Trelleborg launches intelligent tire pressure technology globally

Paris – Trelleborg has announced the global launch of the VIP – variable inflation pressure – system during the SIMA 2017 in Paris, France, held 26 Feb – 2 March.

The new system is a smart wheel capable of self-adjusting the pressure of a combine harvester’s tire during operation according to its load. The technology optimises the tire’s footprint and reduces soil compaction.

“Today, precision farming technologies are in use across over 5% of all cultivated land and this figure is projected to reach 20% within the next decade,” said Piero Mancinelli, R&D director for Trelleborg’s agricultural and forestry tires.

As a result, he added, “driverless machines and robots connected with the Internet of Things (IoT)” are becoming a reality in modern agriculture.

He went on to say that Trelleborg invests “significant time and resources” to improve the potential of innovative technologies in farming tires.

“The Trelleborg’s VIP system represents a step forward compared to the TPMS (tire pressure measurement system) or TMCS (tire pressure control system) already on the market,” he said.

This, according to Mancinelli is because the technology is an intelligent system that can “determine and adopt the right pressure at the right time and in the right place, without manual intervention.”

Directly integrated on the tire’s rim, the system consists of a set of sensors measuring several parameters including load, pressure and temperature along with an electronic central processor controlling a compressor and a valve to adjust the pressure.

The system senses whether the machine is in the field or on the road and modifies pressure accordingly, inflating on the road or deflating in the field.