"Real time measurement of wear and damage in tyres to reduce accidents and enable the ""tyre as a service"" model"

Project Information

Smart-tyre

Grant agreement ID: 854113

DOI

10.3030/854113

Project closed

EC signature date 18 January 2019

Start date 1 February 2019

End date 31 July 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

WRIGGLE SOLUTIONS
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Smart-tyre (Real time measurement of wear and damage in tyres to reduce accidents and enable the "tyre as a service" model)

Reporting period: 2019-02-01 to 2019-07-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Wriggle Solutions has developed a solution which, thanks to a patented revolutionary physical approach using the tyre itself as a sensor, is capable of measuring in real time the tread depth of tyres and monitor the extent of wear in an extremely precise and effective manner, identifying possible damages and deformations of tyres that precede sudden failures or explosions. The tyre becomes a sensing Smart-Tyre exploiting the physical principle of variation of electrical conductivity related to the tread thickness, without integrating any complex digital device in the polymeric mixture of the tyre. The objectives of the project were to validate the 1) technical feasibility, including compliance with standards, analysis of specifications and functionalities, definition of production costs and suppliers, manufacturing plan; 2) business opportunity, to understand specific market demands and willingness to pay, the options for market access, definition of business plan and the investment strategy.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The activities carried out during the feasibility study included: 1) Product fit analysis and certifications required for SMART Tyre. 2) Production cost analysis and options for production of the SMART Tyre modules, with the estimation on the production capacity of a total amount of 10’000 units. 3) Customer validation to confirm the advantages for the end-users, i.e. experts, fleet managers and solutions providers. 4) Business model and value chain including main barrier to reach commercialization and the options for industrial partnerships with tyre manufacturers and TPMS manufacturers for market access. 5) Market evaluation for tyres and vehicle, with priority application in the Heavy vehicle segment. 6) Business plan envisaged for 5 years after market launch.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

SMART Tyre is a system that aims at improving the road safety by analyzing in real-time key parameters of tires for road vehicles that no other state-of-the-art system can monitor. Specifically, SMART Tyre can monitor the depth of the tire tread and to detect possible deformations or damages. The former affects the tire friction and is directly responsible for both the vehicle stability and energy efficiency, while the latter identifies unusual conditions that may lead to tire explosions. The use of SMART Tyre allows to: improve safety of vehicles, reduce operational costs for commercial vehicles, reduce insurance costs, offer tighter safety control, improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.