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TPMS and RFID

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SmarTire Q1 results

SmarTire Systems has announced results for the first fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2003. Gross revenue for the first quarter totalled 427,526 US dollars, an increase of 29,937 US dollars over the same quarter in fiscal 2003. SmarTire recorded a quarterly net
loss of 3.26 million US dollars compared to a net loss of 2.07 million US dollars. “Our first quarter results were affected by an inventory shortage caused in part to transitioning the manufacturing of our products to Hyundai Autonet (HACO),” says Robert Rudman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SmarTire Systems. “HACO is quickly finalizing its production line and is preparing a build of SmarTire TPMS products to fill the backlog of orders booked but not shipped in Q1.”

15th December 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

US privacy campaigners attack RFID

RFID chips proposed for use in tyre identification and TPMS are coming under attack in the USA as an invasion of privacy, as campaigners say that the information recorded can be collected and used to monitor the car driver’s activities. As the price of RFID chips drops, tagging individual items will become the norm. According to Katherine Albrecht of the New Hampshire-based privacy rights group Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering, tagging individual items “only becomes helpful if you want to register individual items to individuals.” She contends that the RFID chips Michelin is already embedding in its tires, to help in product recall cases, someday could be used to track people as they drive past chip readers on highways or in parking lots. In California, a state senate subcommittee in August held the first-ever public hearing on RFID and privacy, and more hearings are planned for later this fall. Legislation is expected to be introduced early next year that could influence policies in other states.

10th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

ALPS begins mass production of batteryless TPMS

Back in May, Japanese company ALPS Electric and German firm IQ-Mobil signed an exclusive worldwide licensing contract, whereby ALPS will develop and produce a batteryless tyre pressure monitoring system. Mass production of such a system is about to start. Batteries, says ALPS, have a finite life, plus there are possible environmental and weight problems. The new batteryless TPMS replaces the central receiver with a transceiver, which transmits and receives signals and a transponder, which replaces the transmitter in the pressure sensor and uses the energy of the signals received to send a return signal.

30th October 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

SmarTire appoints Chinese distributor

SmarTire has appointed Beijing Boom Technology Co. Ltd. as the master distributor for its tyre pressure monitoring systems in China. Under the agreement, the Chinese company will purchase $1.5 million worth of aftermarket TPMS over the next twelve months and $3.9 million worth in the twelve months commencing 1st September 2004.

23rd October 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

TPMS creates 200 jobs in Antrim

Tyre technology firm Schrader Electronics has announced that it is to build a new factory at Carrickfergus in Antrim (Northern Ireland), which will create 200 jobs.

1st October 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

SmarTire signs Chinese distribution agreement in principle

SmarTire Systems has announced that it has signed an agreement in principle appointing Beijing Boom Technology Co. Ltd. as the master distributor of SmarTire’s Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) in China. Beijing Boom Technology has agreed to purchase over $1.5 million in additional aftermarket passenger car TPMS systems at fixed intervals over the next twelve months. In order to maintain its status as SmarTire’s master distributor in China, Beijing Boom Technology must also purchase approximately 3.9 million dollars in additional aftermarket passenger car TPMS systems during the twelve-month period commencing September 1, 2004 and establish a network of certified dealers in all provinces of China by May 1, 2004.

11th September 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

US Court Rejects Tyre Monitoring System Regulation

In the USA, a panel of three federal judges has rejected a proposed tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) as it allowed too great a margin for error. TPMS was made compulsory in new cars following the Ford Explorer/Firestone tyre episode. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was ordered to come up with a TPMS for cars and it offered two systems – one which required a sensor on all four tyres (direct system) and one which used existing technology systems, such as ABS, to estimate pressure (indirect system). Consumer groups claimed that the second system was not effective all the time, and thus did not meet the law’s requirements, and the judges agreed, ordering the NHTSA to formulate a new rule.

The argument of the consumer groups was that indirect TPMS works by comparing the speeds of two diagonal wheels with the other two diagonal wheels and, as such, cannot tell whether all four tyres are under-inflated or whether two tyres on the same axle or the same side of the vehicle are under-inflated. The judges accepted this view and one of them, Robert D. Sack, said “The record discloses that the added cost for a system that worked all the time, rather than half of the time, was less than $10 per car.”

A possible beneficiary of the ruling could be Goodyear Tire & Rubber, which has developed a direct monitoring system in partnership with Siemens VDO, whereby a computer chip embedded in the tyre warns the driver of air pressure loss via radio signals to a dashboard display. The system is currently being tested by several vehicle manufacturers for their 2006 models. A Goodyear spokesperson said “we think the debate will continue between the automotive industry and consumer groups for a while. Either way, we support tyre pressure monitoring systems.”

Consumer groups were less diplomatic, hailing the decision as “perfect”. Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety – a frequent critic of the auto industry – made his position plain when he said “This decision will block the pro-industry, anti-consumer, deregulatory campaign of the Bush administration”. This is a reference to the fact that it was the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which had wanted a TPMS that was less costly than direct monitoring.

For the vehicle makers, a spokesperson for the lobbying group the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said that the AAM prefers a system that would allow auto manufacturers to choose between technologies. The spokesperson added: “the cost gap between the direct and indirect systems appeared to be wider than that cited in the ruling”, which would appear to be an indication that we may not yet have heard the last word on the subject.

4th September 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

US Court Rejects Tyre Monitoring System Regulation

In the USA, a panel of three federal judges has rejected a proposed tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) as it allowed too great a margin for error. TPMS was made compulsory in new cars following the Ford Explorer/Firestone tyre episode. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was ordered to come up with a TPMS for cars and it offered two systems – one which required a sensor on all four tyres (direct system) and one which used existing technology systems, such as ABS, to estimate pressure (indirect system). Consumer groups claimed that the second system was not effective all the time, and thus did not meet the law’s requirements, and the judges agreed, ordering the NHTSA to formulate a new rule.

13th August 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Direct Tyre Pressure Monitoring System From TRW

TRW is introducing its second generation direct Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) for a major Japanese vehicle manufacturer on a 2004 model year application.TRW, in c-operation with Michelin, has developed the “EnTire Solution,” an advanced direct TPMS. The system delivers accurate readouts and has the ability to indicate what tire is under-inflated, front or rear, left or right, and offers other major benefits to the driver. Using predictive algorithms, the driver can be warned that there will be a low-pressure tire problem in the near future. This alerts the driver to take action before getting on a long stretch of motorway.

False alarms are another concern that can cause a true low-pressure warning to be ignored even by the most conscientious driver. TRW Automotive and Michelin have incorporated such advanced monitoring algorithms into the EnTire Solution TPMS that detect slow leaks, yet also account for driver habits and environmental conditions to reduce the occurrence of false warnings.

7th August 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

New US Tyre Testing Standards

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has revealed details of the new tests that tyres for passenger cars and light trucks will have to undergo by 2007. The program includes speed and endurance tests, plus a test with the tyre under-inflated. The NHTSA reckons that most tyres will reach the new standards, with something between five and eleven per cent of tyres having to be re-designed. These are the first new standards since 1967 and were prompted by the Firestone recall. The NHTSA estimates that the cost to manufacturers will be $31.6 million.

25th June 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Beru Wins Additional Audi Business

Beru, which already supplies Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) for the Audi A8 and allroad quattro, has been awarded a contract to fit TPMS on additional Audi models. Delivery will start at the end of the year and Beru expects to supply 50,000 systems in 2004 and possibly double that number in 2005.

18th June 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

TPMS Helps Beru’s Results

The Beru Group has once again achieved an annual turnover of more than 300 million Euros for the year ended 31 March, up slightly (50,000 Euros) to 303.1 million. This was despite restructuring and product development costs and was helped by the performance of the Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems division, which saw sales almost double to 20.5 million Euros (10.7 m). Better penetration among German manufacturers and niche applications for TPMS in the commercial vehicle industry contributed to this good performance.

15th May 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

SmarTire Signs With Hyundai

SmarTire Systems, the manufacturer of tire pressure and temperature monitoring technology (TPMS), has signed an agreement with Hyundai Autonet Co. to develop, manufacture and distribute TPMS products to the Korean OE and replacement markets.

21st February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

SmarTire And Pirelli Agree On TPMS

Pirelli has reached an agreement with SmarTire for the application of tyre pressure monitoring systems. The system will be marketed under the brand X-Pressure and should be commercially available across key European markets. Francesco Gori, Head of Pirelli Tyre Division says, “This agreement opens a new phase in the evolution of Pirelli which integrates the tyre with the vehicle. It may come that the tyre will have dialogues with the vehicle’s control systems.”

17th October 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Beru Walks Away From US TPMS Business

Press reports say that Beru is to give up its tyre pressure monitoring system business (TPMS) in the USA. The reason is that the prices offered by the Big 3 car manufacturers were so low as to make the business uneconomic. Beru will now focus its efforts in TPMS on the European market, especially the premium vehicle sector. Beru’s shares fell sharply at the news, but analysts believe that this was an over-reaction and they expect the price to recover much of the loss.

5th August 2002/by Tyrepress Editors