Pirelli introduced the concept for Cyber Tyre, an intelligent tyre that provides data about the vehicle, tyre and road conditions, in 2010. Today, the tyremaker announced that the Cyber Tyre project is completed and currently being studied for inclusion as original equipment by the world’s major car manufacturers.
Central to Cyber Tyre’s design is an autonomous electronic sensor that reads the road and its interaction with the tyre, ‘talking’ in real time via a wireless connection to the car’s onboard computer and other electronic systems. These then display information to the driver via a graphic interface.
According to Pirelli, the sensor interprets the grip available, analyzing road conditions that range from dry to wet to icy, together with the condition of the road surface.
Cyber Tyre additionally senses the vertical load on the tyre as well as the lateral and longitudinal forces at work on it, calculating how much speed can be carried before aquaplaning occurs, as well as how much grip is available before the car starts to skid.
Pirelli also noted that Cyber Tyre could calculate other data points including the type of asphalt on the road, plus the footprint and angle of the tyre, as well as tyre temperature, pressure, wear and number of revolutions.
This data can then be used with other vehicle systems. For example, Pirelli said that Cyber Tyre allows cruise control and brake assist systems to react using entirely accurate information about the grip available in that very moment, adjusting speed and braking with total precision to suit the surface conditions.