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By Eileen Falkenberg-Hull
Senior Editor, Autos, Travel and Lifestyle
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For many modern businesses, profitability isn't down to just providing a physical product, but also harvesting the data that those connected devices can provide, and selling it. Pirellli vows to not be one of those companies.
During the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Pirelli Cyber Tire debuted. In addition to the typical rubber compounds that meet the road, the Cyber Tire has a sensor that allows it to be connected to a vehicle's electronic control unit (ECU), the brain of the car.
One sensor is installed on the internal part of a tire's tread pattern. From there, the Bluetooth-enabled sensor interacts with the ECU. The two work together with data flowing from the tires and the vehicle's stability control systems to the ECU, including antilock braking, traction control and electronic stability program.
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This free flow of information allows the vehicle's ECU to pick the right drive program for the circumstances, optimizing tire results, Pirelli says. The sensor's software was created and implemented by Pirelli.
That data generated from the sensors is not owned by the automaker whose connected vehicle the tires are riding on, Pirelli CEO Andrea Casaluci, told Newsweek. Nor is it owned by the person who has purchased the tires, or the company or person who has installed the tires. That data, is Pirellli's.
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The company does not plan to sell that data, bucking the potential revenue trend of the modern age.
"It's not in our plan," Casaluci said. "We started developing this technology to make the driving experience more exciting, more safe and more exciting ... We realize that these data are also very useful to develop new tires. Because we can learn a lot by the real experience. That's all. But that's the idea. And that's the way we are developing the technology."
The business case for the connectivity, Casaluci explained, is that Pirelli intends to use the information gathered to create better, more durable tires that they can charge a premium for.
The company's research and development arm is tasked with that development using data from the Cyber Tire of today that they're calling "1.0" and translating it into "2.0", the next-generation model.
Future sensor, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, if implemented, would allow Pirelli tires to detect road surface conditions and relay that not just to the vehicle but to other vehicles on the road. That information could also be passed on to public works professionals to assist in monitoring road conditions in real time, whether weather or wear-and-tear related.
Cyber Tires, the "1.0" version will first be available on the Pagani Utopia hypercar, a Mercedes-AMG-engined model that delivers 852 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque for drivers to use as they see fit, all while weighing about the same as a Chevrolet Sonic.
Utopia owners will have their choice of Cyber Tire from the Pirelli lineup. The technology has been employed in P Zero Corsa, P Zero Trofeo RS and P Zero Winter fitments.
Similar technology is employed elsewhere on the market, from brands including Continental and Nokian. Pirelli says that its offering is unique because it "increases the level of specialization of car electronics" and is establishing a pathway toward autonomous driving that includes tires.
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