A new federal auto safety requirement has engineers busy perfecting a tiny sensor that could help make accidents resulting from underinflated tires a thing of the past.
The regulation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires all passenger cars to be equipped with tire-pressure monitoring systems by 2008. Automakers will begin installing the systems on their 2006 models.
The rule gives manufacturers of micro-electro mechanical systems, also called MEMS, a lucrative opportunity to cash in. According to a report by ASME, a professional engineering organization, there could be a demand for 70 million MEMS tire-pressure sensors a year as a result of the requirement.
Vehicles equipped with MEMS-based tire-pressure systems have a sensor attached to the inside of the rim of each wheel, which measures the tire pressure and transmits the data to a central receiver in the vehicle. The receiver then analyzes the data and tire-pressure readouts are displayed to the driver. If the tire pressure is too low, warning lights alert the driver of a potential hazard.
The pressure sensor is a high-tech device containing several components...
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