Oct. 21, 2002 — Italian tiremaker Pirelli Pneumatici will begin offering a MEMS-based tire monitoring system to European consumers by the end of 2002.

SmarTire Systems Inc., a British Columbia company that designs and manufactures the systems, announced Wednesday that it had signed a supply agreement to allow Pirelli to market the tire systems in Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom under the brand name X-Pressure. SmarTire’s systems work in standard automobiles as well as trucks and motorcycles.

SmarTire uses a MEMS sensor made by SensoNor ASA to monitor temperature and pressure within tires, and RF (radio frequency) technologies to relay warnings to a receiver in or on the dashboard.

Tires overheat when their pressure is too low, leading to blowouts. The pressure component also notes when gradual pressure losses, which are common in tires, have reached critical levels, or when a puncture is causing rapid pressure loss. Automakers, tire companies and consumers have become increasingly interested in tire monitors as a safety features after blowouts from underinflated tires on Ford Explorers were to linked to numerous fatal accidents.

Pirelli will market X-Pressure tires to the aftermarket buyer, according to SmarTire spokeswoman Susan Mader. The sensing component will be mounted into the tire system, and drivers will have the option of incorporating or attaching the readout mechanism into or on their dashboard or other surfaces. SmarTire hopes to extend the deal with Pirelli to offer its safety features to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), who would then market the package directly to automakers, Mader said.