Research into alternative 3D imaging technologies for tyre tread surfaces

在欧盟，轮胎人口超过12.5亿，轮胎价值1650亿欧元。多达20%的轮胎胎面深度低于欧盟1.6毫米的法定限制，这给道路安全带来了重大风险，并因故障和道路封闭而给经济带来了巨大损失。轮胎剩余胎面不足导致停车距离变长，事故增加。鼓励司机及车队经营者保养轮胎，对提高道路安全及减少道路交通事故至为重要。通过提供自动化的轮胎检查服务，不需要司机停车，并提供准确、可靠的结果，WheelRight的目标是促进这一过程。一项让司机和车队经营者无需下车就能获得轮胎状况报告的服务，将鼓励他们进行保养，提高道路安全性，并减少环境排放。WheelRight设计、开发和操作免下车轮胎检测系统。他们建立了一项业务，提醒司机和车队运营商注意轮胎的问题，无论是气压低、胎面深度低，还是胎面或侧壁受损。然而，简单的警报并不足以满足所有客户，WheelRight的目标是扩大他们的产品范围，以应对更广阔的市场。这个项目的重点是研究可用于轮胎成像的不同技术。WheelRight正在寻找一种现有的技术，可以应用于汽车通过场景的轮胎成像，以扩展他们现有系统的功能。在顾问的协助下，他们将探索成像领域的最新技术发展，然后将其缩小到几个概念，并进行详细的实验室测试和现场试验。要想在低对比度的黑白照片上识别细节和协调深度，捕捉轮胎花纹的图像是很困难的。加上恶劣的天气条件和道路污垢，使它非常具有挑战性。在这个项目中，WheelRight的目标是研究不同的技术，并评估它们对所有品牌和型号轮胎的适用性。我们将研究一些不同的技术，看看它们在轮胎上的表现。其目的将是确定一种技术，可以发展成为一种颠覆现有市场的产品。

In the EU the tyre population exceeds 1,250 million tyres valued at €165 billion. Up to 20% of tyres have tread depths below the EU legal limit of 1.6mm posing a significant road safety risk and cost to the economy through breakdowns and road closures. Insufficient remaining tread on tyres leads to longer stopping distances and increased accidents.Encouraging drivers and fleet operators to maintain their tyres is essential to increase road safety and reduce road traffic incidents. Through provision of a tyre inspection service that is automated, does not require the driver to stop, and provides accurate, reliable results, WheelRight are aiming to facilitate this process. A service that gives drivers and fleet operators a report on the state of their tyres without getting out of the vehicle will encourage their maintenance, increase road safety, and reduce environmental emissions.WheelRight design, develop and operate drive-through tyre inspection systems. They have built a business around alerting drivers and fleet operators to problems with their tyres whether it is low pressure, low tread depth or damage on the tread or sidewall. However, simple alerts are not sufficient for all customers and WheelRight are aiming to extend the scope of their product offering to address a wider market.This project is focussed on investigating different technologies that could be used for the imaging of tyres. WheelRight are looking for an existing technology that can be applied to tyre imaging in a drive-through scenario that will extend the capabilities of their existing system. With the assistance of a consultancy, they will explore the latest technological developments in imaging before narrowing these to a couple of concepts to subject to detailed lab tests and field trials.Capturing images of tyre tread in a way that allows detail to be identified and depths reconciled on low contrast, black-on-black pictures is difficult. Adding in poor weather conditions and road dirt makes it very challenging. During this project WheelRight aim to research different technologies and assess their suitability to be used for tyres of all makes and models. A number of different technologies will be investigated with respect to their performance on tyres. The aim will be to identify a technology that can be developed into a product disruptive to the existing market.