Pirelli Cyber Tyre and Univrses Technology on Region’s Vehicles Will Map State of the Road Network to Increase Safety

The Apulia regional government and Pirelli have signed an agreement to activate a system that will monitor the road network in the region with the goal of creating a map of the “state of health” of Apulian roads. It will be the first road monitoring system in the world capable of unifying data collected by the tyres, processed by Pirelli Cyber Tyre hardware and software, with visual data, collected by Univrses technology through cameras installed on board the vehicle.

The agreement was presented this afternoon in Bari through a press conference held in the headquarters of Apulia regional government with the participation of the governor, Michele Emiliano, and the Executive Vice Chairman of Pirelli, Marco Tronchetti Provera.

The Pirelli Cyber Tyre hardware and software system can collect and process through innovative algorithms information that arrives through sensors placed in the inner part of the tread, analyzing factors like the roughness and irregularity of the asphalt. The Univrses technology, instead, through cameras, enables the monitoring of the roads and signage both horizontal and vertical. For this pilot project with the Apulia Region, Pirelli has combined two technologies starting from the functionalities of the Cyber Tyre and augmenting them with the visual sensors of Univrses to supply an unique and integrated service to deliver quicker and more efficient road maintenance and as a consequence improve the safety of the roadways.

The cyber-service vehicles of the Apulia Region, fitted with the combined system, will send to a cloud the data to map the road network, which, once processed, will be viewable by the Region through digital dashboards. The region will therefore have access to the data collected during the pilot phase. The first cars of the fleet, supplied to the Region by the rental company Ayvens, one of the leading companies in long-term rental services and fleet management, will be active from July 2025.

In addition to the project with the Apulia Region, Pirelli already has a variety of other initiatives under way, such as with Movyon – Gruppo Autostrade per l’Italia, to monitor freeway infrastructure, and others, still being established.

The new agreement further strengthens the role of the Apulia Region in Pirelli’s research and development activities, which in Bari in 2022 launched the Digital Solutions Center (DSC), a software factory entirely focused on digital innovation. The DSC in Bari is an example of public-private collaboration, with the fundamental contribution also of the university world through the University of Bari the Bari Politecnico. With both institutions, in fact, Pirelli has already begun innovative projects to optimize factory production processes through smart manufacturing systems and support digitalization and artificial intelligence in the various phases of the tyre’s design.

“The Apulia Region is proud of this forward-looking agreement, as we always are when it comes to ensuring the safety of citizens. Technology can save lives. In this case it will be useful as a thermometer of the state of health of our roads. When you systematize factors such as innovation, intelligent and long-term planning, the exchange of best practices with a historic Italian and world tyre company the result is an historic agreement, which does not entail any charges for the Region and I am sure will bring significant results. It is not the first partnership with Pirelli, who I thank for their renewed trust in the Region which is always eager to capture the opportunities for development and wellbeing offered by technological innovation. I think of the Digital Solutions Center launched in Bari in 2022 with the valuable contribution of the academic world and of the brilliant minds of our youth. I am sure, it must be said, that there is still a long road ahead that the Apulia Region and Pirelli will travel together to guarantee maximum driving safety for the Apulian people,” said the president of the Apulia Region Michele Emiliano.

Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice Chairman of Pirelli, stated: “The agreement and experimentation launched represent another important step on the path of research and innovation that for years we are carrying out together with the Apulia Region. Thanks to the support of the institutions, the university world and local partners, Apulia is becoming for Pirelli, in the digital sector, an important centre of expertise at the international level, perfectly integrated with other research and experimentation centres in the world. The Cyber Tyre, one of our lead edge technologies for the development of the connected and sustainable mobility of the future, is at the heart of this innovation and these activities. The Cyber Tyre hardware and software system, beyond enabling the connection between the terrain and a car’s control systems, also enables a precise analysis of the state of infrastructure. Thanks to what has been realized so far and the support of the Region, we are evaluating further investments also in this region once some issues of a corporate nature are behind us. The relationship between Apulia and Pirelli is destined to become even stronger making this Region and our country’s South a fundamental part of the path of technological innovation which sees Pirelli the world leader in the high value tyre sector”.

Tagged: Apulia Region

Apulia Regional Government and Pirelli Launch Pilot Project to Monitor Road Infrastructure Thanks to Cyber Tyre