Sensata TPMS with SEAgnal Platform
Background
TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) is a mandated safety feature in vehicles worldwide, designed to prevent accidents caused by underinflated tires, reduce tire wear, improve fuel efficiency, and enhance overall handling. Direct TPMS, which utilizes individual sensors to measure the actual pressure in each tire, has become increasingly common as modern regulations require manufacturers to adopt more accurate and reliable pressure-monitoring technologies.
Challenge
As TPMS evolves beyond basic pressure alerts toward advanced diagnostic and service capabilities, accurately associating sensor data with the physical wheel position becomes increasingly important. This includes supporting effective service workflows, maintaining reliable historical data, and ensuring that alerts and maintenance actions are tied to the correct wheel. Achieving this level of precision requires a robust real‑time tire location capability.
Solution
Sensata Technologies, a leading provider of TPMS sensors for automotive applications, integrated IOSEA’s reliable SEAgnal RTLS platform with its TPMS sensor architecture to enable precise tire location tracking of vehicles—from passenger cars to commercial trucks and buses—delivering a seamless, end-to-end TPMS solution.
Results
IOSEA’s SEAgnal solution integrated with Sensata’s TPMS has been extensively tested in real-time in both passenger cars and commercial trucks. Using one IOSEA Telemos locator and Sensata’s TPMS sensors, the system was tested across a range of real-world conditions. The vehicles were driven through city centers including both crowded and narrow streets, as well as on highways, and evaluated at various speeds. Additional tests were conducted with and without a front passenger and with water dummies placed in the back seat to simulate different passenger-loading scenarios. In all cases, the tires were accurately and reliably tracked in real-time.
Passenger Car Case Study
For a passenger car, the Telemos locator was placed at the car headliner and Sensata TPMS sensors using Renesas ATLAS-enabled chips were placed in each one of the tires as shown in the picture below.
Result from real-time drive at 120kph with driver and front passenger. Each tire was clearly tracked and correctly identified through the integrated TPMS and SEAgnal platform.
3-Axle Truck Case Study
A 3-axle truck was evaluated. The Telemos locator was placed near the rear right tires and Sensata TPMS sensors were installed in each tire, as shown in the picture below.
Using IOSEA’s SEAgnal Siteplanner, the vehicle’s dimensions and characteristics were simulated, incorporating the Telemos locator and the Sensata TPMS configuration to model the setup and surrounding environment. This allowed for accurately predicting the position of each tire by tracking its individual sensor even before conducting any real-world testing.
The figures on the right panel show the RTLS results from both the simulations and the actual drive.
The real-time results in live driving conditions closely matched the simulation, showcasing the precision and reliability achievable through the integration of Sensata’s TPMS sensors with the SEAgnal platform for seamless, end-to-end tire tracking for TPMS applications.
