SmarTire and SensoNor Announce Development/Supply Agreement
15 December 1999
SmarTire and SensoNor Announce Development/Supply Agreement
RICHMOND, British Columbia--Dec. 15, 1999-- SmarTire SystemsSmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has completed a development / supply agreement with SensoNor ASA in Horten, Norway.SmarTire Systems Inc. (SmarTire) and SensoNor ASA (SensoNor) have reached an agreement for the development of an Application Specific Integrated Sensor (ASIS) for commercial truck tire monitoring applications. The new sensor will be capable of sensing pressures up to 150psi (1,037 kPa) which is necessary for commercial truck and many off-road vehicles.
SensoNor is a leading producer of sensors for automotive applications. In an earlier agreement, SmarTire and TRW teamed with SensoNor in the successful development of an ASIS for passenger car and light truck tire monitoring. The ASIS is a single micro-electronic package which contains the pressure and temperature sense elements and a digital logic state machine which functions as the "brain" for the tire monitoring sensor / transmitter. "The ASIS integrates many electrical components into a single chip which significantly reduces the sensor package size, weight and cost while also providing a significant number of other new tire monitorlack box recording and battery management," stated Mark Desmarais, President and Chief Operating Officer of SmarTire. The pressure sensor contained in the ASIS is a very robust design that is not susceptible to damage caused by contaminants typically found inside a tire. SensoNor recently completed the development of the ASIS incorporated in SmarTire's new passenger car tire pressure monitoring system introduced at the SEMA show last month.
The commercial ASIS will use the digital logic state machine from the passenger car ASIS thereby reducing the development lead time and cost for the commercial product. The primary difference between the commercial and passenger car ASIS is the pressure sensing element. Mr. Desmarais stated, "When we defined the specifications for the passenger car ASIS, we included the necessary requirements for commercial truck applications into the digital logic state machine. As all the functions are provided on a single chip of silicon, we could add these requirements without increasing the chip cost. The commercial ASIS has the same size and electrical connections as the passenger car ASIS. Therefore, we can incorporate most of the development work for the passenger car sensor."
SmarTire Systems Inc. is an emerging technology company that develops and markets proprietary tire monitoring systems for the North American and European automotive aftermarkets. Through their strategic alliance, SmarTire and TRW Inc. are committed to providing superior tire monitoring systems for both aftermarket and original equipment applications. Additional information is available at www.smartire.com.
Robert V. Rudman, CA, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the impact of competitive products and pricing and general economic conditions as they affect the Company's customers. Actual results and developments may therefore differ materially from those described in this release.