MICHELIN Track Connect

MEDIA INFORMATIONMarch, 2018

Co-developed with genuine driving enthusiasts during an 18-month lab workshopKeeping to the objective of improving the effi ciency of its mobility solutions, Michelin decided to reach out to enthusiastic consumers, members of sports car clubs, in order to understand what improvements they would wish to see in the behaviour of their vehicles, and how to enhance their performance and their driving pleasure.

Nine months in developmentMICHELIN Track Connect is the result of a meeting in June 2016, where a great many sports car owners, used to attending racing circuit events, told us that they were very careful about the pressure of their tyres, and they knew how important it is to monitor their temperature. Those same consumers admitted that they had no reliable measurement instrument (pressure gauge, infrared thermometer etc.), nor did they possess the necessary expertise to know what pressure they should use to optimize vehicle behaviour for circuit driving, and so maximize their driving pleasure and their performance.

Nine months of testsDuring the nine months following that interviewing phase, Michelin relied on the expertise and competence of two start-ups (Openium for software development and Exotic Systems for hardware) who worked with the Ladoux Technology Center/Connected Platform to design and develop content for an offer that could provide support to those enthusiasts during their circuit runs. Michelin fi rst tried out the solution on its test tracks and testing machines, and then moved on to trials on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife (the circuit’s north loop), renowned for making extreme demands on drivers. Once the offer’s concept and technical feasibility was validated,

Michelin needed to ensure that they would meet the expectations of those amateur pilots. This is why Michelin contacted a Porsche Club in France (Club Porsche Auvergne, the 2nd largest in the country) and equipped about 50 of their members’ cars for track days (March to October 2017). In this way, Michelin was able to talk to those amateur pilots during the six circuit events that its technicians attended. Michelin also collected over one hundred comments through the application, and held two focus groups in order to further understand and integrate customer expectations into the offer. As a result, the application went through no less than 27 updates in the past nine months.

Thanks to the latest adjustments made during the winter, Michelin is in a position, as the 2018 season kicks off, to launch the fi rst connected coaching offer intended for car and driving enthusiasts, which matches perfectly the needs of amateur pilots at track day events.

Michelin is using the power of digital technology to deliver a premium customer experience by providing connected solutions for Earthmover*, Aviation** and Truck*** tires. Today Michelin further improves the experience associated with tires: namely kilometers run, landings, tons transported... In practical terms, this experience is due to the permanent monitoring of the tire condition: wear, pressure, temperature and mileage from sensors installed in tires.

In April, with MICHELIN Track Connect, Michelin will become the fi rst manufacturer to sell a connected solution for the private car tire sector.

The fi rst connected tyre on the market to enhance your circuit driving experience

MICHELIN Track Connect

Every pilot has always dreamt to have a Michelin engineer by his side! MICHELIN Track Connect can actually make this dream come true by helping the pilot with customized, informed advice about adjusting his tire pressure to boost his performance and his driving fun.MICHELIN Track Connect will assist the pilot before, during and after circuit runs.

BeforeThe application recommends the most suitable pressure for his vehicle’s tires and for the driving conditions: dry circuit, damp circuit, wet circuit.

DuringMICHELIN Track Connect will give the driver real-time information about the pressure and temperature of each of the vehicle’s four tires. The sensors inside the tire can accurately measure the pressure and temperature of the tires and will analyse any changes in the data as the vehicle goes around the circuit. Based on those parameters, the smartphone application acts as an interface for the pilot and will guide him as he optimizes the calibration of his tire pressure.

The information is also put into context to help him interpret it correctly. For instance, with MICHELIN Track Connect the pilot is in

a position to know whether his tires are operating within optimal limits according to the run’s driving conditions as he has stated them (dry circuit, damp circuit, wet circuit). It is also possible for the pilot to see how his vehicle is behaving (oversteering or understeering) according to the analysis of changes in the balance between front tire pressure and rear tire pressure.

AfterMICHELIN Track Connect will indicate what adjustments need to be made prior to returning on to the circuit. In order to provide a finer analysis, all of the information is stored and may be accessed at a later stage so the pilot may examine his performance and that of his tires between two runs.

Under intensive use on a circuit, the brakes are subjected to heavy demand and send a lot of heat to the rims. This could disrupt pressure measurements taken at the valve and so make the adjustments less accurate; because of this, Michelin has chosen to position a sensor inside the tire to make sure that the path to the tyre temperature is reliable and accurate. This positioning of the sensor is protected by a patent. The sensors send information to a receiver placed inside the vehicle, so there is no need for any professional to intervene or for any tool to be used. The receiver then sends the information to the pilot’s smartphone, where the appropriate application has been installed.

A solution developed through innovative external cooperation in true French tech spiritThe advent of MICHELIN Track Connect would not have been possible without the expertise from two startups.

12

4 tyresMICHELIN Pilot Sport

Cup2 Connect.

41 MOBILE APPLICATION

processes the data sent by the receiver so that you can visualize it

in a variety of display modes.

31 RECEIVER

placed inside the passenger compartment, it sends the sensor signals to your smartphone. The receiver is powered via the cigarette lighter

or USB port in your vehicle.

X 4

4 SENSORSfor pressure and temperature, to be set inside MICHELIN Pilot

Sport Cup2 tyres.

OPENIUM pour l’Application mobile

“We were delighted that we were able to work closely with Michelin, from the design stage to the commercialization of the product known as MICHELIN Track Connect. We provided our R&D expertize and our know-how in the field of UX/UI, applications and IoT.”

Hugues Peytavin, Chairman, Openium

EXOTICS SYSTEMS for the receiver

“As part of the Track Connect project, Exotic Systems has helped Michelin to adapt the technologies which we have long tried and tested for industrial uses in the tire sector, and we are proud to be taking part in the innovation efforts of a world leader.”

Guillaume Blanc, CEO, Exotic Systems

*Since 2007 and MEMS4 in 2017, ** PRESSENCE in 2017, ***Michelin solutions offer in 2017.

Five menus are available for the pilot’s smartphone

My RUNS is used by the pilot to browse his history and retrieve all information about his past runs. The runs are sorted by circuit.

THE CIRCUITS is used to retrieve information about the various tracks and circuits that are preloaded in the app. It can also guide the pilot to the circuit he chooses from the menu.

my GARAGE is used to declare and configure the pilot’s vehicle(s) that are equipped with MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup2 Connect tyres. The pilot may add or delete a vehicle at any time.

The START button is used to start up his connected run experience.

My PROFILE lists all information about the pilot’s account and the version of the app he is running, and it is used to communicate directly with MICHELIN teams.

All of the functionalities of the Michelin Track Connect connected solution are available in comprehensive detail by clicking on this link:

https://mediaevent.michelin.com/PRESS/02_PNEUS-TYRES/VOITURES-CARS/MICHELIN-TRACK-CONNECT

Michelin Press: +33 1 45 66 22 22

Michelin’s mission is to promote the sustainable mobility of people and goods. Michelin designs, manufactures and markets tyres for all types of vehicle. Michelin also markets a range of innovative digital services, including vehicle fl eet management systems and tools designed to aid mobility. In addition, it publishes a portfolio of travel, hotel and restaurant guides, as well as maps and atlases. Based in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is active in 170 countries, employs a staff of 114,000 and operates 68 production facilities in 17 countries. The Group has Research and Development Technology Centres in Europe, North America and Asia. (www.michelin.com)

The MICHELIN Track Connect solution has been specifi cally developed with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 connect tyre with 11 sizes available in 2018.

The MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 – From the track to the road The direct result of Michelin’s many decades of experience and expertise in motorsport, the MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 is the reference tyre for track-days and circuit use. With 71 homologations at original equipment with the leading manufacturers of high performance sports and prestige vehicles, it is the tyre setting all the records!

The MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 was fi tted on the Porsche 991 GT2 RS which set the Nürburgring lap record of 6 minutes and 47 seconds. It has also been fi tted on the fastest cars in the world; the Bugatti Chiron and the Koenigsegg Agera RS which set the speed records from zero to 400kph.

The MICHELIN Track Connect solution is compatible with most sports cars used in Trackdays events: Porsche 911, Ferrari 458 and 488, Renault Megane RS, Ford Focus RS...

235/40 ZR18 (95Y) XL PILOT SPORT CUP 2 CONNECT MI











2018 – A Connected Year

On circuits and on the road with MICHELIN Track Connect, as well as in competitions, Michelin is putting connectivity to provide a better circuit driving experience, and encouraging drivers to attend the next trials of the French Rally Championship where Michelin Motorsport Connect, will be unveiled; Michelin’s new connected offer and a ticket into the age of auto sports 2.0!

Where and when to buy MICHELIN Track Connect

The MICHELIN Track Connect solution will go on sale in April 2018, at a price of €399 in France, Germany and Switzerland.

The list of authorized dealers will be available during the month of April on the following websites:

FRANCE > michelin.fr/track-connect

GERMANY > michelin.de/track-connect

SWITZERLAND (French) > michelin.ch/fr/track-connect

SWITZERLAND (German) > michelin.ch/de/track-connect

MICHELIN Track Connect

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