Pirelli’s European Cyber Fleet tests pass million kilometre mark
Testing of Pirelli’s Cyber Fleet system began earlier this year in South America, and in the second half of July an evaluation programme also began in Europe. So far, Pirelli’s European tests, conducted mainly in Germany using 15 heavy goods vehicles, have monitored the Cyber Fleet system over more than a million kilometres. Tests will continue until February 2013, and results so far confirm the results obtained in Latin America. Cyber Fleet will go on sale by the end of January 2013.
The 15 vehicles involved in the European test programme belong to German fleets engaged in both municipal services and the transport of goods and people. Both the dynamic and static versions of Cyber Fleet have been tested. The dynamic version transmits tyre pressure, temperature and distance information in real time, and reports anomalies via an on-board terminal, while the static version enables data to be downloaded onto a portable terminal. Pirelli says both versions showed positive results; the tyre maker says the fleets involved have already been able to benefit from the system’s advantages, including through reduced fuel and staff costs – Pirelli says savings of around a thousand euros per vehicle each year is achievable – as well as improved durability through more even wear across all tyres.
“The efficiency of our system, which is currently also being tested in South America where conditions are different, has been confirmed during our latest European tests,” commented Giovanni Pomati, director of Pirelli’s Truck business unit. “There was even an instance where the central operating system, which monitors the tyres, spotted and quickly alerted the driver to an anomaly before he even noticed it. The sensor detected a significant pressure drop in one tyre and provided data in real time to the fleet manager, who was able to arrange a rapid fix for the problem, caused by a damaged wheel.”
At the heart of Cyber Fleet is an electronic sensor developed in collaboration with Schrader Electronics. This sensor, known as the TMS (Tyre Mounted Sensor), is applied to the inside of the tyre to collect all data regarding pressure, temperature and status. Using a terminal developed jointly with Magneti Marelli, the system sends the driver and fleet manager all data the system collects in real time. Consequently, the fleet can carry out timely diagnostics and maintenance to guarantee the highest levels of safety on each heavy goods vehicle. In addition to ensuring tyres are always at the correct pressure, the system can also monitor wear on each tyre, logging distance covered.
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