Urban traffic: Digitization accelerates the revolution

The tire manufacturer Goodyear discussed the future of urban mobility during its trade congress. Its conclusion: The demand for intelligent mobility solutions and services will increase in the cities of tomorrow. Central to this is that companies must adapt to digitally connected customers and their mobility habits, establish new business partnerships, and positively embrace changes in their own business models.

According to experts, urban infrastructure and how we move within urban spaces will change. Congested streets, the desire for less traffic noise and better air quality, as well as social changes, are the drivers. "The era of urban spaces where the car is the focal point is coming to an end," said Lukas Neckermann, Managing Director of Neckermann Strategic Advisors.

Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements such as access restrictions and driving bans are, according to the expert, forerunners of this upheaval for the mobility of tomorrow. This mobility revolution is accelerated by the megatrend digitalization. Both trade and mobility service providers such as "DriveNow" and "Car2Go" use mobile devices as an interface to the customer.

Everything happens on demand

Consumers, in turn, enjoy the immediate availability of goods and services with concepts such as "Same Day Delivery." "This expectation transfers to mobile life in our cities. Mobility is increasingly offered and consumed 'on demand,' for instance in the form of autonomously driving taxis," explained Neckermann. In this vision, autonomously driving cars and infrastructure facilities communicate with each other and share information, such as traffic conditions. "The tire of tomorrow is an important node in this network," said David Anckaert, General Director of Development at Goodyear in Germany. "It is the only physical connection of the autonomous vehicle to the road and can provide information at this interface that significantly contributes to driving safety. This includes details about road conditions and weather conditions."

In this context, Goodyear has designed a concept tire that "feels" the road using sensors. "The technology of 'IntelliGrip Urban' supports the control systems in autonomous vehicles. Based on the information that the tire can make available at the interface to the road, the vehicle can automatically optimize speed, braking behavior, handling, and stability," explained Anckaert. Maintenance is also smart in the concept of IntelliGrip Urban. The sensors in the tire make data about its condition available in real time. This allows fleet operators to detect impending tire damage and fix the problem before it leads to a tire failure. Maintenance can thus be proactively planned.

(Author: Tobias Schweikl)