AUTOMOTIVES


together with leading tire manufacturers such as Goodyear, Michelin and Continental to develop and test spring-coil antenna structures that combine electrical performance with mechanical elasticity. Unlike fl at etched antennas commonly used for RFID labels, these coil antennas fl ex together with the tire structure, maintaining electrical integrity even as the surrounding rubber deforms. The result is an RFID system capable of surviving both the vulcanisation process and years of demanding road conditions.


Two architectural approaches Two primary architectural approaches have emerged for embedding RFID technology in tires: Direct-Attached architectures and Linkless designs.


In direct-attached designs, the RFID integrated circuit is physically connected to the antenna. This confi guration provides a robust connection between the IC and the antenna. This allows the tag to use a longer antenna, which naturally provides the tag with more antenna gain. This design also enables the integration of additional sensing capabilities, such as temperature or strain monitoring, which can be useful in applications such as commercial fl eets or safety-critical vehicles.


Linkless designs follow a different philosophy. In these tags, the chip is not directly connected to the antenna but instead couples inductively to it. Eliminating the electrical interconnect removes a potential mechanical failure point and improves durability in high-stress environments. However, RF performance becomes more dependent on geometric alignment and application-specifi c tuning.


Both architectures are used in modern tire RFID programs, each offering different trade-offs between mechanical robustness, RF performance and design fl exibility.


Motorsport as an early proving ground


Some of the earliest real-world deployments of RFID tire tagging occurred in professional motorsport. Racing organisations adopted RFID technology to manage controlled tire distribution and leasing programs. Series such as NASCAR, Formula E and MotoGP have used RFID-enabled tires to track allocations and verify tire identities during events. These racing environments place extreme demands on tires and provide a valuable stress test for embedded electronics. For engineers, motorsport deployments offered a unique opportunity to validate RFID reliability under some of the most demanding


processing can all be linked to the same physical tire.


To support this ecosystem, the tire industry is developing shared data platforms. One important initiative is the Global Data Service Organisation (GDSO), which operates a centralised infrastructure for standardised tire identifi cation data. Through such systems, each tire can be associated with a globally unique identifi er and a corresponding digital record stored in a shared database. This infrastructure enables new applications


operating conditions possible. Lessons learned from these programs helped refi ne antenna structures, packaging methods and manufacturing integration, accelerating the transition from experimental technology to commercial deployment.


From identifi cation to lifecycle intelligence


While early RFID tire tags were used primarily for identifi cation, the technology is increasingly seen as the foundation for a broader digital infrastructure.


An RFID chip embedded in the tire provides a persistent digital identity that remains with the product throughout its lifecycle. Manufacturing data, logistics records, maintenance history and end-of-life


across the tire ecosystem. Fleet operators can verify tire identities during maintenance, improving safety and operational effi ciency. Service networks can access maintenance histories instantly. Retreaders can identify casings suitable for reuse, while recyclers gain better visibility into tire composition and lifecycle history.


Vehicle manufacturers are also exploring how RFID tire identifi cation can improve factory processes, such as verifying that the correct tires are installed during vehicle assembly.


The foundation for data-driven mobility


As mobility systems become increasingly data-driven, persistent identifi cation becomes


essential. Predictive maintenance, safety analytics and lifecycle optimisation all depend on reliable data that can be associated with a specifi c physical asset.


RFID tire tags provide that foundation. They act as a “ground truth” identifi er that links data generated across manufacturing systems, fl eet management platforms and service networks.


With nearly 300 million tags deployed globally, RFID tire tagging has moved beyond proof-of-concept and into large-scale industrial use. The next phase of development will likely focus less on tag survivability and more on how the data generated by these embedded identifi ers can be used. For engineers working on connected infrastructure, the tire may seem an unlikely place for innovation. Yet the combination of embedded electronics, global data platforms and lifecycle traceability is quietly transforming how one of the automotive industry’s most fundamental components is managed.


And increasingly, it all begins with a tiny RFID chip embedded deep inside the rubber.


JUNE 2026 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS 29


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