An AI-powered robotic platform for tire replacement is introduced
The idea of robotizing the tire mounting process has been around for some time, but such projects have not yet found widespread resonance in the industry, including due to the high cost and long payback period of equipment (in 2024, RoboTire, the creator of tire mounting robots, announced its bankruptcy), and now Boston-based startup Automated Tire, Inc. (ATI) has introduced its development in this area, designing an AI-powered robotic platform called SmartBay, which not only changes tires but also balances wheels.
According to ATI's statement, one employee can manage three platforms simultaneously, and the time it takes to replace all tires, including balancing, is reduced by about half, to 30 minutes. The equipment can be installed in standard service centers without requiring additional space, and the robot is capable of changing tires on most passenger and light commercial vehicles.
When a car is installed on the platform, the system automatically starts checking, determining the condition of the tires and wheels and collecting diagnostic data, after which the robot changes the tires and balances the wheels, with high accuracy determining the required weight and placement of balancing weights, the company adds.
"SmartBay solves three key problems for the automotive service industry, related to labor shortages, the need for automation of tire mounting - the most traumatic operation in the industry, and the need to increase the productivity of service centers," ATI points out.
Instead of using pre-programmed algorithms that may require operator intervention when various variables appear, the new system applies computer vision and machine learning, which increases the efficiency of its work.
"While the automotive industry has made significant progress in recent decades in mastering new technologies, there have been virtually no advanced innovations in the field of vehicle maintenance," said Andy Chalofsky, CEO of ATI. "At the same time, for example, electric vehicles' tires wear out 30% faster, and the growth in their popularity increases the demand for service center services, but the work of a tire fitter is quite dirty, risky, and it's hard to find an employee. The SmartBay platform provides auto services with an effective solution, turning traumatic manual labor into an automated process, optimally suited for modern high-tech cars."
According to data from the American National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), cited by ATI, service centers in the country are short of 37,000 technical employees every year, as older specialists retire and young people increasingly rarely choose such professions.