Yokohama Rubber is working on a joint research and development project to advance passenger car tire sensors with Alps Alpine. The main objective of this partnership is to develop a solutions business that uses digital tools to process and manage data about tire wear and road surface conditions.
Yokohama believes that in future, tires will need to be CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Services and Electric) compliant and part of the Internet of Things (IoT). In line with this, the Japanese tire maker is developing new technologies expecting a synergistic effect on its new tire business model, thanks to the Alps Alpine’s system design and its software development capabilities.
“We believe it is also important to develop systems and applications that provide data obtained from tires to drivers and certain other parties. Such systems and apps are widely expected to add value to new tire business. Accordingly, we are accelerating the development of tire sensors through a joint development effort with Alps Alpine,” said Yokohama Rubber executives.
The company explained that linking tire operation history and other vehicle data with Yokohama’s tire management system will enable users to analyze vehicle operation trends and receive notification of the proper timing for tire inspection, thus raising their comprehensive vehicle operation management to a new level and promoting the use of retread tires.
