Automobile Assignment-III

A review of the journal:

Wireless Monitoring of Automobile Tires for Intelligent Tires

Submitted by: Badarudeen K M S7 ME Roll no: 15

The given journal discusses the research work done by Ryosuke Matsuzaki and Akira Todoroki, about monitoring of various aspects related to automobile tyres. The authors are both research scholars at the Tokyo institute of technology and from the given references have extensive experience in their field of research. The title given to the journal is somewhat appropriate but could have been better. The abstract is concise and gives us a good idea about the problem in hand. The authors have clearly explained the various problems they had to face during their research. The journal, though lacking pictorial descriptions, gives us a clear perspective about their work. The journal has been compiled in a simple manner without extensive technical jargon. Thus we may conclude that the journal was written for all those are interested in this area. The objective of the research is to design and implement a system for monitoring quantities such as air pressure, applied strain, temperature, acceleration, wheel loading, friction, and tread wear, and are expected to improve the reliability of tires and tire control systems such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS). The main challenge faced by the researchers is at the implementation stage. 1) The sensor has a very high degree of stiffness and low elongation compared with tire rubber. This large difference in stiffness may disturb the deformation and stress of tires, and may also cause the debonding of sensors and rubber over a long period of usage. Sensors with low elongation are also easily damaged by large abrupt deformations. The wireless transmission of signals received by the sensors requires the installation of a transmitter & power source inside the rotating wheel which is a difficult task. This problem can be eliminated by using energy harvesting by which the energy required for the transmitter is obtained from the vibration or rotation of the tire itself. Though indirect measurements are possible they are not as accurate as direct methods & show great variation from actual values under bad road conditions. These measuring instruments have to be recalibrated after every tyre change.

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Various direct methods for picking up signals and transmitting them have been discussed in the journal, some of them are 1) Using SAW.(surface acoustic wave) 2) Using ultrasonic tyre sensors. 3) Using variable capacitance method. 4) Fiber optic method. 5) Peizo electric method. 6) MEMS sensor. 7) Wireless data transmission uses unlicensed ISM (industrial, scientific, and medical) bands, and use communication protocols such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, and IEEE 802.11. 8) Energy harvesting:- Instead of embedding batteries, mechanical vibration energy can be converted into electricity by capacitive, electromagnetic and piezoelectric generators .Harvesting energy from a rotating tire is a possible method of powering wireless devices implanted in the surface of the vehicle.

The conclusion drawn from the journal is as given below: Although the direct sensing using SAW, fiber optic, piezoelectric, and MEMS sensors have advantages in measurement accuracy compared with the indirect methods, the suitability for tire rubber is problematic. Direct tire monitoring that has better compatibility for tire rubber will be required for long-term service. The wireless transmission between tires and vehicle must be passive because of difficulties in battery installation. A battery-less active system using energy harvesting will be a future technology, and more research is required for gaining sufficient energy. The above conclusions have been supported by the analysis done by the author. Most of the reference given in the journal dates back to 1995-2005. Many of them are done by the authors themselves. Strengths of the journal: 1) The main strength of the journal is its relevance in the current scenario of automobile market, where companies are competing with each other for incorporating more and more safety features in their products.

2) The journal is well organized in a simple & easy to grasp manner. Weakness of the journal: 1) Care must be taken to reduce the cost of the systems without which the research may not be economically viable. 2) More pictorial representations could be included. Quoting the author A battery-less active system using energy harvesting will be a future technology, and more research is required for gaining sufficient energy. This is the way for future research.