Continental’s Robotic Truck Can Carry out 100,000 Tire Checks a 12 months

Tires are going to be an enormous dialog within the close to way forward for automotive. In fact, we have all the time identified that they matter, however tires are set to be one of many fundamental points in pollutant and efficiency phrases for the way vehicles are legislated about and constructed going forwards. As vehicles get larger and heavier, the calls for on tires do too, so Continental has constructed a crazy-looking robotic truck to run a whole lot of hundreds of braking simulations per yr.

The car known as AVA, which in an extremely German transfer (the check facility is in Hanover) stands for one more acronym: Analytic Car AIBA. AIBA means Automated Indoor Braking Analyzer, which is technically extra the place the automated check car works slightly than speaking about it.

Continental has constructed a reasonably sweet check observe that may be laid with completely different highway surfaces and even made moist or dry, that AVA then runs on to simulate braking and check the tires.

What occurs is {that a} system just like what’s used to maneuver rollercoasters (an electromagnetic linear drive, if you wish to be particular) quickly accelerates the AVA to 40 miles per hour after which the AVA can preserve itself going utilizing its entrance and rear axle motors. It is truly the third set of tires that get examined within the braking occasions, whereas the AVA chugs on via no matter situations are being simulated. And it does all of it on a check observe that is solely 82 yards lengthy.

It is all about understanding the slippage, defined Meletis Xigakis, Continental’s head of worldwide tire testing: “Our AVA determines the transmission of forces between the tire and the highway floor, whereas numerous slipping states, so-called ‘µ-slip curves,’ are exactly reproducible. With the state-of-the-art measuring expertise we measure all the forces which act between the tire and the highway floor throughout braking. We will examine our tires and their numerous compound compositions much more exactly and optimize them for his or her particular makes use of.”

That is all very fancy. What that you must know is that there is a six-wheeled robotic EV operating on rollercoaster tech being put to work on over 100,000 tire exams a yr to verify if you happen to brake within the rain your supercar is not going sliding.

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