Tactile Mobility Launches First-of-its-Kind Tire Tread Depth Measurement Solution

Software and data solution provides drivers with real-time critical safety information about tire tread depth

Tactile Mobility, the leading tactile data and virtual sensing technology company, announced  the launch of its first-of-a-kind tire tread measurement solution which will greatly enhance driver and passenger safety at a fraction of the cost of other existing tire monitoring methods. The solution receives tactile data from the vehicle’s existing sensors and turns it into real-time actionable insights, warning drivers upon tire tread deterioration and its impact on grip.

Tread depth is crucial in vehicle safety – increasing the vehicles’ ability to grip the road, brake efficiently on wet surfaces, avoid aquaplaning and ensure driver and passenger safety. In even the most advanced vehicles on the road today, the only measures of tire safety that are monitored automatically and presented to drivers are air pressure and temperature; measuring tire tread depth and grip is considered technologically challenging and not cost-effective.  

“To prioritize driver and passenger safety, it’s critical that vehicles contain cost-effective, virtual sensors that not only estimate tire tread depth in real-time, but also inform drivers when it’s time to replace their tires,” said Boaz Mizrachi, CTO and Co-founder of Tactile Mobility. “For the first time, the mobility industry will have access to an affordable, in-vehicle solution that not only automatically monitors tire tread depth, but also warns drivers before their tires become unsafe.”

Tactile Mobility utilizes vehicles’ existing sensors to gather data such as wheel speed, wheel angle, RPM and more. This enables the company to generate real-time actionable insights about the vehicle, road, and vehicle-road dynamics. Tire tread depth is one of many important data metrics that Tactile Mobility generates, collects, and transforms into actionable insights for OEMs, Tier-1s, fleet managers, repair shops, insurance companies and everyday drivers. Tactile Mobility is developing a comprehensive suite of automated tire health monitoring capabilities which addresses all major tire conditions affecting vehicle safety including tire stiffness, tire type mismatch, tire blowout prediction and more.

OEMs can use tire tread depth data to improve driver and passenger safety by ensuring optimal configuration of their vehicles, providing in-vehicle alerts, preconditioning vehicle systems, referring drivers to repair shops, and much more. Tier-1s can leverage this data to produce the safest, long-lasting tires on the market. Replacing tires is one of the largest expenses for fleet managers; therefore, the ability to monitor tread depth in real-time greatly reduces their vehicles’ downtime due to excessive tire wear and ultimately cuts costs. Insurance companies can leverage tire tread depth data to conduct personalized risk profiling, provide optimized insurance plans that are customized to different driving styles, and incentivize tire repair.

Tactile Mobility has recently announced a commercial collaboration with the BMW group to implement its virtual sensors in their vehicles. In addition, Tactile Mobility is successfully collaborating with 6 other OEMs and Tier 1s, including Porsche and Nexteer Automotive, and has executed partnerships with 10 road authorities and municipalities across the globe, including in the UK, Germany, Israel, Singapore, and Detroit.

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