Gatik, Goodyear Team on Integration of Tire Intelligence Data
Gatik AI Inc., a provider of autonomous middle-mile B2B logistics, and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., one of the world’s largest tire companies, are expanding what they’ve described as the industry’s first successful integration of tire intelligence technology into an autonomous driving system.
Equipped with Goodyear Endurance RSA tires with Goodyear SightLine technology, Gatik’s autonomous fleet of Class 3–7 box trucks has improved the safety, accuracy and overall performance of autonomous vehicles (AVs), while also boosting delivery uptime and reliability, according to the companies. This year, Gatik plans to implement the intelligent tire solution in a significant portion of its autonomous fleet across North America.
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“Being the vehicle’s only contact point to the road, the tire can play a pivotal role in enabling the vehicle to react like a driver would,” explained Chris Helsel, SVP, global operations and CTO at Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear. “Gatik is revolutionizing the autonomous technology space, and by providing real-time insights through intelligent tire data, we can support Gatik’s autonomous driving system to become even more safe, reliable and efficient.”
Gathered via extensive on-road testing in a wide variety of challenging real-world driving scenarios, tire intelligence data on road conditions and tire health has helped Gatik advance its autonomous-vehicle controllers with insights into accurate cornering and braking stiffness, rolling resistance and tire load. The data, which is communicated between Goodyear SightLine technology and Gatik's autonomous driving system through a real-time feedback loop, has enabled Gatik to make various performance improvements, among them the ability to adapt quickly and safely to a range of road conditions, even when the mass or payload of the truck differs by delivery.
“The groundbreaking integration of Goodyear SightLine technology into Gatik’s autonomous fleet is a first in the industry,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder of Mountain View, Calif.-based Gatik. “The real-time data derived from intelligent tire technology not only enhances the safety and predictability of our autonomous vehicles, but also enables us to maintain high levels of efficiency, reliability and delivery uptime throughout our operations. Our partnership with Goodyear is another step in advancing Gatik’s leadership in autonomous technology, underscoring our commitment to ensuring that the true advantages of B2B middle-mile logistics are brought to market.”
The companies have joined forces to conduct ongoing rigorous testing at Goodyear’s San Angelo, Texas, proving grounds, enabling Gatik’s autonomous vehicles to be tested extensively in a safe closed-course environment for both common and unusual road scenarios, including traffic lights, road signs, evasive maneuvers, tight turns, collision avoidance, precise lane keeping and minimum-risk stopping distances.
Goodyear and Gatik aim to incorporate Goodyear’s advanced predictive road condition monitoring solution into Gatik’s autonomous driving system, with the goal of enabling Gatik to strategically plan its operations, ensuring consistent and reliable movement of goods.
Gatik delivers goods using its fleet of light and medium duty trucks. The company focuses on short-haul, B2B logistics for such customers as Kroger, Walmart, Loblaw and Tyson Foods, and in 2021 became the first company in the world to operate fully driverless commercial deliveries on the middle mile.
