Nokian expands 'SnapSkan' digital tire-check service

Nokia, Finland — Nokian Tyres PLC is broadening the scope of its "SnapSkan" digital tire-check service programme beyond Helsinki to four additional sites in Finland and one in Oslo, Norway.

Nokian debuted the SnapSkan technology — which measures the condition of a vehicle's tires as the vehicle drives over a SnapSkan device — in 2016 at a multistory parking garage in Helsinki. The first customer service point opened in June 2017 in a parking garage in Turku, Finland.

The digital SnapSkan service, developed by Nokian in cooperation with its Vianor tire retail and car service chain, is based on laser-based 3D-scanning technology developed by Sigmavision Ltd., an Oxford, England-based company that also helped develop Hunter Engineering Inc.'s QuickTread scanning device.

As it's being deployed by Nokian, SnapSkan scanners are installed at parking garage exits or entrances, where drivers drive over the scanner ramp when they enter or exit the parking garage. SnapSkan automatically scans the tires.

Drivers are prompted to opt-in to receiving the SnapSkan digital report by phone message or online either before or after the scanning. If they choose not to opt-in, all the information SnapSkan has gathered of the vehicle will be deleted within a week. If they opt-in for the report, it is sent to the driver's mobile device free of charge.

The report includes the measurements of tire treads and a code that offers a discount on new tires in selected stores.

"Caring and safety are at the core of everything we do," Nokian Tyres President and CEO Hille Korhonen said.

"SnapSkan is a unique consumer service and it sets us apart from other tire manufacturers. SnapSkan allows us to communicate to the drivers not only the condition of their tires, but also what effects their condition has on road safety in general."

Ville Nikkola, the program manager responsible for the SnapSkan service at Nokian, said, "We have received a massive amount of positive customer feedback regarding SnapSkan. Eighty percent of the people we interviewed said the service was effortless to use and would recommend it to others. An even more important figure is that 70 percent felt that the service improves road safety."