Autonomous-driving firm Gatik is bulking up its safety technology with a surprising partner: tire giant Goodyear.

The two companies announced Tuesday they’re expanding the use of technology that integrates “tire intelligence” into Gatik’s autonomous-driving system. They’ll put it into a significant portion of Gatik’s growing fleet of commercial vehicles in Canada and the U.S., after a successful test last year in Canadian winter weather.

How it started: Gatik, a business-to-business autonomous-vehicle firm focusing on transporting goods between distribution centres and retail locations, has been running truly driverless routes in Ontario since late 2022, transporting groceries for Loblaw. Wittington Ventures, a fund affiliated with the grocer, is an investor in Gatik, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., and has a Toronto office.

The tire tech expansion comes after tests in which Goodyear was able to successfully use sensors, data and algorithms to generate road-friction estimates in Canadian winter weather. The technology, SightLine, was able to detect “low-grip” tire conditions, like hydroplaning and black ice. The companies said it has “tremendous” potential to help Gatik vehicles determine speed, acceleration, following distance and route-planning.

Unlike your average “check tire” light, which alerts drivers mainly of tire pressure, Werner Happenhofer, Goodyear’s vice-president for tire intelligence and eMobility solutions, told The Logic that Goodyear’s technology uses factors like GPS data.

How it’s going: Tuesday’s announcement is part of Goodyear’s biggest-ever push at the CES tech trade show in Las Vegas, where it’s looking to show that it’s more than rubber and metal. Since last year, the companies have expanded SightLine testing to Gatik’s Texas proving grounds, and Gatik’s algorithms have incorporated Goodyear analytics for braking stiffness and taking corners. The technology can also help Gatik plan its tire maintenance by keeping track of wear and tear, avoiding potential surprises when a vehicle is loaded up with groceries.

Why it matters: The partnership comes as Gatik aims to expand its freight-only operations, without drivers, at a “meaningful scale” in Texas, where it has a concentration of customers, according to Richard Steiner, Gatik’s vice-president of government relations and public affairs. Steiner said Gatik’s fleet of commercial vehicles will grow from 60 to about 300 on the road by the end of 2025. 

It also comes amid heavy scrutiny of the safety of self-driving vehicles after a high-profile accident involving General Motors-owned robo-taxi firm Cruise. 

“We’ve never had an incident with our automated driving system engaged,” Steiner told The Logic. “It’s incredibly beneficial when the system can understand tire-road friction potential … to understand how we can stop more safely based upon the surface of the road.” 

Goodyear, meanwhile, is trying to defend its share of the tire market by using its position as a keeper of data correlating vehicle responses and road conditions. 

“We need to be able to add this additional value. Otherwise, we just lose our market position,” said Happenhofer. “You have to be able to also offer the full set of technology that comes with the tire.”