Goodyear, SafeAI Collaborate On Tires For Autonomous Vehicles

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and SafeAI have entered into a strategic relationship to incorporate tire intelligence into the programming of autonomous heavy equipment vehicles.

Through an integration with the SafeAI autonomous ecosystem, the companies said they will exchange site data to protect tire health, eliminate downtime and contribute to a smarter, safer standard for the construction industry. Tire intelligence from Goodyear’s TPMS Heavy Duty rim-mounted sensors will be deployed at an active construction site in Cupertino, Calif.

With this collaboration, Goodyear will outfit a Caterpillar 725, retrofitted with SafeAI’s autonomous software, to capture pressure and temperature data and monitor overall tire health. These sensors can identify and communicate adverse conditions before they cause maintenance issues and derail a project.

Unplanned downtime on construction and mining sites result in missed timelines and increased budget. Tire intelligence can help mitigate these challenges by identifying early or potential problems, such as underinflation, before they cause unexpected delays – bolstering efficiency, safety and return on investment.

“No matter the vehicle – automobile, freight truck or dump truck – tire intelligence can help elevate safety, performance and efficiency,” said Chris Helsel, Goodyear senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Through our work with SafeAI, we will not only empower site operators with greater visibility and efficiency, but also gain invaluable performance data to inform our future innovation in autonomy and heavy equipment.”

Based in Milpitas, Calif., SafeAI is a technology company that retrofits heavy equipment for autonomous applications in mining and construction. Obayashi Corp. and Foundamental have made strategic investments in the company, which was founded in 2017.

“Goodyear has been at the forefront of tire innovation for more than 100 years. Today, we’re proud to join forces to take on a new frontier: tire intelligence for autonomous heavy equipment,” said Bibrajit Halder, founder and CEO at SafeAI. “We strongly believe in a collaborative approach to deploying autonomy in construction and mining, at scale. We have purpose-built an interoperable autonomous technology that enables us to work with industry leaders like Goodyear and set the standard for autonomous heavy equipment.”