New, exciting cars aside, the 2017 Geneva Motor Show also saw the unveiling of two new Goodyear concept tyres, which provide a glimpse of what the tyres in the future could look like.
Known as the IntelliGrip Urban, the concept tyre is designed for future-generation autonomous electric ride-sharing vehicles in urban areas.
With its advanced Sensor-in-Tire technology, the concept tyre senses road and weather conditions. By gathering this critical data and sending it directly to the vehicle’s computer system, it enables the car to optimise speed, braking, handling and stability.
Future-generation autonomous fleets will be operating in a complex environment, with other vehicles, drivers, pedestrians and data from all of the elements making up the ‘Internet of Things’. Tyres such as the Goodyear IntelliGrip Urban could play a critical role in this evolving ecosystem.
Furthermore, fleet operators will benefit from the tyre’s tall and narrow shape, which reduces rolling resistance to increase energy efficiency and range of electrical vehicle fleets in an urban environment. The IntelliGrip Urban’s sensor technology would also allow operators to precisely identify and resolve tyre-related issues before they happen.
On the other hand, the Eagle 360 Urban becomes the first concept tyre to be powered by Artificial Intelligence and able to sense, decide, transform and interact. It is the continuation of last year’s Eagle 360 concept tyre, which received positive feedback.
The Eagle 360 Urban features bionic skin with a sensor network that allows the concept tyre to check on its own status and gather information on its environment, including the road surface. Via connectivity with other vehicles as well as infrastructure, traffic and mobility management systems, the concept tyre also captures information on its surroundings in real-time.
By combining these information and processing them instantaneously using neural networks trained with deep learning algorithms, the Eagle 360 Urban decides the most appropriate course of action. It also learns from previous actions how to optimize future responses.
