Automatic Tire Inflation Measurement

GPS receivers can measure your cars actual velocity. Whereas your speedometer really only measures the angular velocity of your wheels (the number of rotations your wheels make in a unit of time). When calibrating the speed dial, the car manufacturers make certain assumptions of the effective radius of your tires to deduce your speed (v = omega * r). They also add some padding to this estimate so they’re not liable if you’re caught speeding when your speedometer says you’re legal, but I digress. It would be very easy to do this calculation in reverse. Get your velocity from the GPS and then use the speedometer to deduce the radius or your tires. With no extra effort, you will be able to: (1) Calibrate your speed gage, (2) get an indication of whether your tires are inflated correctly – both a safety and a gas-mileage issue, and (3) detect a flat tire. If you can make this system accurate enough, you might even be able to detect tire wear, and turn on a warning light when your tires should be replaced. Though to reach that accuracy you might need to account for the variable tire temperature and car weight as well.