Pirelli, Schrader perfect cyber tyre sensor

Geneva, Switzerland -- Pirelli is in detailed discussions with

at least one major German tyre maker over using a 'cyber tyre' sensor

to measure pressure, temperature and other parameters.

The sensor, being developed in

conjunction with Schrader Electronics is a direct measurement system

and currently, in final prototype form, weighs just 8.2 grammes. Once

the sensor is in mass production, the weight should fall to just 7

grammes, said Frederico

Mancosu, head of tyre and vehicle systems at Pirelli.

Neither Schrader nor Pirelli would

discuss the price of the unit, except to say that once in high volume

production, there is no reason why the price of a complete tyre

condition monitoring system should not fall to around $10 per corner

on a vehicle.

The sensor attaches onto the inner

liner of the tyre, and can be used with any make of tyre, either

after final production, or as a retro fit.

The unit offers substantial benefits

over existing systems, in that it is lighter, and has been designed

specifically to withstand the harsh environment inside a tyre. It can be used as a drop-in replacement for existing valve-mounted pressure monitoring systems.

According

to Alfonso Stefano di Pasquale, European sales and marketing manager

for Schrader Electronics, the world's leading supplier of direct

TPMS systems, the new development offers two key benefits to vehicle

makers.

The

first is protection against product liability lawsuits. He said the

unit records temperature, pressure, speed and distance and thus can

be used to prove how the tyre has been used.

The

other key advantage is in offering an estimate of the life remaining

in a runflat tyre.

The

unit is self-powered, so does not use a battery. Instead a sheet of

piezo-electric material flexes as the tyre rotates, and this

generates enough energy to power the device and send a signal to a

central control unit.

The

unit also offers a direct measurement of pressure, and therefore does

not require a calibration run before it can offer useful information. It also measures vertical load and has space to fit a standard RFID unit within the sensor.

Mancosusaid the unit

has passed the requirements of the VDA, the federation of German

automotive manufacturers.

Mancosu

will be making a presentation of the system at the TTE event in

Cologne (Koeln) next week.