Michelin and Brembo want to put AI in your brakes

French tire manufacturer Michelin and Italian brake manufacturer Brembo are officially collaborating on an interesting vehicle control concept. Using a combination of sensors and computer processing, the idea is to make the brakes and tires communicate with each other and with the car they are attached to. With a broader situational context, in theory, stopping power could be improved.

Braking systems have been computerized, to some extent, for a very long time. ABS as we know it dates back to the 80s and earlier, and these days braking systems can be linked to traction control and riding modes to optimize braking behavior depending on the situation.

Brembo’s new Sensify system expands on this, leveraging AI and predictive algorithms to develop vehicle data in real time and apply it to brake control. For example, instead of reacting to resistance and movement and whether or not to activate ABS, your car could theoretically take into account all kinds of conditions to choose how much braking force to apply and to which wheel when you press the wide pedal.

Modern cars are so connected that they know more than ever about their speed, location and situation. Sensify, as Brembo offers, takes this data one step further to not only react instantly to what happens to the car, but also predict what happens to it in the immediate future.

I asked the folks at Brembo for some follow-up and got this detail:

“Artificial intelligence is integrated into every phase of the Sensify development process. This ongoing application of AI is crucial to optimizing and refining the algorithms that govern Sensify’s behavior. By leveraging AI at every stage, from initial design to final deployment, we ensure that the algorithms are not only efficient but also adaptive to various scenarios, thereby improving the overall performance and reliability of Sensify.

The new development with Michelin is to bring tires into the equation. The tire maker is working on its software to help a car understand the state of wear, load and grip of its tires, then transmit that information to the car’s brain and brakes to optimize traction. You will probably soon see Michelin SmartWear, Michelin SmartLoad and Michelin SmartGrip in advertising – these are the names given to the products of this project.

Since tires are the most critical part of any rolling vehicle (in my opinion, but it’s true), their correct deployment could be huge for vehicle safety and performance.

The fact that we’re talking about ECU software, rather than some sort of proprietary sensor that would only work with Michelin tires, is what makes these ideas particularly interesting to me.

Instead of scanning tires directly, it seems the idea is to extrapolate tire condition information based on the myriad of information a car’s brain has at any given time. A few years ago I would have been extremely skeptical about the possibility of such a thing. But after seeing what AI can do with text, images, and even driving (I can’t believe how many Waymo cars are driving around West LA right now!), I think these companies might be on the right track.

Michelin and Brembo clarified that this technology is still in the development phase and will not discuss any potential agreements with OEMs to implement it, but confirmed that “the technology has the potential to be equipped on any modern vehicle. However, it appears that early test successes include reducing braking distance, improving lateral stability and traction management, and eliminating wheel lockup.

Have you heard of any other interesting AI-based automotive performance concepts? Send a message to the author at [email protected]