Rohlwing: Can RFID finally replace the boot-o-meter?

A $1.9 million grant was awarded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in February of this year to Auburn University’s Transportation Research Institute (AUTRI) to study whether radio frequency identification (RFID) can be used to identify dangerous tire conditions before a blowout occurs. AUTRI researchers will test small, battery-free sensors embedded in commercial truck tires to determine if they can detect potentially unsafe conditions.

According to FMCSA data, heavy commercial trucks are involved in approximately 13% of all fatal crashes on U.S. roads, despite representing only about 5% of all registered vehicles. Federal studies also found that tire-related problems contributed to about 6% of all truck crashes involving vehicle component failures. The disparity between crashes and the number of vehicles, and the fact that tires are frequently coded as vehicle-related factors in fatal crashes, obviously contributed to the study.

Truck tire inflation pressure maintenance is probably the most well-documented shortfall in commercial vehicle operations. It has been an integral part of pre-trip and post-trip inspection criteria for decades, yet it continues to be a problem. Automatic tire inflation systems (ATIS) and tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) are commercially available, but ATIS is only feasible on trailers, and TPMS still faces too many obstacles for widespread adoption. The solution to the problem of underinflated truck tires hasn’t changed in my 44 years of experience because too many drivers rely on the boot-o-meter.

When human factors prevent implementation, technology becomes the solution. It’s evident in everything from manufacturing to self-serve kiosks at fast-food restaurants. People are going to make mistakes, overlook key details, and fail to pay attention during critical moments, so businesses turn to technological solutions to bypass the shortcomings of human nature.

AUTRI will be testing RFID tags placed inside truck tires to determine if they can consistently and accurately measure inflation pressure and other tire-related conditions under operating conditions. They will study three real-world use cases that reflect the challenges fleets face daily.

First, check whether the RFID tags can measure inflation pressure while the truck is parked. This would make pre- and post-trip inspections and roadside pressure checks easier and more likely to occur. This will require developing a handheld electronic reader and will add costs to the fleets unless it can be incorporated into a smartphone app.

Second, the study will test RFID tags to determine if they can capture tire data as trucks pass fixed readers. Fleets could position equipment at their depots' exits to read tire pressures as vehicles depart. AUTRI will also test this capability at higher speeds so it can be used at inspection stations. Vehicle enforcement officials could check tire pressures without stopping the vehicles and only target the drivers with underinflated tires.

The third and final area is to test whether continuous monitoring can identify early warning signs during operation. RFID sensors inside the tires would track changes in tire conditions over time, so drivers or fleet managers can be alerted before a tire fails. By measuring and tracking changes in load, speed, and temperature, fleets could identify tires in need of service or replacement.

“This work is about reducing uncertainty. If we can help identify technology that improves how tire risks are detected and managed, even incrementally, the potential safety benefits could extend well beyond the trucking industry to include school buses and passenger vehicles,” according to Laurence Rilett, director of AUTRI and the project’s principal investigator.

The primary factors missing in the study are cost and implementation. It’s safe to assume that incorporating RFID sensors will be reflected in the tire's price and will create additional expenses for the equipment needed to read them. Truck tire manufacturers have already figured out how to embed RFID tags to identify the tire. Still, an RFID tag that can read inflation pressure must somehow access the air chamber, which presents a completely different challenge. There are also questions about retreading and whether the sensors can withstand the conditions of the retread process.

Obviously, all of this could have been avoided had drivers actually checked the inflation pressure during their pre-trip and post-trip inspections. Though it’s impossible to predict the results of the study, it’s unlikely that the boot-o-meter will be replaced by inflation gauges between now and then.