Skip to main content

UK-invented tyre monitoring technology unveiled at ‘highway of the future’

A UK-developed technology that measures the tread depth and pressure of tyres in seconds, has been unveiled as part of a ground-breaking ‘highway of the future’ live project in the USA. Able to monitor the tyre condition without the need for any equipment or sensors on the vehicle itself, the road-embedded technology has been developed by WheelRight, an Oxford-based company. The drive-over technology has been adopted by The Ray, an 18 mile stretch of highway connecting Georgia and Alabama, which aims to
December 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A UK-developed technology that measures the tread depth and pressure of tyres in seconds, has been unveiled as part of a ground-breaking ‘highway of the future’ live project in the USA.

Able to monitor the tyre condition without the need for any equipment or sensors on the vehicle itself, the road-embedded technology has been developed by 8005 WheelRight, an Oxford-based company. The drive-over technology has been adopted by 8353 The Ray, an 18 mile stretch of highway connecting Georgia and Alabama, which aims to show how zero deaths, zero waste and zero carbon can be achieved on US interstates.

Working in conjunction with other networked systems on The Ray, the WheelRight solution is suitable for smart city applications, providing detailed tyre condition information instantly via printed read-out or directly to mobile phones or laptops.

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.

Results of tyre pressure 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.  

Vehicle partner Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia and The Ray have committed to fully fund the acquisition and installation of the WheelRight tyre safety technology, providing the services free of charge to drivers on The Ray, and creating more awareness of the dangers and negative economic impacts of driving with under or overinflated tyres and badly worn treads.
                                   
KMMG and The Ray are providing an air compressor at the Visitor Centre, which will allow drivers to adjust tyre inflation at no charge, thereby reducing maintenance costs and achieving better fuel efficiency.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • US motor vehicle deaths drop slightly in first half of 2017, but remain higher than two years ago
    August 17, 2017
    Preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council indicate motor vehicle deaths in the first six months of 2017 are one per cent lower than they were during the same six-month period in 2016. However, it says the country is fresh off the steepest estimated two-year increase in motor vehicle deaths since 1964 and it is too early to conclude whether the upward trend is over. The estimated deaths during the first six months of 2017 still are eight per cent higher than the 2015 six-month estimates, and the
  • Huawei's ORT tech removes highway toll gates
    August 26, 2020
    Road tolling operations will be transformed by new revenue collection possibilities
  • Free online tool calculates benefits of navigation systems
    May 16, 2012
    Navteq has launched a free online tool which calculates the potential savings delivered by using navigation systems. The service has been designed to cover both private and professional drivers and can be used, for example, by fleet managers to estimate the impact in relation to a group of vehicles or by car dealerships and PND manufacturers to demonstrate the savings to consumers at the point of sale.
  • Tattile adds Vega 1 to range of vehicle identification systems
    October 25, 2018
    Italian ITS specialist Tattile expands its range of vehicle identification systems by the new Vega 1, an intelligent camera specifically designed for single lane vehicle tracking, traffic limited areas and priority lanes, as well as congestion charge. The core of the new Vega 1 with an onboard automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) engine, is a dual channel camera built in a compact case which allows an easy setup to minimise the installation and maintenance times. The local storage allows the solution