A unique, drive-over tyre monitoring technology, which measures both tyre pressure and tread depth in seconds without the need for any equipment on the vehicle, has been unveiled in The Ray, an 18 mile stretch of highway on West Georgia’s Interstate 85 in the US.
The Ray aims to show how zero deaths, zero waste and zero carbon can be achieved on US highways through the use of emerging innovations.
The award-winning tyre monitoring technology has been developed by a company based in Oxford, UK called WheelRight. The business believes that its easy-to-use system could drastically improve safety on US roads, helping to reduce the 35,000 fatal accidents that occur every year.
American Department of Transport data demonstrates that underinflated tyres can lead to skidding, hydroplaning, increased stopping distance and blowouts. All of these issues increase the risk of crashes that can result in fatalities and injuries. The International Tire and Rubber Association cites tyre under-inflation as the single most common factor in tyre failure.
Working in conjunction with other networked safety systems on The Ray, the WheelRight solution is ideal for smart city applications, providing detailed tyre condition information instantly via printed read-outs or directly to mobile phones or laptops.
This will be the first publicly available installation of the WheelRight drive-over tyre safety system anywhere in the US. Results of tyre pressures and tread depth measurements will be provided automatically on all tyres within seconds via a touch-sensitive kiosk that provides a printed read-out to drivers.
While tyre pressures are taken when the vehicle drives over the road-embedded sensor plates, tread depth is measured via sophisticated multi-image technology and imaging software.
John Catling, CEO and one of the founders of WheelRight, said: “Motorists just need to drive over our embedded strip to receive their tyre readings within seconds via a print-out at a nearby kiosk. There’s no need for any other kit on the car itself. We think this kind of cloud-based technology is going to revolutionise the way people look after their tyres – reducing accidents, costs and carbon emissions.”