Now equipped with memory

Tires may seem simple enough, but they pack in some pretty advanced technology. Truck tires in particular must be able to withstand moving several tons over hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Tire maker Michelin hopes to make its truck tires even better by embedding memory right into the rubber. The memory would store the tire’s entire history, from manufacturing date and plant through to maintenance and retreading...

Technology

The memory is an RFID tag much like those used on parcels stored in a warehouse or on certain products found on supermarket shelves. The challenge is to make sure the tags work once embedded inside the tire’s structure, where they must overcome hurdles like the tire’s metal plies, which interfere with radio transmission; the distortion that occurs with each rotation of the wheel; and harsh road conditions like temperature variations and impacts.

It took Leti and Michelin six years to get the RFID tags to perform up to their standards. To do so, they tested a total of 50,000 tires over 6 billion kilometers. Michelin is the world’s first tire manufacturer