A long-time leader in tire management for racing, trucking and aircraft fleets, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is now applying its expertise to a fleet of semi-autonomous electric cars.
Goodyear announced it is equipping Tesloop, a city-to-city mobility service that exclusively uses Tesla electric vehicles, with wireless sensors in its tires to improve overall tire management and maximize uptime for its growing fleet.
“We want to build the future, not just observe or read about it,” said Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s chief technology officer. “As the new mobility ecosystem continues to take shape, we are taking steps to match the pace of technical change in the transportation industry and develop tire innovations that meet the intelligence of the vehicles riding on them.”
The wireless sensors continuously measure and record tire temperature and pressure, which is paired with other vehicle data and connected to Goodyear’s cloud-based proprietary algorithms to enhance overall fleet operations and predict when the tires need service or replacement.
As part of the program with Tesloop, Goodyear also is extending its mobile fleet solutions to passenger vehicles, providing tire maintenance and repair while Tesloop vehicles are at charging stations, during regularly planned downtime.
“When you are operating cars nearly 24/7/365, minimizing tire incidents is critical to the customer experience and the business model,” said Rahul Sonnad, Tesloop’s CEO. “The possibilities for data-driven tire diagnostics are remarkable and promise to help a business like Tesloop operate more efficiently and make our vehicles the safest on the road.”
Tesloop operates a fleet of Teslas that average up to 17,000 miles per vehicle, per month. Its highest-mileage vehicle, a Tesla Model S in operation since 2015, recently exceeded 300,000 service miles. Goodyear has been working with Tesloop since January 2017 to study the effect of autonomous technologies on tires.
Goodyear’s effort with Tesloop builds on its successful commercialization of Goodyear Proactive Solutions for truck fleets, using advanced telematics and predictive analytics technology to allow fleet operators to optimize fuel efficiency and precisely identify and resolve tire-related issues before they happen.
In addition to its fleet management offerings, Goodyear also is working with automakers to provide tire information to vehicle control systems to enhance safety and performance.
Helsel added, “Goodyear is breaking new ground with the combination of fleet management expertise, intelligent products, and a vast service network to deliver complete solutions for the future of mobility.”