Sensata Technologies has developed a new tire mounted sensor for vehicle and tire OEMs to deliver enhanced safety, performance, and data insights.

Sensata’s tire mounted sensor is the next step in the evolution of tire sensing, leveraging tires as the single point of contact with the road to deliver new insights, beyond just pressure and temperature. Sensata’s tire mounted sensor includes TPMS functionality as well as an accelerometer to detect the force with which the tire is striking the ground. Mounted directly to the tire’s inner liner, the tire mounted sensor identifies the brand and model of the tire and provides data continuity for the specific tire throughout its life cycle.

There are several benefits that Sensata’s tire mounted sensors are able to provide to drivers and tire and vehicle OEMs, including:

• Improved safety, tire life, fuel efficiency and driving range calculations: When the data from the sensors is paired with a load calculation algorithm, vertical load can be estimated on each tire while the vehicle is in motion. The system will notify the driver if the vehicle is overloaded or imbalanced. A vehicle that is overloaded by just 10% reduces tire life by 16% and fuel efficiency by 10%. Awareness of vehicle load increases safety, extends tire life, and improves driving range estimations. In addition, the real-time feedback Tire Mounted Sensors provided to a battery management system (BMS) allows for more accurate EV range calculations.
• Better vehicle handling: Tire information programmed into the sensor can enable the vehicle to adjust performance and handling to match the installed tire.
• More accurate ADAS performance: Detecting road surface conditions, such as changes from pavement to gravel, can inform the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to adapt and make more timely and accurate braking distance adjustments, for example.
• Simplified tire warranty tracking: Tire and vehicle OEMs can more easily conduct tire warranty tracking and notifications as a vehicle with Tire Mounted Sensors can automatically recognize the tire information from the sensors.

Sensata’s first Tire Mounted Sensor will launch in 2023 for a fleet retrofit with a major tire manufacturer and is discussing more opportunities with additional vehicle and tire OEMs.