New tech that makes car maintenance easier than ever

As car technology advances and gets more sophisticated, car maintenance is becoming easier to manage. In this blog post, we look at two of the newest innovations in car technology: Pirelli’s Bluetooth and 5G enabled Cyber tyre sensors and Ford’s augmented reality car repair technology. 

Based on the popular Pirelli P Zero tyres, the new Cyber Tyres come equipped with sensors that transmit critical information to the driver through the car’s onboard computer. 

Providing tyre pressure and temperature information along with tyre load index and speed rating information, the new sensors are also able to notify the driver when it’s time to change the tyre type, for example, switching between winter and summer tyres depending on weather conditions. 

On the racing scene, the technology lets drivers adjust tyre pressure to achieve better performance and can also notify drivers when the tyres have reached optimal temperature so they can get the best performance from them.   

Unlike traditional tyre sensors, the new sensors are mounted on the tyre itself, and not on the wheel rims, and thus should be a lot more accurate. Data supplied by the sensors is processed by custom-made software that then transmits it to the car’s onboard computer system.

While most of the information is relayed to the car’s dashboard or central display, some of the data is shared with the car’s electronics systems which can then calibrate the car for better ride quality and safety.

The tyres made their debut on the all-new McLaren Artura, a hybrid supercar with a plethora of technology.

Ford’s new AR repair technology is currently being rolled out to Ford South Africa dealerships. Similar in principle to medical collaboration technology where doctors work with other doctors perform surgeries via augmented reality, car repair personnel at Ford dealerships can work remotely in conjunction with Technical Assistance Centre staff in solving complex car repairs.

Powered by RealWear’s AR kits, dealership technicians are given AR headbands that come equipped with a camera, torch, a number of microphones along and voice-activated controls. 

Technicians at Ford dealerships can explain to the Technical Assistance Centre staff what repair issues they are facing and get real-time support and advice. 

Ford’s Technical Assistance Centre engineers can also remotely use the kit’s camera to take pictures and provide illustrations that can be viewed by the dealership technician in real-time while continuing with the repairs. 

Additionally, the system also logs all technical repairs done on a vehicle to a unified database that can be referred to by other technicians when solving similar issues with different vehicles.

The new AR technology replaces the lengthy process of having to physically send a hard-to-repair vehicle to a Ford Assistance Centre. 

Don’t stress, if this new car technology is out of your reach at the moment, MotorHappy has multiple products that will help you keep on top of car maintenance: 

• Keep on top of vehicle services and car maintenance with a Service Plan or Maintenance Plan through MotorHappy. Our fixed, affordable monthly fee provides peace of mind knowing that your car servicing is taken care of by qualified technicians.
• MotorHappy DRIVE is a rewards and benefit programme that allows you to set reminders for driver license and vehicle license disk renewal. Once you sign up to this free programme, you get access to some amazing discount vouchers and an online vault to safely store your most important vehicle documents.