E-Solutions Professionals to debut smartphone technology to measure tread depth

DUBUQUE, Iowa — E-Solution Professionals Pty Ltd. (ESP) has developed technology it claims will allow consumers to calculate tire tread depth by using the camera on a smartphone.

ESP, an Australian web development software company that specializes in the tire industry, said its Monocular Tread Depth Reader uses artificial intelligence and modern machine learning in order for the computer to perceive and record depth accurately and easily.

The tool is expected to become available for use commercially for wholesalers and retailers in May.

According to the company, the tool was developed with help from Precision Automotive Equipment Australia and Hunter Engineering Co.'s Quick Tread Edge drive-over scanner with an integrated LPR camera. ESP said the technology has been "extensively tested" at a Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia workshop.

Kevin Marley, managing director of ESP, said the company researched how vehicle owners determined whether their tires needed to be replaced.

"At best, people would say that they would look at the tires and hazard a guess and they would take the vehicle to a tire shop if they were concerned," he said.

"We also found people had a high resistance to calling into a tire store in person. They much preferred to go to the store's online website. If the store did not have an online website, they would typically look for one that did," Mr. Marley said. "We decided there needed to be a way of using a readily available technology to understand the efficacy of tires and engage the user with the tire store that would remedy any needs."

Mr. Marley said eventually the technology will be refined to detect tire defects and low tread depth, and potentially, flat tires and bad alignment.

ESP's flagship product is Tireweb, B2B e-commerce application that transacts more than $2 billion in sales for customers of the tire industry.