TTE News: Sumitomo wins top tire-technology award

Hanover, Germany -  Sumitomo Rubber Industries' (SRI) Sensing Core has been named the 'tire technology of the year' in the 2019 Tire Technology International (TTI) Awards.

The SRI system is designed to detect road conditions, tire load and other information without the use of direct sensors.

"Unlike camera or radar sensors, Sensing Core can calculate and detect friction, which is useful when confronted with hazards such as black ice and hydroplaning risk," said the awards citation.

"A number of vehicle OEMs are showing interest in widespread application of the technology, and it could be integral to future autonomous vehicle functionality," the judging panel added.

Sensing Core "will also play a role in the rapid advancement of autonomous vehicle technology in the near future,” said panel judge Gert Heinrich, a senior professor at the  Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research.

Other winners of  the TTI Innovation and Excellence Awards, announced at a ceremony during Tire Technology Expo 2019 in Hanover included:

HF Group's One tire building machine for its capability to produce tires with inflated or flat turn-up, as well as standard tire designs, among other features.

Environmental Achievement of the Year – Bridgestone for its HSR (High-Strength Rubber) polymer, the world’s first polymer to bond rubber and resins at a molecular level.

Tire Industry Supplier of the Year – Test World (Millbrook) for its all-year-round tire and vehicle winter testing facility.

Tire Manufacturer of the Year – Michelin, partly for its environmental initiatives over the past 12 months

Lifetime Achievement Award – Rudi Hein in recognition of his 32-year career in special project teams at BMW, in particular his work on runflat tire systems, and the decade spent with Bridgestone as executive advisor standards and regulations.