We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » where the rubber meets the road
rfidwatch

where the rubber meets the road

May 1, 2006
John R. Johnson
No Comments

Remember the old days, when your local mechanic simply rubbed his hand across your car tires to check for uneven wear? Well, things are about to get much easier for the tire guy.

In the not-too-distant future, RFID tags will alert drivers when a tire needs air or when a tread has become too worn for safety.

Michelin, the world's largest tire maker, says it has produced the first rewriteable, cured-in transponder that can store vital information. The RFID transponder, which is embedded into the tire during the manufacturing process, allows the tire's identification number to be tied to a vehicle identification number (VIN), making tires uniquely identifiable with an individual vehicle. The tags also store information such as when and where the tire was made and its maximum inflation pressure.

The day when your new SUV will roll off the floor with RFID-tagged tires is still a ways off, however. Tagging is still too expensive. The cost per tire has dropped to about 89 cents from $2.50 in the past year, but that's still too high to make tags standard on passenger vehicles.

For that to happen, tag prices will have to drop to about 40 cents per tire, says Pat King, the leader of global electronics strategies for Michelin. King is optimistic that tagmakers will be able to meet that price if there's enough demand for tags. "We think a lot of people will have to jump in the pool ... because of the need to defray some of the architectural costs," says King. "But I've seen quotes from [tag suppliers] that say if we can get an entire industry commitment, then 40 cents is [likely]."

In the meantime, companies like Michelin and Goodyear are busy producing RFID-tagged tires for commercial vehicles, like airplanes and fleet trucks. That should be a welcome development for fleet managers. Along with tracking and monitoring tire conditions, RFID tags promise to improve vehicle performance. The tags can sense road conditions and communicate the information to the vehicle's operating system, enabling it to make adjustments if needed. In addition, tagged tires reduce the need for inspections, saving maintenance crews hours of work.

Goodyear is also proving to be a pioneer when it comes to tires and RFID technology. The tire-maker is putting RFID tags on the Eagle tires it leases out to cars competing in NASCAR races. Goodyear says RFID is the quickest way to log in the thousands of new and used tires that must be returned at the end of a race before teams can depart the track.

Automatic Data Capture RFID
  • Related Articles

    Sponsored By
    Seegrid

    Where the rubber meets the robots

    where the rubber hits the road: interview with Bob Brescia

    Rubber hits the road for XPO as it buys heavily into the trucking business

John Johnson joined the DC Velocity team in March 2004. A veteran business journalist, John has over a dozen years of experience covering the supply chain field, including time as chief editor of Warehousing Management. In addition, he has covered the venture capital community and previously was a sports reporter covering professional and collegiate sports in the Boston area. John served as senior editor and chief editor of DC Velocity until April 2008.

Recent Articles by John Johnson

supply chain 2010 ... are you ready?

RFID: ready to roll

earning its stripes

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Schneider welcomes first battery-electric truck

  • Fred Smith is not worried about Amazon

  • RJW LOGISTICS GROUP EXPANDS RETAIL LOGISTICS OPERATION TO DALLAS

  • Maersk deploys indoor drones for warehouse inventory counts

  • Outlook 2023: What’s in store for logistics/supply chain?

Now Playing on DCV-TV

5afe63a5 7125 4318 b851 1e5738df1c91

Patterson Fan Co. | HVLS V-Series Ceiling Fan | Staging Area Air Movement

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
The Patterson V-Series is a high-volume, low-speed industrial ceiling fan that is designed to circulate a lot of air at a very low speed. These fans, ranging in diameters of 8’ all the way to 24’, are perfect for large, open spaces such as staging and shipping areas. One 24’ fan can generate a cooling effect of 6 –...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing