AKRON, Ohio, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — In an important step towards safer and more sustainable goods movement through autonomous transportation, Goodyear (NASDAQ: GT) and Gatik have demonstrated, in a proof of concept, that intelligent tires powered by Goodyear SightLine technology can accurately estimate tire-road friction potential and provide real-time information to Gatik’s automated driving system (ADS). The breakthrough will add more utility to what a tire can deliver by providing critical data that can help enhance vehicle safety and performance, increasing efficiency and value for Gatik’s customers in the B2B short-haul market.
Goodyear and Gatik recently deployed road-friction detection capabilities in Canada through continuous measurement of tire sensor-derived information, which is paired with other vehicle data and connected to Goodyear’s cloud-based proprietary algorithms to optimize vehicle performance. Friction estimates from Goodyear’s SightLine solution were successfully able to detect low grip conditions, such as snowy or icy conditions, and make this information available to Gatik’s autonomous fleet, enhancing safety and performance for Gatik’s commercial operations in Canada’s challenging winter climate.
With road-friction data, tires can help enable smoother, safer and more sustainable driving. This is critical information for autonomous vehicles in terms of path planning and providing recommendations for safe driving speed, vehicle acceleration limits and vehicle following distance.
Goodyear SightLine technology is designed to measure the tire wear state, load, inflation pressure and temperature. It combines that with real-time road-weather data and proprietary rubber friction models to estimate the tire-road friction potential. Having this information in real-time enables Gatik’s fleet to safely and efficiently respond to challenging conditions within its operational design domain (ODD). While Goodyear’s SightLine technology has tremendous future implications for autonomous driving, this year it is anticipated that Goodyear will also be deploying Goodyear SightLine technology on select original equipment vehicles bringing immediate utility to today’s mobility market.
“The tire is the only part of the vehicle that touches the ground, and this new level of data sophistication can communicate vital information to the vehicle, enhancing safety and performance,” said Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s senior vice president, Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer. “This is another step to evolve the tire to not only deliver its core, traditional job but also be a nexus of new data and information.”
“At Gatik, we’re dedicated to providing our customers with a solution that continues to raise industry standards in safety, efficiency and performance,” said Arjun Narang, Gatik’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder. “Using Goodyear’s groundbreaking SightLine technology helps us to operationalize these principles and ensures that we’re delivering greater value and enhancing safety on the middle mile today.”
About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 57 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.
About Gatik
Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle mile logistics, delivers goods safely and efficiently using its fleet of light and medium duty trucks. The company focuses on short-haul, B2B logistics for Fortune 500 retailers such as Loblaw, Walmart, KBX and Georgia-Pacific, and in 2021 became the first company worldwide to operate fully driverless commercial deliveries on the middle mile. Gatik’s Class 3-6 autonomous box trucks are commercially deployed in multiple markets including Ontario, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Gatik partners with industry leaders including Goodyear, Ryder, Isuzu and Cummins. Founded in 2017 by veterans of the autonomous technology industry, the company has offices in Toronto, Ontario and Mountain View, California. In 2022, Gatik was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Startup Employers and by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea. In 2021, Gatik was recognized on the Forbes AI 50 list and as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.
SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
