Future Car-Tires as Provider of Information for Vehicle Systems to Enhance Primary Safety

Since 1989 the Automotive Engineering Department of Darmstadt University of Technology (fzd) has carried out measurements of tire tread deformations through the use of sensors which are integrated into the tire.

With these tire sensors fzd has achieved the possibility to qualitatively and quantitatively measure forces acting on the tire, especially local slip effects, which are the basis for friction detection. To investigate local slip fzd designed a completely new measuring device. Utilization of available tire/road friction and local slip events were measured in a specially equipped test car.

This paper describes the Darmstadt Tire Sensor, the theoretical vehicle system, the methods to study tire sensor behaviour as well as the results achieved so far.