The Internet of Things age is dawning, as ultra-fast 5G connectivity opens up communications between everything from your toaster to your pacemaker, leading to a weird kind of digital utopia where everything's talking to everything else. If Pirelli gets its way, your car tires will be little chatterboxes too, yapping away not only to your own car's ECU, but to other cars and roadside infrastructure as well.
What on Earth could tires have to yabber about? Well, the world's first 5G-connected tire, the Pirelli Cyber Tire, is up and running, and it's got a sensor, processor and communications disc about the size of a medium coin embedded inside that's designed to constantly monitor a bunch of variables.
We're talking tire pressure (of course), tread depth, tire temperature, acceleration along longitudinal, lateral and rotational axes, and the ability to sense water and ice on the road. When fitted to a car, the Cyber Tire feeds all this information back to the car's ECU, along with warnings like "the road just got wet," or "ice detected," or "there's a heavy load in the car right now, bump up the suspension preload," or "grip may be compromised" that the car can use to determine what it should be doing with engine mappings, traction control settings, or even suspension. Pirelli seems to think it might send "slow down" signals as well, that bring the car down to a safe speed to hit a piece of wet road at.
Pirelli
Last week, Pirelli held a demonstration of the next step in Cyber Tire connectivity, on the top of the remarkable Lingotto building in Turin, Italy. Originally built as a Fiat factory, the Lingotto building is now a shopping mall, but the giant banked test track on its roof bears testimony to its remarkable history. When the factory opened in 1923, it was an industrial masterpiece, a five-story assembly line spiraling upward. Raw materials would come into the ground floor, and finished cars would emerge onto the test track on the roof, to be checked out before being sent out to dealerships.
Pirelli stuck some of its Cyber Tires highly racy P Zero Trofeo versions onto an Audi A8, and had a Q8 follow it around the track. When the A8 ran over some water, it pinged a 5G V2X tower with a "water on the road" alert signal, and the following Q8 received the warning before it got there.
Pirelli
As automotive demonstrations go, it can't've been much of a spectacle. But Pirelli is deadly serious about pushing this tech forward as part of its OEM partnerships with auto manufacturers. It's no use having a smart tire if the car's not designed to take advantage of it. Pirelli says it's likely to debut on high-end cars, simply because they challenge the grip of their tires more frequently, and have more automated features that might be able to take advantage of the information: adaptive cruise, active suspension, auto-emergency braking, active aerodynamics and whatnot. Lower end cars should follow soon enough, as the per-unit costs of fitting Cyber Tires don't add much to the cost of the car.
Pirelli's already using Cyber Tires as part of truck fleet management, where it's particularly handy as a way to instantly let a service crew know which hoops on an 18-wheeler need topping up at the air hose and which can be left alone.
Source: Pirelli
Read more:
Why Pirelli is building 5G connectivity into its new "Cyber Tires" - New Atlas
- Travel & Resources: DELHI / NEW DELHI - Utopia [Last Updated On: June 15th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 15th, 2016]
- Travel & Resources: DELHI / NEW DELHI - Utopia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Utopia - New World Encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Utopia (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Chanel Mirage, Utopia, New Moon Illusion d'Ombre ... [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2016]
- New Utopia Design Build - Los Angeles, CA, US 90012 [Last Updated On: August 14th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 14th, 2016]
- THE NEW UTOPIA - Libertarian [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2016]
- NEW TOWN UTOPIA by Christopher Ian Smith Kickstarter [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2016]
- Travel & Resources: HONG KONG - Gay Asia and... - Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- THE NEW CHAIN REACTION - Game Show Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- DELHI / NEW DELHI: Massage and Spas - Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- First Listen: Sinkane, 'Life & Livin' It' - NPR [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Who is authorized to bind your family business to contracts? - Lexology (registration) [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Meanwhile in Canada Things Are Just as Bad - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia expansion lets you craft megastructural ringworlds - PC Gamer [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- 'Stellaris' Utopia DLC Gets First Trailer; Will Introduce New Buildings And Perks - iDigitalTimes.com [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Utopia Pipeline project to bring 300 temporary jobs to New Philadelphia - New Philadelphia Times Reporter [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- With violin in hand, Mark Menzies finds hope for the future in the past - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Revolution: Russian Art review from utopia to the gulag, via ... - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Brooklyn's A/D/O Co-Working Space Is Building a Utopia for Creatives of All Kinds - Artsy [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Austra encourages listeners to imagine new, bolder futures - San Francisco Chronicle [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Michael Loong Proposes New, Sustainable Ideology to Achieve Utopia in China - Satellite PR News (press release) [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- French photographer builds supernatural Astana, calls it Utopia of the 21st Century - Astana Times [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- The village aiming to create a white utopia - BBC News [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- A notable show BAMPFA's 'Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for ... - Berkeleyside [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- British Airways Concorde 'Alpha Foxtrot' Arrives at New Bristol Home - AirlineGeeks.com (blog) [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- In praise of utopias, not dystopias: Salutin - Toronto Star [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- The Bannon-Trump Arc of History - American Spectator [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Everybody's Pop-Up Shop Throws a Wild AntiFashion Week Party With Adwoa Aboah - Vogue.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Plotting 'No-Place' in 'Utopia Neighborhood Club' - Seattle Weekly [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Utopia releases its next version of master data governance solution ... - SDTimes.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Bruno Ganz on New Film About Last Days of East Germany: 'This Is a Subject That Will Never Let Me Go' - Variety [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- New Barbarians: Inside Rolling Stones' Wild Seventies Spin-Off - RollingStone.com [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Drought-crazed utopia flushes away common sense - NewHampshire.com [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Lenkom Theater: From Soviet utopia to post-modern dystopia - Russia Beyond the Headlines [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- GHOST To Record "Darker" New Album This Summer, Tease Completely New Lineup - Metal Injection.net [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Protest Cabaret: Ithaca's Resistance - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Fighting for Utopia in Tough Times - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Mardi Gras brings on the fun - Tullahoma News and Guardian [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Angela Henderson-Bentley: New take on Jack the Ripper an idea whose 'Time' has come - Huntington Herald Dispatch [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Knowledge can fight ignorance: New speakers series will shed light on Yemen - Detroit Metro Times [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Hygge Is Where the Heart Is - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Utopia is coming, with a basic income for all - The Times (subscription) [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Government shakeups and political unrest are coming to Stellaris in its Utopia expansion - PCGamesN [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Rutger Bregman: 'We could cut the working week by a third' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- The board hoard: your guide to the best new board games - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Tempted To Move Out Of The US? New Zealand Wants To Help You Escape - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC to Welcome New 'Georg von Trapp' on Tour in Hershey - Broadway World [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia Gameplay Expansion Out In April - Attack of the Fanboy [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- At BAMPFA, 'Hippie Modernism' Proves the Fight for Utopia is Far from Over - KQED [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia Set To Launch April 6th - One Angry Gamer (blog) [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Railcar derailment in Utopia due to vandalism: Cando Rail Services - Simcoe.com [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia Path to Ascension release date trailer - Gameplanet [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- JUSTIN JOHNSON: It's a TRAP! - SCNow [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Watch brutal Xenomorph attack in new 'Alien: Covenant' trailer - CNET [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Dr. John to headline Utopia Fest in final year at Four Sisters Ranch - austin360 (blog) [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Want utopia? Start with universal basic income and a 15-hour work week - Wired.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Extreme Channel 4 reality challenge Mutiny makes its sailors suffer - iNews [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Utopia Frozen Yogurt and Coffee House | Ellensburg, WA [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- March 4, 2017 - EDP Foundation - Utopia/Dystopia / Hctor Zamora: Order and Progress - E-Flux [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Utopia for Realists and How We Can Get There by Rutger Bregman digested read - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- A taste of 'Utopia' - Otago Daily Times [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Father John Misty references Taylor Swift in new song, 'Total Entertainment Forever' - EW.com [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Time After Time May Be Your New Bad TV Obsession - Gizmodo [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- 'Time After Time' delivers Jack the Ripper to modern-day New York - Long Beach Press Telegram [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Why everyone hates the GOP's new health plan - The Week Magazine [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- A modern utopia: Inside the UK's first women-only housing community - International Business Times UK [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Utopia Now! - Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Hello Cuba, Adios Utopia: Cuban Art in Texas - Observer [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Whole of It: 'Free Cake at the Top' - Scottsbluff Star Herald [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Utopia in the Time of Trump - lareviewofbooks [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- The Nature of Robots - Film School Rejects [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Utopia Multimedia Festival brings artistic talents together in one place - Taranaki Daily News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- The Electoral College is right for New Mexico - Albuquerque Journal [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Equal writes and the best new women fiction: Book reviews - Express.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Liberal America Has A Sweden Fetish - GOOD Magazine [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- Utopia Creations travels to Florida - Journalism.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- A Well-Ventilated Utopia - The New York Review of Books [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- 500 years after Sir Thomas More's Utopia, what have we learned? - The Sydney Morning Herald [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- This Swiss Startup Is Bringing AI to the Music Label Business - Bloomberg [Last Updated On: March 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 23rd, 2017]