TRW, Farmington Hills, MI, and Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand, France, signed a technical cooperation agreement to develop and market tire pressure monitoring devices for the passenger car and light truck industries.

TRW, Farmington Hills, MI, and Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand, France, signed a technical cooperation agreement to develop and market tire pressure monitoring devices for the passenger car and light truck industries. The agreement provides a framework for the development of a next-generation monitoring system that not only will indicate tire pressure and temperature, but will use additional tire condition data to determine and warn drivers of unsafe tire inflation conditions. Under the agreement, TRW and Michelin will work together toward development of a standardized tire pressure monitoring device for automakers and will cooperate in marketing their joint products. Initially, the agreement calls for TRW's TireWatch radio-frequency-based transmitter sensor, which transmits tire pressure and temperature data to an in-vehicle receiver, to be integrated with Michelin's Pax System and Logic software. Subsequently, the two companies will work together to develop a next-generation transmitter for application on the Pax System, as well as on conventional tires. In the future, efforts will include optimizing the whole tire pressure monitoring arena.