HMMWV Variable Vehicle Cone Index (VCI)

Marine forces of the future will be significantly more agile, lethal, mobile, and survivable. The current limitation on tactical wheeled vehicles is at the tire/terrain interface. Tactical wheeled vehicles need the ability to adapt to rapidly changing terrain conditions and missions by developing a Variable Vehicle Cone Index (VVCI) system that produces a wider range of tactically appropriate behaviors to improve maneuverability. TRI/Austins VVCI technology will use embedded sensors inside the tire to measure the shape of the tire/terrain interaction with pattern-recognition algorithms and vary the VCI through controllability of the contact patch by tire pressure adjustments with the vehicles Central Tire Inflation System (CTIS). The proposed sensing method is low cost, simple, rugged and environmentally and temperature tolerant to insure long working life without required maintenance. Phase II plans include mature prototype development and performance validation, with a final report incorporating a plan for transition to Phase III.