Goodyear, SafeAI In Heavy Equipment Partnership

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co has entered a strategic partnership with SafeAI to incorporate tyre intelligence into the programming of autonomous heavy equipment vehicles.

SafeAI is based in California's Silicon Valley, in San Jose, and specialises in retrofitting heavy equipment for autonomous operation in the mining and construction sectors.

The partnership will see tyre intelligence from Goodyear's TPMS Heavy Duty rim-mounted sensors deployed at an active construction site in Cupertino.

Goodyear will outfit a Caterpillar 725, retrofitted with SafeAI's autonomous software, to capture pressure and temperature data and monitor overall tyre health.

The sensors identify and communicate adverse conditions, such as underinflation, before they cause problems that need to be addressed in unscheduled maintenance work.

Goodyear said in a statement that tyre intelligence can help mitigate challenges brought on by costly unplanned downtime which "is rife with" traditional construction and mining sites.

"No matter the vehicle - automobile, freight truck or dump truck - tyre 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."