21/05/2025
RFID and the circular economy a step forward for traceability
Massimo Condolo
A robust and effective system with a unique serial number completely traces the life of a tyre, from its birth to its disposal, improving environmental impact and road safety, and preventing dangers and commercial fraud.
Producing, using, repairing, reusing and recycling a consumer good in the right way is the essence of the circular economy. Among those included in the forthcoming European legislation are tyres, which for years have been at the centre of a virtuous circle that prevents their uncontrolled incineration or abandonment. To do all this safely, both from a traffic and environmental point of view, it is necessary to track every step of the tyre's life correctly.
This is the goal of GDSO (General Data Standard Organisation), an alliance initially formed by five tyre manufacturers and joined by seven others. "GDSO", says Secretary General Riccardo Giovannotti, "did not impose a technology but established the method and purpose of traceability, remaining open to any solution capable of guaranteeing full interoperability and reliability from birth to disposal of each individual tyre, and the only one with these requirements turned out to be RFID".
This technology, which underpins other passive identification systems such as Telepass, contains no information but only a unique identification number, which is the link to the “digital passport” formed by the data collected during the life of the tyre and saved in clouds managed by the manufacturers themselves.
The implications of this data transparency go far beyond proper disposal: they allow, for example, a precise assessment of the environmental impact of the use of that particular tyre and its performance in terms of resistance. The data also make it possible not to reuse tyres that have suffered major damage, or, for example, that have been fitted and removed too many times, so that it is logical to have doubts about the bead's grip. It is then, of course, possible to track the various lives of a casing: by whom it was produced, when, in which factory and for which type of tyre (e.g. if a winter tyre was given a second life as a summer tyre).
Much of this data can be collected in a fully automatic manner, thanks to the RFID antennas and gates that many equipment manufacturers (wheel balancers, tyre changers, wheel aligners) are starting to implement in their equipment.
"The wheel balancer in particular," said Fabio Boni of Fasep, "can be the gateway to the data cloud as it is already connected and equipped with an internal computer". Without lengthening the process, the balancer can also carry out a diagnosis of the tread depth, and consequently automatically discard tyres that are no longer able to guarantee safe circulation. Finally, the data can be shared with fleet management software, also with a view to implementing a predictive maintenance system.
This is the goal of GDSO (General Data Standard Organisation), an alliance initially formed by five tyre manufacturers and joined by seven others. "GDSO", says Secretary General Riccardo Giovannotti, "did not impose a technology but established the method and purpose of traceability, remaining open to any solution capable of guaranteeing full interoperability and reliability from birth to disposal of each individual tyre, and the only one with these requirements turned out to be RFID".
This technology, which underpins other passive identification systems such as Telepass, contains no information but only a unique identification number, which is the link to the “digital passport” formed by the data collected during the life of the tyre and saved in clouds managed by the manufacturers themselves.
The implications of this data transparency go far beyond proper disposal: they allow, for example, a precise assessment of the environmental impact of the use of that particular tyre and its performance in terms of resistance. The data also make it possible not to reuse tyres that have suffered major damage, or, for example, that have been fitted and removed too many times, so that it is logical to have doubts about the bead's grip. It is then, of course, possible to track the various lives of a casing: by whom it was produced, when, in which factory and for which type of tyre (e.g. if a winter tyre was given a second life as a summer tyre).
Much of this data can be collected in a fully automatic manner, thanks to the RFID antennas and gates that many equipment manufacturers (wheel balancers, tyre changers, wheel aligners) are starting to implement in their equipment.
"The wheel balancer in particular," said Fabio Boni of Fasep, "can be the gateway to the data cloud as it is already connected and equipped with an internal computer". Without lengthening the process, the balancer can also carry out a diagnosis of the tread depth, and consequently automatically discard tyres that are no longer able to guarantee safe circulation. Finally, the data can be shared with fleet management software, also with a view to implementing a predictive maintenance system.
