing over two winters on public roads in Japan (Hokkaido) where dangerous conditions like snow and ice are likely to appear. Detailed results of the tests were first announced at the 2010 Annual Congress (Spring) of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan and at the World Automotive Congress of the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies.

Related news:

• Techking offering entry level truck tyre TPMS

• Euro Car Parts now stock TPMS servicing parts

• Report: Global TPMS market will be worth $3 billion by 2017