Bridgestone Americas announced a minority investment in tire sensor and data management company Tyrata Inc.

Using an automated and cost-effective drive-over solution that measures tire tread, Tyrata collects tire wear data and provides actionable, cloud-based analytics.

The investment accelerates Bridgestone’s efforts to deploy advanced mobility solutions that improve fleet safety, efficiency, and sustainability, according to the company.

“With Tyrata’s unique technology, more fleets will have the opportunity to optimize their tire programs, enhancing safety and reducing environmental footprint,” said Brian Goldstine, president of mobility solutions, Bridgestone Americas. “Our partnership with Tyrata will allow us to strengthen and expand our portfolio of tire management solutions to fleets of all sizes as we work toward a safer, more efficient and more sustainable mobility future.”

Tyrata IntelliTread technology replaces manual yard-checks with a drive-over system that features weather- and dirt-resistant sensors for tire tread depth measurements. The system also has the ability to detect irregular wear patterns for fleets to optimize the life of each tire ultimately lowering operating costs and ensuring safer operations.

Bridgestone said it will leverage data and insights provided by the IntelliTread Tyrata.io platform to help fleets maximize the service life of all tire assets, reduce tire-related downtime, and promote sustainable tire performance best practices.

”The Bridgestone investment represents a very significant milestone in the validation of Tyrata’s technology and business model,” said Jesko von Windheim, CEO of Tyrata, Inc. “We are thrilled to be working with the Bridgestone team and to now have access to one of the largest fleet channels in the world.”