ROME – Technology helps build more durable and sustainable tires. The implementation of the collaboration between the Japanese giant Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Falken’s parent company, and Professor Hiroshi Tani of Kansai University, Japan, has led to a further technological step in the field of tires. Researchers have developed a new sensor, “Miniature Energy Harvester,” capable of detecting tire wear that will help engineers build longer-lasting tires.
The system uses, among other things, a proven sustainable technology that uses the rotation of a tire to generate electricity and provide the energy necessary for the operation of the peripheral sensors installed inside, thus avoiding the use of batteries. . The technology then makes it possible to calculate the contact area of a tire and wheel rotations, and to collect stress levels based on amplitude changes resulting from tire rotation. The collection of this data can later be used to determine tire wear.
Furthermore, in addition to the previous results, the research team developed a technique capable of measuring the contact area of the tire by installing several miniature energy collectors in each tire that allow the collected data to be read. According to the Sumimoto specialists, these new technologies allow even more detailed monitoring, can be used for different applications and offer important information for future developments in the field of ever better tires.
“This new Energy Harvester technology is a big step towards the implementation of our sustainability policy, it supports us in the development of tires with an optimized contact area and therefore a longer life – underlined Bernd Löwenhaupt, CEO of Sumitomo Rubber Europe. – As part of the ‘Driving Our Future Challenge 2050’ climate change commitment, we are developing innovative solutions for greater safety and less environmental impact in order to actively shape the transformation of mobility ”. (mr)