Bridgestone Corporation has won the 'Tire Technology of the Year' award at the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence 2012, held earlier this month in Germany.

The award was made in recognition of new technology that can provide real time road surface condition information to the driver by way of the tyres. It is based on a concept called Contact Area Information Sensing (CAIS).

According to Bridgestone, CAIS is a general term for future technology which collects and evaluates road surface condition information. Capable of sensing instantaneous vibration input data and digitalising it by in-vehicle analysis equipment, the new technology classifies the current state of the road surface into seven conditions and transmits this information directly to the driver through an in-car display.

By providing immediate road surface information, the hope is that the new technology will allow the driver to be better prepared for rapid changes in dangerous driving conditions, such as ice, snow and rain, and also provides the opportunity to alert other motorist travelling with them on the same road.