Bridgestone teams up with Microsoft to innovate
with an intelligent tire monitoring system for enhanced safety
· Through its partnership with Microsoft, Bridgestone has developed a unique Tyre Damage Monitoring System, using Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform (MCVP).
· The system aims to increase road safety and reduce accidents caused by technical failure.
· This collaboration is the next step on Bridgestone’s journey to become a global leader in sustainable and advanced mobility solutions.
[Brussel] (July 13,2020) – Bridgestone, the world’s largest tire and rubber manufacturer, is collaborating with Microsoft to develop a world-first monitoring system for detecting tire damage issues in real-time. These issues are a serious matter, contributing to some 30% of all car accidents caused by technical failure1.
The final piece in tracking tire issues
Tire issues take four main forms: inadequate pressure, fatigue, irregular wear, and lastly, damage from curbs, potholes, or items on the road.
Fortunately, most of these issues can already be reliably mitigated against. TPMS (tire pressure monitoring systems) have been mandatory in all cars built since 2012, and help motorists avoid low-pressure problems. Regular service and replacing tires in time will guard against wear and fatigue.
The exception, and safety gap, has been tire damage – which often cannot be detected without close, manual inspection, and which can potentially occur at any time. Damaged tires can lead to accidents. They can also adversely affect other vehicle components, such as causing damage to the wheels and thus create a further source of potential danger to motorists.
Now that gap can be closed. Bridgestone’s Tyre Damage Monitoring System delivers real-time awareness of damage. It uses MCVP’s cloud framework together with existing sensor data, from hardware that is already installed and uses algorithms to detect events affecting the tire surface and carcass. The driver can then be immediately notified of the hazard and act accordingly to remedy the situation. There is currently no other equivalent monitoring system available in the market. Alternatives would require extra hardware to be installed.
Moving forward
This tire damage monitoring system has other valuable applications. The system not only understands when damage has occurred, but also where. It thus allows broader insight into road conditions and infrastructure, which can be used to alert the agencies responsible for road damage issues to the presence and location of potholes and other hazards. Future autonomous vehicles could also be beneficiaries of the system – as vehicles pass information about local hazards to others in the vicinity, as well as cloud data stores.
Currently, Bridgestone’s new Tyre Damage Monitoring System is available to all vehicle fleets and OEM’s that use MCVP. The partnership with Microsoft also enables Bridgestone to further develop its solution to meet the requirements of fleets and key OEM partners around the world.
A digital partnership for the future of mobility
MCVP provides one consistent, cloud-connected, horizontal platform across digital scenarios on top of which customer-facing solutions can be built, including in-vehicle infotainment, advanced navigation, autonomous driving, telematics and prediction services as well as over-the-air updates (OTA). It includes the enterprise-grade global availability and scale that comes with Microsoft Azure.
MCVP will provide Bridgestone with a digital infrastructure that will accelerate its delivery of connected mobility solutions, providing access to a multitude of Microsoft Azure cloud, AI, and IoT capabilities.
In turn, working with Bridgestone helps Microsoft grow its ecosystem of supporting partners, and enables MCVP’s customers to integrate these partner’s solutions into their own offerings.
Laurent Dartoux, CEO and President of Bridgestone EMIA, says: “Digital is such a huge part of what we do today at Bridgestone; it’s imperative that we work with industry-leading partners who can support our needs today and in the future. By teaming up with Microsoft, we have the opportunity to bring our Tyre Damage Monitoring System to millions of drivers, offering them better safety and peace of mind.”
“Microsoft partners with mobility companies to support their transformation into smart mobility services providers. With the Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform, our mission is to help businesses accelerate the delivery of safe and personalized connected mobility experiences. Using MCVP, Bridgestone has created Tyre Damage Monitoring System that offers a remarkable contribution to road safety and proves how the collaboration between industry leaders can unlock new business opportunities ahead”, said Tara Prakriya, General Manager, Azure Mobility and Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform at Microsoft.
1 UK Department for Transport Statistics (2018) ‘Contributory factors in reported accidents by severity, Great Britain, 2018”
About Bridgestone:
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world’s largest tire and rubber company. In addition to tires for use in a wide variety of applications, it also manufactures a broad range of diversified products, which include industrial rubber and chemical products and supporting goods. Its products are sold in over 150 nations and territories around the world.
About Thai Bridgestone:
In Thailand, Bridgestone has managed to achieve sustainable growth and success through great confidence from end-users, dealers, and automotive manufacturers since its production 51 years ago. Through our history, the company has shown great determination to research, invent, and create excellent products that are suitable for domestic use. Additionally, together with well selected raw materials, state-of-the-art production facilities and machines, and highest standard of quality control, these enable Bridgestone to journey on the same path with the corporate mission-“Serving Society with Superior Quality”.