Michelin North America Inc. (MNA) has developed a device that collects and stores passenger tire information using radio waves.
MNA's Radio Frequency Identification Transponder is built into tires and identifies them by vehicle idenitification number, telling when and where they were made, maximum inflation pressure, tire size and other data.
The transponder, which is the size of a match head, has a higher capacity for data storage than bar codes and transmits information to reading devices up to 24 inches or more away from the tire, according to MNA officials.
Fleet testing of the technology is currently underway, they say.
The device will most likely be introduced at the original equipment level.
MNA "will make the technology available to the entire industry."
