Smart tracking technology has made its way into various corners of the automotive industry, including your tires. Many major tire brands such as Michelin and Continental use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags embedded in their tires to track individual tires throughout their lifetime, from the moment they leave the factory to their end-of-life process. If you buy a new tire from one of these manufacturers, there’s a good chance it will come with an RFID tag inside. There are several reasons why some manufacturers are starting to use them, with tag manufacturer Murata highlighting key use cases.
According to Murata, manufacturers use RFID tags to track individual tires during the delivery process before they are mounted on vehicles. Scanning tires in the warehouse on delivery is faster and more reliable than manually checking each tire, and means tires missing from shipments can be identified quickly. Vehicle manufacturers can also use tags to quickly confirm that each tire is installed correctly on the assembly line.
Once a new tire is out on the road, RFID tracking tags are still useful. They work without batteries, so there is no additional maintenance required, but service center technicians can use them to download information about tire history from a cloud database. There may be information about when the tire was manufactured, or its previously recorded tread depth, but this is an easy way to check if the tire is subject to any recalls.
Read more: 5 Reasons Why You’re Seeing More Jeeps Without Rear Tires
RFID tags can also track tires that are reaching the end of their life
A large stack of used vehicle tires – Constantinis/Getty Images
It is worth noting here that the purpose of fitting RFID tags to tires is not to track the vehicle using them – it is simply to keep tabs on the tire’s condition and history. Continental notes that only technicians who have registered for its Tire Information Service and are authorized to use it can access a complete record of tire condition.
According to Michelin, more than 100 million tires with the technology are on the road. Michelin continues to be the top brand since the introduction of the technology, ranking as the best major tire brand for customer satisfaction in several studies. Performance and durability are the two main factors cited for that rating.
Along with performance and durability, another important aspect of buying tires is what happens when they reach the end of their life. According to Murata, RFID tags also come in handy here, as they can help track where tires end up when they’re used up. If they are set to be processed for rereading, an RFID tag can help record where they are in that process at any given time, and if they are destined for recycling or scrapping, they will also be marked accordingly.
How are RFID tags attached to tires?
Concept of selecting RFID data – SuPatMaN/Shutterstock
Any tags attached to tires need to be able to survive not only the life of the tire but also through its end-of-life processing, which means they need to be tough. The exact method of attaching these tags varies slightly between manufacturers, but they are either embedded into the tire structure or fitted as a secure internal patch. Once they are in place, the tags cannot be removed or swapped, which helps protect against fraud and ensures that any retreaded or used tires are not sold as new by unscrupulous resellers.
It’s a win-win for both manufacturers and consumers, so it should come as no surprise that many major manufacturers are already using or set to implement the technology. From 2022, manufacturers such as Pirelli, Michelin, and Goodyear have formed a dedicated association to roll out tire tracking and manage access to tracking data. The organization is called GDSO, and its website states that its goal is to “act as a competent body responsible for developing and managing global tire data management” as well as standardizing access to data through its Tire Information Service.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
