A long-time leader in tyre management for racing, trucking and aircraft fleets, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is now applying its expertise to a fleet of semi-autonomous electric cars.
Goodyear Initiates Intelligent Tyre Trials with Semi-Autonomous Electric Cars
Goodyear announced that it was equipping Tesloop, a city-to-city mobility service that exclusively uses Tesla electric vehicles, with wireless sensors in its tyres to improve overall tyre management and maximise uptime for its growing fleet.
“We want to build the future, not just observe or read about it,” said Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s Chief Technology Officer. “As the new mobility ecosystem continues to take shape, we are taking steps to match the pace of technical change in the transportation industry and develop tyre innovations that meet the intelligence of the vehicles riding on them.”
The wireless sensors continuously measure and record tyre temperature and pressure, which is paired with other vehicle data and connected to Goodyear’s cloud-based proprietary algorithms to enhance overall fleet operations and predict when the tyres need service or replacement.
As part of the programme with Tesloop, Goodyear is also extending its mobile fleet solutions to passenger vehicles, providing tyre maintenance and repair while Tesloop vehicles are at charging stations, during regularly planned downtime.
“When you are operating cars nearly 24/7/365, minimising tyre incidents is critical to the customer experience and the business model,” said Rahul Sonnad, Tesloop’s CEO. “The possibilities for data-driven tyre diagnostics are remarkable and promise to help a business like Tesloop operate more efficiently and make our vehicles the safest on the road.”
Tesloop operates a fleet of Teslas that average up to 17,000 miles per vehicle per month. Its highest-mileage vehicle, a Tesla Model S in operation since 2015, recently exceeded 300,000 service miles. Goodyear has been working with Tesloop since January 2017 to study the effect of autonomous technologies on tyres.
Goodyear’s effort with Tesloop builds on its successful commercialisation of Goodyear Proactive Solutions for truck fleets, using advanced telematics and predictive analytics technology to allow fleet operators to optimise fuel efficiency and precisely identify and resolve tyre-related issues before they happen.
In addition to its fleet management offerings, Goodyear is also working with automakers to provide tyre information to vehicle control systems to enhance safety and performance.
Helsel added: “Goodyear is breaking new ground with the combination of fleet management expertise, intelligent products and a vast service network to deliver complete solutions for the future of mobility.”
固特异智能轮胎安装于半自动电动车进行测试
固特异将其在轮胎管理领域的专业技术和丰富经验，引入半自动驾驶领域，助力电动车队进行高效运营。长期以来，固特异在赛车、卡客车以及飞机轮胎管理方面都占据了行业领先地位。
固特异轮胎安装在Tesloop车队的特斯拉电动汽车上，轮胎内部安装了无线传感器，旨在改善整体轮胎管理水平，并且最大限度地提高Tesloop旗下日益壮大的车队的正常运行时间。Tesloop是一家专门使用特斯拉电动汽车的城市移动出行服务公司。
固特异首席技术主任赫尔塞尔（Chris Helsel）表示：“我们的目标是打造未来，而不只是作为一个旁观者。随着新型移动出行生态系统逐步发展并初具规模，我们正在采取措施，紧跟交通运输业的技术革新步伐，并持续针对轮胎产品进行突破创新以满足车辆的智能化需求。” 无线传感器会不断地测量和记录轮胎的温度和压力，同时结合其他车辆数据，通过固特异基于云的专用算法，达到优化整体车队运营，预测轮胎维修或更换需求的目的。
作为与Tesloop合作计划的一部分，固特异还将其移动出行车队解决方案进一步扩展应用到乘用车领域。在规划的停运时间内，固特异将为停靠在充电站的特斯拉车辆提供轮胎保养和维修服务。
Tesloop公司首席执行员索纳德（Rahul Sonnad）表示：“对于几乎全年无休，每周7 天，每天24小时持续运营的公司来说，最大程度地减少意外发生，对于持续优化用户体验与商业模式来说至关重要。基于数据驱动的轮胎诊断前景广阔，可以帮助像Tesloop这类车辆服务公司进一步提高运营效率，打造顶级的安全出行体验。”
Tesloop旗下运营着一支卓越的特斯拉车队，单车平均每月的行驶里程高达1.7万英里。值得一提的是，其中一辆自2015年起便投入运营的特斯拉Model S近期突破了30万英里的服务里程，创下车队内的最高里程纪录。自2017年1月起，固特异便与Tesloop开展了持续合作，研究自动驾驶技术对轮胎的影响。
固特异携手Tesloop，将固特异主动预测解决方案在卡客车领域的应用成功地商业化，凭借先进的互联通讯以及预测性分析技术，该方案可帮助车队运营商优化燃油效率，使相关轮胎问题在发生前即可准确判断和解决，防患于未然。
除了提供车队管理服务外，固特异还与汽车制造商携手合作，为车辆控制系统提供轮胎信息，以提高安全和驾驶性能。赫尔塞尔说：“固特异致力于开辟新的领域，将自身的车队管理技术和经验、智能轮胎产品以及庞大的服务网络完美融合，为未来出行提供完善的解决方案。”
