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.

Related Content

  • October 29, 2014
    ITS need not reinvent machine vision
    Machine vision techniques hold the potential to solve a multitude of challenges facing the transportation sector Optical Character Recognition (OCR), the base technology for number plate recognition, has been in industrial use for more than three decades. It is a prime example of how, instead of having to start from scratch, the transportation sector can leverage and adapt the machine vision expertise already used in industry in order to provide robust solutions with new capabilities. “The real val
  • June 22, 2012
    Goodyear working to make tyres self-inflating
    Goodyear is developing Air Maintenance Technology (AMT) that will enable tyres to remain inflated at the optimum pressure without the need for any external pumps or electronics. All components of the AMT system, including the miniaturised pump, will be fully contained within the tyre. “While the technology is complex, the idea behind the AMT system is relatively simple and powered by the tyre itself as it rolls down the road,” said Jean-Claude Kihn, Goodyear Senior VP and CTO, adding, “A tyre that can maint
  • January 11, 2017
    Kapsch outlines tolling options to combat traffic congestion
    Michael Maitland from Kapsch TrafficCom looks at how the various forms of tolling can help authorities combat traffic congestion and air quality problems while simultaneously raising revenue.
  • May 9, 2024
    Tattile has eyes on Buenos Aires
    Tattile has provided its high-performance free-flow ANPR system consisting of Vega Smart 2HD camera and Axle Counter cameras - powered by artificial intelligence - to the capital of Argentina. David Arminas reports