Safety is a major priority for the Global Center for Automotive Performance Simulation (GCAPS). Through its emphasis on modeling and simulation—especially with autonomous vehicles—GCAPS is able to make recommendations that will help deliver a safer mode of transportation. In the words of director Frank Della Pia, “Just about everything we touch has some kind of relationship to safety.”
With more financial resources, Della Pia has a vision for future research relative to tire sensors. This research would enable automakers to determine how tires can communicate information to the infrastructure (such as the friction levels, grip, and the type of environment it is in) with the goal of alerting other vehicles of any problems. This capability would allow GCAPS to make significant inroads in bringing down the number of traffic-related fatalities.
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