A Survey of Intelligent Tires for Tire-Road Interaction Recognition Toward Autonomous Vehicles

Driving safety is the most basic demand for autonomous vehicles but is also the most difficult task at the same time. Intelligent tires equipped with in-tire sensors have been proposed to recognize the tire-road interaction conditions, such as road surface conditions, tire dynamics states, and friction conditions, which can help realize safer driving of autonomous vehicles. In this study, we first review the related research of intelligent tires about the sensing system and tire-road contact state estimation methods and discuss their desirability and limitations. On this basis, we propose our constructive strategies for improving the design of the intelligent tire sensing system to adapt to the extremely harsh working condition of tires, make full use of the installed sensors, and realize the continuous measurement of tire-road contact information. In addition, we analyze the specific requirements for the implementation process when applying intelligent tires to autonomous driving. In the future, intelligent tires with specially designed sensing systems combined with optimal recognition methods can bring new opportunities to safer vehicle dynamics control and promote the development of autonomous driving technology.