A new generation of wheel sensors may soon be transmitting surprising new types of operational information via tire telematics to fleet managers. Photo: Maxion
">In the beginning, there was the lowly brake sensor: A simple metal bar that gradually became exposed as brake pads wore away and emitted a high-pitched squeal when it was time to replace them. Antilock brake sensors followed suit, designed to alert drivers when problems arose. Eventually, tire sensors began to transmit air pressure and temperature data to drivers and, later on, to fleet managers.
Wheel end sensors today are already important given the fast evolution and adoption of active vehicle safety systems, says Fred Andersky, director of customer solutions and controls for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems. “Data and diagnostic trouble codes from wheel speed sensors are an integral part of active safety technologies like full-stability and collision mitigation,” he explains. “And today, this information can be sent telematically, enabling shops to be prepared to fix issues and reduce truck downtime.”
This technology sets the stage to integrate and dramatically expand the information sensors will be sending to fleets, says Joe Wolf, manager of global advanced engineering group for Maxion Wheels. Wolf and his team of engineers have been working on a new combination of connected, active wheel sensors, which he says show great promise in relaying a host of vital operating information to fleets.
“We spent the last half of 2017 developing a number of wheel-mounted sensors, data processors and transmitters that can process vehicle operating parameters,” he says. “And because this system is integrated into the truck's (or trailer's) CAN bus, it is fully integrated into that vehicle's telematics architecture and can be transmitted via telematics along with other data to fleet managers.”
Beyond the dashboard light
Wolf says the information Maxion engineers are collecting with their sensor system is
