A “Smart Tire” System for Tire/Road Friction Estimation

In this paper, we present the development of a tire deformation sensing system that can provide the critical information for estimation of tire/road interaction for mobile robots and vehicles. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based sensor is designed and fabricated to embed on the inner tread surface to measure the rubber tread deformation. Analytical models of the PVDF-based sensing system are presented to capture the tire/road contact information and friction characteristics. The sensed deformation measurements are integrated with the on-board control system through a wireless data transmission module. Experimental results on a skid-steered mobile robot are presented to show the feasibility of the developed sensing system.