Patent Publication Number: US-2021181063-A1

Title: Tire sensor device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/717,887, filed Aug. 12, 2018, and titled, “Sensor Module and System for Determining Driving Conditions and Tire Degradation,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The disclosed embodiments relate generally to a tire sensor device for determining driving conditions and tire degradation, and more specifically to a tire sensor device adapted to be disposed on the inner surface of a tire tread. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Tire wear and maintenance are critical aspects of vehicle safety. As the tire is worn, driver safety and performance are compromised. 
     However, tire tread wear has generally been a subjective measurement performed by professionals associated with the tire-installation process. One technology for monitoring a tire is the tire pressure monitoring sensor (TPMS). TPMS was developed to monitor the pressure in a tire and alert the driver of the vehicle to below-standard pressure. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure provides a tire sensor device for monitoring a condition of a tire. The tire sensor device includes a plurality of sensors including, optionally, a microphone, a temperature sensor, and an accelerometer. The tire sensor device further includes memory configured to store data (e.g., measurements) received by the plurality of sensors. The tire sensor device further includes a microprocessor coupled with the memory. The microprocessor is configured to perform one or more initial processing operations on the data received by the plurality of sensors. The one or more initial processing operations include determining one or more tire characteristics using data from the plurality of sensors acquired at a frequency greater than a frequency of rotation of the tire. The tire sensor device further includes an antenna, coupled with the microprocessor, configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more external devices (note, however, that the antenna may be separate from and communicatively coupled with the tire sensor device). The tire sensor device has dimensions less than 5 cm×5 cm×2 cm. 
     Further, the present disclosure provides another tire sensor device for monitoring a condition of a tire. The tire sensor device includes a plurality of sensors including, optionally, a microphone, a temperature sensor, and an accelerometer. The tire sensor device further includes memory configured to store data received by the plurality of sensors. The tire sensor device further includes one or more processors coupled with the memory. The one or more processors are configured to perform one or more initial processing operations on the data received by the plurality of sensors. The tire sensor device further includes an antenna, coupled with the one or more processors, configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more external devices (note, however, that the antenna may be separate from and communicatively coupled with the tire sensor device). 
     Further, the present disclosure provides a method of alerting a user to changes in tire characteristics. The method includes receiving data from a plurality of sensors disposed within a tire. The plurality of sensors include, optionally, a microphone, a temperature sensor, and an accelerometer. The data from the plurality of sensors are acquired at a frequency greater than a frequency of rotation of the tire. The method includes determining one or more characteristics of the tire using the data from the plurality of sensors acquired at a frequency greater than a frequency of rotation of the tire, the one or more characteristics of the tire selected from the group consisting of: a wheel misalignment; a slow leak; a puncture; rubber decay; low tread depth; excessive load; and a mileage limit exceeded. The method further includes providing a user alert indicating the one or more characteristics of the tire. 
     Further, the present disclosure provides a method of monitoring tire conditions for a plurality of vehicles (e.g., a fleet of vehicles). The method includes receiving information from the plurality of vehicles indicating presence or absence of a plurality of tire conditions, including one or more tire conditions selected from the group consisting of: wheel misalignment; a slow leak; a puncture; rubber decay; low tread depth; excessive load; and a mileage limit exceeded. The method further includes displaying a dashboard summary of the one or more tire conditions for the plurality of vehicles. 
     Further, some embodiments provide a computer system that includes one or more processors, memory, and optionally a display. The memory (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) stores instructions for execution by the one or more processors, including instructions for performing any of the methods described herein. 
     Further, some embodiments provide a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed by a computer system that includes one or more processors and optionally a display, causes the computer system to perform any of the methods described herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the drawings and specification. 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of a sensor board of a tire sensor device, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIGS. 2A-2B  illustrate a tire sensor device disposed on an inner surface of a tire opposite a tread, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a tire monitoring system, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 4A  is a block diagram illustrating a tire monitoring server, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 4B  is a block diagram illustrating a client device, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIGS. 5A-5C  illustrate example user interfaces for providing information (e.g., user alerts) about tire characteristics and/or tire conditions for one or more vehicles, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an example of a user interface that includes a dashboard summary of tire characteristics and/or tire conditions for a plurality of vehicles (e.g., a fleet of vehicles), in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIGS. 7A-7C  are schematic diagrams of antennas for use in a tire sensor device, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates schematic diagrams of additional embodiments of antennas for use in a tire sensor device, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 9  is a flow diagram of a method for providing a user alert indicating one or more characteristics of a tire, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 10  is a flow diagram of a method for providing a dashboard summary of one or more tire conditions for a plurality of vehicles, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIGS. 11A-11B  show a tire sensor dock, in accordance with some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a tire sensor device (e.g., a sensor board and/or a packaged) that is adapted to be mounted to a tire without invasive mounting requirements. The tire sensor device includes a plurality of sensors beyond a TPMS, including, optionally, a high-frequency accelerometer, a microphone, and/or a temperature sensor. The tire sensor device is further adapted to capture, measure, and analyze data from the tire using the plurality of sensors. The data may be transmitted to a server, which may analyze the data to quantify and characterize the effects of various external factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, road conditions, driver behavior, and environmental changes. By using a high-frequency accelerometer, for example, characteristics of individual rotations of each tire (e.g., the tires “footprint”) can be determined. Tire conditions and degradation, such as rubber decay and/or low tread, can be identified by quantifying, characterizing, and removing the effects of external factors (e.g., road conditions). 
     The present disclosure also provides methods and devices for alerting users to changes in tire conditions and/or providing dashboard summaries of tire conditions for a fleet of vehicles. 
     Thus, systems are provided with improved methods for detecting and reporting tire degradation in one or more vehicles. These systems and methods use an unconventional combination of measurement apparatuses (e.g., sensors) to improve safety, performance, and efficiency (e.g., fuel and/or energy economy) of vehicles by improving tire maintenance. 
     Reference will now be made to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the various described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  is an illustration of a sensor board  100  of a tire sensor device, in accordance with some embodiments. The sensor board  100  has several components, including but not limited to a pressure sensor  102 , a microphone  104 , a temperature sensor  106 , an accelerometer  108 , an antenna  110 , a voltage regulator  112 , an analog input  114 , memory  116 , and one or more processors  118 . The various sensors are configured to collect data and supply the data to the memory  116  and/or one or more processors  118 . In some embodiments, the several components including the various sensors are affixed to a common (i.e., the same) polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) board  120  (e.g., the various sensors have a fixed position with respect to one another). In some embodiments, the PCB board  120  has printed thereon wires to connect the several components to one another. Note that, in various embodiments, any of the aforementioned sensors may be omitted. For example, in some embodiments, sensor board  100 , or a tire sensor device that includes sensor board  100 , does not include a microphone, does not includes a temperature sensors, and/or does not include an accelerometer. 
     In some embodiments, any or all of the sensors described herein have a sampling rate sufficient to acquire data (e.g., measurements) at a frequency greater than a frequency of rotation of the tire (e.g., at a predefined speed and for a predefined tire size and/or circumference). For example, in some embodiments, the tire sensor device is adapted to operate (e.g., acquire multiple samples per wheel rotation from one or more of the sensors or each of the sensors) at speeds up to 120 miles per hour (mph) in a P215/60R16 tire. 
     In some embodiments, sensor board  100  has a characteristic length L (e.g., a maximum length in any particular direction) that is less than 5 centimeters (cm). For example, in some embodiments, sensor board  100  has a diameter that is approximately 3.4 cm. 
     In some embodiments, the pressure sensor  102  is adapted to capture and/or measure the pressure of a tire to which the sensor board  100  is affixed. For example, the pressure sensor  102  may be part number MS580305BA01-00 (MS5803-05BA), manufactured by TE CONNECTIVITY. 
     In some embodiments, the microphone  104  is adapted to capture changes in frequency, for example, as the tire is driven on a road surface. For example, the microphone  104  may be part number ICS-41350, manufactured by INVENSENSE. 
     In some embodiments, the temperature sensor  106  is adapted to measure temperature variation within and/or proximate to the tire, for example, as the tire is driven on a road surface. For example, the temperature sensor  106  may be part number TMP102-Q1, manufactured by TEXAS INSTRUMENTS. 
     In some embodiments, the accelerometer  108  is adapted to detect and/or measure changes in the motion of the tire, for example, as the tire is driven on a road surface. For example, the accelerometer  108  may be part number ADXL372, manufactured by ANALOG DEVICES. In some embodiments, the accelerometer has a sampling rate of at least 3000 Hertz (Hz) (or 4000 Hz or 5000 Hz). In some embodiments, the accelerometer  108  has a sampling rate of 6400 Hz. In some embodiments, the accelerometer  108  has a sampling rate sufficient to acquire data (e.g., measurements) at a frequency greater than a frequency of rotation of the tire (e.g., at a predefined speed and for a predefined tire size and/or predefined circumference). For example, in some embodiments, the tire sensor device is adapted to operate (e.g., acquire multiple samples per wheel rotation) at speeds up to 120 miles per hour (mph) in a P215/60R16 tire. 
     In some embodiments, the antenna  110  (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) antenna) is adapted to transmit data from the sensor board. For example, the antenna may be a printed on-board antenna. In some embodiments, the antenna  110  is adapted to communicate in an industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio band. In some embodiments, as described in greater detail with reference to  FIGS. 7A-7C  and  FIG. 8 , the antenna  110  is adapted to communicate over a plurality of bands (e.g., the antenna  110  is a multi-mode antenna). In some embodiments, the antenna  110  is adapted to communicate over BLUETOOTH (e.g., in a 2.4 GHz band). In some embodiments, antenna  110  is adapted to communicate over a 900 MHz Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) band. In some embodiments, antenna  110  is adapted to communicate over a 415 MHz ISM band. In some embodiments, antenna  110  is an integral part of the tire sensor devices described herein (e.g., tire sensor device  200 ,  FIG. 2 ). In some embodiments, an antenna is separate from and communicatively coupled to the tire sensor devices described herein. 
     In some embodiments, the voltage regulator  112  is adapted to regulate battery power (e.g., ensures that the antenna  110  receives a consistent voltage within specifications). Regulating the voltage to antenna  110  helps reduce transient noise in the signal sent from the antenna  110 , reducing the overall power draw and improving efficiency. For example, the voltage regulator  112  may be part number TPS62740, manufactured by TEXAS INSTRUMENTS. 
     In some embodiments, the analog input  114  is adapted to receive inputs from off-board analog sensors such as to connect to data cables in order to download raw data from memory  116 . 
     In some embodiments, the one or more processors  118  are adapted to analyze data stored in the memory  116  and/or received from one or more of the sensors on the sensor board. In some embodiments, the one or more processors  118  comprise one or more microprocessors (e.g., the microprocessor comprises one or more central processing units (CPUs) and/or general processing units (GPUs)). In some embodiments, the one or more processors  118  comprise one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In some embodiments, the one or more processors  118  comprise one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). In some embodiments, the one or more processors  118  are embodied as a system-on-chip (SoC) (e.g., part number nRF52832, or a similar part such as nRF52840, manufactured by NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR). The nRF52832 is an ultra-low power multiprotocol SoC with hardware support on-chip for BLUETOOTH® 5. The nRF52832 may further includes near-field communication (NFC) capabilities. 
     In some embodiments, memory  116  is adapted to store data captured and/or generated by one or more sensors on the sensor board  100 . In some embodiments, memory  116  includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid-state memory devices; and may include non-volatile memory, such as one or more flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. Memory  116  optionally includes one or more storage devices remotely located from one or more processors  118 . Memory  116 , or, alternatively, the non-volatile solid-state memory device(s) within memory  116 , includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, memory  116  comprises flash memory. For example, the flash memory may be part number W25N01GVZEIG TR (W25N01GV), manufactured by WINBOND ELECTRONICS. In some embodiments, memory  116  is packaged with the one or more processors  118  (e.g., as a single microprocessor). 
     In some embodiments, the one or more processors  118  perform one or more initial processing operations on the data received by the plurality of sensors (e.g., before the data are transmitted to tire monitoring server  304 ,  FIG. 3 ). For example, the one or more initial processing operations include determining one or more tire characteristics using data from the plurality of sensors acquired at a frequency greater than a frequency of rotation of the tire. In some embodiments, the one or more tire characteristics include a duration (e.g., length of time) of a rotation of the tire (e.g., a duration of every rotation of the tire); a length of a footprint of the tire (e.g., a length of a footprint of every rotation of the tire); a wheel misalignment; a slow leak; a puncture; rubber decay; low tread depth; excessive load; and a mileage limit exceeded. In some embodiments, the initial processing operations include identifying (e.g., and counting), using data from the plurality of sensors, a plurality of individual rotations of the tire. Alternatively, some of these operations may be performed by a device that receives data from sensor board  100  (e.g., tire monitoring server  304  and/or electronic device  302 - 1 ,  FIG. 3 ). 
       FIGS. 2A-2B  illustrate a tire sensor device  200  disposed on an inner surface of a tire  202  opposite a tread, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the tire sensor device  200  has dimensions less than 5 cm (e.g., in width W)×5 cm (e.g., in length L)×2 cm (e.g., in height H above the inner surface of the tire  202 ). In some embodiments, the tire sensor device  200  has dimensions less than 10 cm×10 cm×4 cm. In some embodiments, tire sensor device  200  incudes a plurality of sensors including a microphone, a temperature sensor, and an accelerometer (e.g., includes sensor board  100 ,  FIG. 1 ). In some embodiments, tire sensor device  200  is configured to operate (e.g., obtain measurements from the plurality of sensors) while tire  202  is in use (e.g., while the vehicle is moving and the tire is pressurized to a pressure above 30 pounds per square inch (psi)). 
     As illustrated, the tire sensor device  200  is affixed to the inner surface of the tire. For example, the sensor may be affixed to the inner surface of the tire using an industrial strength epoxy. As a result, there is no need to modify the manufacturing process of the tire and no damage results from affixing the sensor module to the tire. The sensor module may be affixed to the tire in any other suitable, non-invasive manner. In some circumstances, the tire sensor device  200  is installed at the time of manufacture, although the tire sensor device  200  may also be installed at a later time. In some circumstances, the tire sensor device  200  is mounted at a midline of the inner surface of the tire, opposite the tread, although tire sensor device  200  may be installed elsewhere. In addition, two or more tire sensor devices  200  may be installed on a single tire. In some embodiments, the tire sensor device  200  is installed with a particular alignment relative to the tire (e.g., a first predetermined axis of the tire sensor device  200  is installed in a direction aligned with a circumference of the tire, such that the tire sensor device  200 &#39;s accelerometers are aligned along a known axis with respect to the tire). 
     In some embodiments, the tire sensor device  200  is affixed to the inner surface of the tire through a tire sensor dock (e.g., tire sensor dock  1100 ,  FIGS. 11A-11B ). 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a tire monitoring system  300 , in accordance with some embodiments. The tire monitoring system  300  includes one or more electronic devices  302  (e.g., electronic device  302 - 1  through electronic device  302 - m , where m is an integer greater than one), one or more tire monitoring servers  304 , and/or one or more tire sensor devices  200  (e.g., tire sensor device  200 - 1  through tire sensor device  200 - n , where n is an integer greater than 1) affixed to tires on one or more vehicles  306 . 
     One or more networks  314  communicably couple the components of the tire monitoring system  300 . In some embodiments, the one or more networks  314  include public communication networks, private communication networks, or a combination of both public and private communication networks. For example, the one or more networks  314  can be any network (or combination of networks) such as the internet, other wide area networks (WAN), local area networks (LAN), virtual private networks (VPN), metropolitan area networks (MAN), peer-to-peer networks, and/or ad-hoc connections. 
     In some embodiments, an electronic device  302  is associated with one or more users (e.g., vehicle owners or fleet managers). In some embodiments, an electronic device  302  is a personal computer, mobile electronic device, wearable computing device, laptop computer, tablet computer, mobile phone, feature phone, smart phone, television (TV), digital versatile disk (DVD) player, dongle, and/or any other electronic device capable of communicating with a tire sensor device  200  and presenting information to a user. Electronic devices  302  may connect to each other wirelessly and/or through a wired connection (e.g., directly through an interface, such as an HDMI interface). In some embodiments, electronic devices  302 - 1  and  302 - m  are the same type of device (e.g., electronic device  302 - 1  and electronic device  302 - m  are smart phones). Alternatively, electronic device  302 - 1  and electronic device  302 - m  include two or more different types of devices (e.g., electronic device  302 - 1  is a portable multifunction device, such as a smart phone, and electronic device  302 - m  is a desktop computer or smart television). 
     In some embodiments, electronic device  302 - 1  communicates directly with one or more tire sensor devices  200  (as illustrated by the dotted line connecting tire sensor devices  200  and electronic device  302 - 1 ). For example, electronic device  302 - 1  is able to communicate directly (e.g., through a wired connection (e.g., analog input  114 ,  FIG. 1 ) and/or through a short-range wireless signal (e.g., using antenna  110 .  FIG. 1 ), such as those associated with personal-area-network (e.g., BLUETOOTH/BLE) communication technologies, radio-frequency-based near-field communication technologies, infrared communication technologies, etc.) with a tire sensor device  200 . In some embodiments, electronic device  302 - 1  communicates with the tire sensor device  200  through network(s)  314 . In some embodiments, electronic device  302 - 1  uses the direct connection with tire sensor device  200  to receive data from the plurality of sensors on the tire sensor device  200 . For example, electronic device  302 - 1  acts as a transceiver for data from the plurality of sensors on tire sensor device  200  and uploads the data to a tire monitoring server  304 . Alternatively, the tire sensor device may communicate with an onboard diagnostic (OBD) dongle (e.g., an OBD-II data dongle) on a vehicle or a vehicle modem, which acts as a transceiver for data from the plurality of sensors on tire sensor device  200  and uploads the data to a tire monitoring server  304 . 
     In some embodiments, the data are received by the one or more tire monitoring servers  304  for data processing and analytics. For example, the tire monitoring servers may be associated with AMAZON WEB SERVICES or GOOGLE CLOUD PLATFORM. The tire monitoring servers may be adapted with machine-learning models to identify the causes for tire life reduction. Such causes may include, but are not limited to, road surface conditions (e.g., potholes, icy conditions), temperature conditions, and driver behavior (e.g., aggressive driving, hard turning, rapid acceleration). 
       FIG. 4A  is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device  302  (e.g., a computer system/client device, such as electronic device  302 - 1  and/or electronic device  302 - m ,  FIG. 3 ), in accordance with some embodiments. The electronic device  302  includes one or more CPUs  402 , one or more network (or other communications) interfaces  410 , memory  412 , and one or more communication buses  414  for interconnecting these components. The communication buses  414  optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects and controls communications between system components. 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device  302  includes a user interface  404 , including output device(s)  406  and/or input device(s)  408 . In some embodiments, the input devices  408  include a keyboard, mouse, or track pad. In some embodiments, output devices  406  include a display device  450 . In some embodiments, the display device  450  includes a touch-sensitive surface, in which case the display device  450  is a touch-sensitive display. In electronic devices that have a touch-sensitive display, a physical keyboard is optional (e.g., a soft keyboard may be displayed when keyboard entry is needed). In some embodiments, the output devices  406  include a speaker  452  (e.g., speakerphone device) and/or an audio jack. In some embodiments, the electronic device  302  includes an audio input device (e.g., a microphone  454 ) to capture audio (e.g., speech from a user). 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device  302  includes a location-detection device  440 , such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) (e.g., GPS (global positioning system), GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou) or other geo-location receiver, and/or location-detection software for determining the location of the electronic device  302  (e.g., module for finding a position of the electronic device  302  using trilateration of measured signal strengths for nearby devices). 
     In some embodiments, the one or more network interfaces  410  include wireless and/or wired interfaces for receiving data from and/or transmitting data to other electronic devices  302 , a tire monitoring server  304 , and/or other devices or systems. In some embodiments, data communications are carried out using any of a variety of custom or standard wireless protocols (e.g., NFC, RFID, IEEE 802.15.4, WI-FI, ZIGBEE, 6LOWPAN, THREAD, Z-WAVE, BLUETOOTH, ISA100.11A, WIRELESSHART, MIWI, etc.). Furthermore, in some embodiments, data communications are carried out using any of a variety of custom or standard wired protocols (e.g., USB, FIREWIRE, ETHERNET, etc.). For example, the one or more network interfaces  410  include a wireless interface  460  for enabling wireless data communications with other electronic devices  302 , and/or or other wireless (e.g., BLUETOOTH-compatible) devices (e.g., tire sensor devices  200 ). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the wireless interface  460  (or a different communications interface of the one or more network interfaces  410 ) enables data communications with other WLAN-compatible devices (e.g., electronic device(s)  302 ) and/or the tire monitoring server  304  (via the one or more network(s)  314 ,  FIG. 3 ). 
     In some embodiments, electronic device  302  includes one or more sensors including, but not limited to, accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses, magnetometers, light sensors, near field communication transceivers, barometers, humidity sensors, temperature sensors, proximity sensors, range finders, and/or other sensors/devices for sensing and measuring various environmental conditions. 
     Memory  412  includes high-speed random-access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random-access solid-state memory devices; and may include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. Memory  412  may optionally include one or more storage devices remotely located from the CPU(s)  402 . Memory  412 , or alternately, the non-volatile memory solid-state storage devices within memory  412 , includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, memory  412  or the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory  412  stores the following programs, modules, and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof:
         an operating system  416  that includes procedures for handling various basic system services and for performing hardware-dependent tasks;   network communication module(s)  418  for connecting the electronic device  302  to other computing devices (e.g., other electronic device(s)  302 , and/or tire monitoring server  304 ) via the one or more network interface(s)  410  (wired or wireless) connected to one or more network(s)  314 ;   a user interface module  420  that receives commands and/or inputs from a user via the user interface  404  (e.g., from the input devices  408 ) and provides outputs for presentation and/or display on the user interface  404  (e.g., the output devices  406 );   a tire monitoring application  422  for receiving and displaying information from one or more vehicles indicating presence or absence of a plurality of tire conditions (e.g., as determined using data from one or more tire sensors  200  mounted within the vehicle&#39;s tires);   a web browser application  424  (e.g., INTERNET EXPLORER or EDGE by MICROSOFT, FIREFOX by MOZILLA, SAFARI by APPLE, and/or CHROME by GOOGLE) for accessing, viewing, and/or interacting with web sites. In some embodiments, the web browser application  424  may be used to access and display a dashboard summary of the one or more tire conditions for the plurality of vehicles (e.g., provided by tire monitoring server  304 ,  FIG. 3 ); and   other applications  436 , such as applications for word processing, calendaring, mapping, weather, stocks, time keeping, virtual digital assistant, presenting, number crunching (spreadsheets), drawing, instant messaging, e-mail, telephony, video conferencing, photo management, video management, a digital music player, a digital video player, 2D gaming, 3D (e.g., virtual reality) gaming, electronic book reader, and/or workout support.       

     Each of the above identified modules stored in memory  412  corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described herein. The above identified modules or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory  412  optionally store a subset or superset of the respective modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory  412  optionally store additional modules and data structures not described above. 
       FIG. 4B  is a block diagram illustrating a tire monitoring server  304  (e.g., a computer system), in accordance with some embodiments. The tire monitoring server  304  typically includes one or more central processing units (CPUs)  472 , one or more network interfaces  474 , memory  476 , and one or more communication buses  478  for interconnecting these components. 
     Memory  476  includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid-state memory devices; and may include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. Memory  476  optionally includes one or more storage devices remotely located from one or more CPUs  472 . Memory  476 , or, alternatively, the non-volatile solid-state memory device(s) within memory  476 , includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, memory  476 , or the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory  476 , stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof:
         an operating system  480  that includes procedures for handling various basic system services and for performing hardware-dependent tasks;   a network communication module  482  that is used for connecting the tire monitoring server  304  to other computing devices via one or more network interfaces  474  (wired or wireless) connected to one or more networks  314 ;   one or more server application modules  484  for performing various functions with respect to monitoring tire conditions, the server application modules  484  including, but not limited to, one or more of:
           data processing and analytics module  486  that receives data from one or more sensors (e.g., accelerometers, temperature sensors, microphones, or any of the other sensors described herein) on tire sensor devices (e.g., tire sensor devices  200 ,  FIG. 2 ) and determines one or more characteristics of tires (e.g., rubber decay, low tread depth, excessive load, or any of the other characteristics described herein) using the data from the sensors. In some embodiments, the determination of the one or more characteristics of the tires is made in real-time (e.g., as the data is received) without user intervention (e.g., a client device need not request the determination); and   web-interface reporting dashboard module  488  (e.g., executed as an application program interface (API)) for transmitting, for display (e.g., on a client device, such as electronic device  302 - 1  or  302 - m ), a dashboard summary of the one or more tire conditions for the plurality of vehicles and/or for providing a user alert indicating the one or more characteristics of the tire. In some embodiments, the dashboard summary provides a user with information from tire sensor devices registered to the user (e.g., in sensor registration database  496 ).   
           one or more server data module(s)  490  for handling the storage of and/or access to data (e.g., measurements) from tire sensors (e.g., tire sensor devices  200 ,  FIG. 2 ) and registration of tire sensors; in some embodiments, the one or more server data module(s)  490  include:
           sensor measurement database  494  for storing raw data (e.g., measurements) from one or more sensors (e.g., accelerometers, temperature sensors, microphones, or any of the other sensors described herein) on a tire sensor device (e.g., tire sensor device  200 ,  FIG. 2 ) and/or partially processed data from said one or more sensors (e.g., where the tire sensor device performed one or more initial processing operations on the data to produce the partially processed data);   sensor registration database  496  for storing registration information for a plurality of users, a plurality of tire sensor devices, and a plurality of tires on which the plurality of tire sensor devices are mounted. For example, sensor registration database  496  stores a data structure (e.g., a table) that includes, for each user of a plurality of users: one or more tire sensor devices, identified using a unique device identifier, registered by the user (and thus associated with the user&#39;s account) and information about the tire on which each tire sensor device of the one or more tire sensor devices corresponding to the user is mounted. In some embodiments, the tire information includes a make, model, and/or year of the tire. In some embodiments, the tire information includes one or more characteristics determined by data processing and analytics module  486  (e.g., a mileage on the tire, a projected lifetime of the tire). In some embodiments, the tire information includes one or more characteristics input during registrations. For example, in some embodiments, the tire information includes one or more characteristics input by the user and/or one or more characteristics obtained using image analysis of a photograph of the tire (e.g., using text recognition to read the model, make, age, serial number, and/or size of the tire off of tire codes imprinted on the tire&#39;s sidewall).   
               

     In some embodiments, the tire monitoring server  304  includes web or Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) servers, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) servers, as well as web pages and applications implemented using Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script, PHP Hyper-text Preprocessor (PHP), Active Server Pages (ASP), Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Java, JavaScript, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), XHP, Javelin, Wireless Universal Resource File (WURFL), and the like. 
     Each of the above identified modules stored in memory  476  corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described herein. The above identified modules or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory  476  optionally store a subset or superset of the respective modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory  476  optionally store additional modules and data structures not described above. 
     Although  FIG. 4B  illustrates the tire monitoring server  304  in accordance with some embodiments,  FIG. 4B  is intended more as a functional description of the various features that may be present in one or more tire monitoring servers than as a structural schematic of the embodiments described herein. In practice, and as recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, items shown separately could be combined and some items could be separated. For example, some items shown separately in  FIG. 4B  could be implemented on single servers and single items could be implemented by one or more servers. In some embodiments, server data modules  490  are stored on devices (e.g., other servers) that are accessed by server application modules  484 . The actual number of servers used to implement the tire monitoring server  304 , and how features are allocated among them, will vary from one implementation to another and, optionally, depends in part on the amount of data traffic that the server system handles during peak usage periods as well as during average usage periods. 
       FIGS. 5A-5C  illustrate example user interfaces for providing information (e.g., user alerts) about tire characteristics and/or tire conditions for one or more vehicles, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the user interfaces shown in  FIGS. 5A-5C  are displayed on a client device (e.g., a client, such as electronic device  302 - 1 , of tire monitoring server  304 ,  FIG. 3 ). 
       FIG. 5A  illustrates a user interface  502  for registering a tire sensor device with a user&#39;s account. To that end, user interface  502  includes an affordance for pairing sensors (e.g., through BLUETOOTH, NFC, or some other communications protocol), an affordance for inputting tire information in correspondence with the paired sensor (e.g., a make, model, year, and/or manufacture date of the tire on which the paired tire sensor device is mounted), and an affordance for inputting vehicle information in correspondence with the paired sensor (e.g., a make, model, and/or year of the vehicle on which the paired tire sensor device is mounted). In some embodiments, a user can register (e.g., associate) tire sensor devices on a plurality of vehicles with the same account, and thus user interface  502  can be used to register tire sensor devices for a fleet of vehicles. 
     In some embodiments, tire information is input by taking a picture of a tire. For example, a user may take a picture of a tire and one or more characteristics (e.g., make, model, size, year of manufacture, serial number, and/or size of the tire) may be determined using image analysis. For example, the one or more characteristics may be read off of the tire (automatically, without user intervention) using text recognition (e.g., using text recognition to read the model, make, age, serial number, and/or size of the tire off of tire codes imprinted on the tire&#39;s sidewall). Note that a user may be asked to confirm the values for the one or more characteristics after the values for the one or more characteristics have been obtained using an image. 
       FIG. 5B  illustrates a user interface  504  for providing information and user alerts indicating characteristics of tires on a vehicle, as determined from tire sensor devices in each tire on the vehicle. In some embodiments, the user interface  504  indicates required service on a per tire basis for a respective vehicle. For example, user interface  504  may provide, for each tire on the vehicle (e.g., for each tire in which a tire sensor device is mounted), a user alert in response to determining a wheel misalignment; a slow leak; a puncture; rubber decay; low tread depth; excessive load; and a mileage limit exceeded. In addition, user interface  504  may provide, for each tire on the vehicle (e.g., for each tire in which a tire sensor device is mounted), information (e.g., data) such as the tire&#39;s pressure, remaining life (e.g., a projected remaining lifetime based on the driver&#39;s driving habits and the conditions experienced by the tire (e.g., road conditions, temperature conditions, etc.), as determined by the tire sensor device mounted on the tire). In some embodiments, user interface  504  includes, for a respective vehicle, a plurality of visual representations  506  of tires (e.g., a visual representation  506  of a tire for each tire in which a tire sensor device is mounted). In some embodiments, visual representations  506  of tires having a corresponding alert condition are visually distinguished from representations of tires that do not have an alert condition. In some embodiments, a visual representation  506  of a respective tire having a corresponding alert condition is visually distinguished from visual representations  506  of tires that do not have an alert condition by color coding (e.g., tires shown in red have an alert indicating an issue that requires attention, such as a slow leak or a mileage limit exceeded, whereas tires shown in green do not have an alert condition). 
       FIG. 5C  illustrates another user interface  508  for providing information and user alerts indicating characteristics of tires on a vehicle. In some embodiments, when updated information is received (e.g., by tire monitoring server  304 ) from the vehicle (e.g., from a tire sensor device  200  on the vehicle) indicating that an alert condition for tire on the vehicle is met, an alert is automatically provided indicating that the tire on the respective vehicle requires service (e.g., a text message is provided as shown in  FIG. 5C ). For example, a text message is provided to the user (e.g., in real-time, without the user&#39;s intervention), when a change in characteristics of a tire prompt an alert. As a more specific example, when tire monitoring server  304  determines that a tire has a predefined amount of tread life remaining (e.g., 25%, 10%, 0%), the tire monitoring server  304  sends a text message to the user informing the user of the remaining tread life. In some embodiments, analogous user alerts are provided based on other tire conditions, characteristics, and/or changes in characteristics discussed herein (e.g., detection of a slow leak or a puncture, excessive load, wheel misalignment, etc.). 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an example of a user interface  600  that includes a dashboard summary of tire characteristics and/or tire conditions for a plurality of vehicles (e.g., a fleet of vehicles), in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, user interface  600  is displayed on a client device (e.g., a client, such as electronic device  302 - m , of tire monitoring server  304 ,  FIG. 3 ). 
     In some embodiments, user interface  600  includes a plurality of representations  604  of vehicles (e.g., representations  604 - 1  through  604 - 6 ). Each representation  604  of a vehicle corresponds to a vehicle that is registered to the same user. The representations  604  of vehicles may include analogous information as the user interface  504  ( FIG. 5B ). For example, in some embodiments, representations  604  indicate required service on a per tire basis for each respective vehicle of a plurality of vehicles registered to the user. The representations  604  of vehicles may provide color coded representations of tires, where the color of the tire indicates a user alert condition (e.g., a slow leak, wheel misalignment, etc.) For brevity, the details described above are not repeated here. In some embodiments, user interface  600  includes a representation  604  of each vehicle in a fleet of vehicles. 
     In some embodiments, user interface  600  further includes an indication  606  of a number of tires (e.g., registered to the user) requiring service for each of one or more tire conditions (e.g., wheel misalignment, slow leak, puncture, rubber decay, low tread depth, excessive load, and/or mileage exceeded) as determined by tire sensor devices mounted on the tires. In some embodiments, user interface  600  further includes an indication  608  of a number of vehicles (e.g., registered to the user) requiring service (e.g., the vehicles&#39; tires require service, as determined by tire sensor devices mounted on the tires). 
     In some embodiments, user interface  600  provides a fleet map  610  showing geographical locations of vehicles in the plurality of vehicles that are represented by representations  604 . 
     In some embodiments, user interface  600  is updated automatically, without user intervention, as updated data is received from a respective vehicle of the plurality of vehicles. For example, when the updated information indicates that a tire on the respective vehicle requires service (e.g., in accordance with a determination that an alert condition for a tire is met), user interface  600  provides an alert indicating that the tire on the respective vehicle requires service. 
     In some embodiments, although not shown in detail, user interface  600  provides playback (e.g., replay) of data from tire sensor devices (e.g., through recordings affordance  612 ). For example, a user can select any date and time in the recorded history of any tire in the fleet of vehicles and view pressure, temperature, and/or speed changes over a predefined time window (e.g., 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, etc.). Thus, user interface  600  helps the user understand specific events in a tire&#39;s history (e.g., where a tire hit a nail on the road). 
       FIGS. 7A-7C  are schematic diagrams of antennas  700  for use in a tire sensor device, in accordance with some embodiments. In particular,  FIG. 7A  illustrates an example implementation of a rigid antenna  700 - 1  disposed on a PCB board with a SubMiniature version A (SMA) connector  708 .  FIG. 7B  illustrates an example implementation of a flexible antenna  700 - 2  with a connection pad  710 . The flexible antenna  700 - 2  may be adhered to the inner surface of a tire and, by virtue of its flexibility, contour to the inner surface of the tire, as shown in  FIG. 7C . In some embodiments, flexible antenna  700 - 2  may be integrated or embedded in a tire sensor dock, as described with reference to  FIGS. 11A-11B . 
     Alternatively, an antenna may be printed or otherwise provided on the same circuit board as a plurality of sensors, as shown and described with reference to sensor board  100 ,  FIG. 1 . 
     In some embodiments, antennas  700  are multi-mode antennas (e.g., comprise a single antenna structure that simultaneously transmits and receives data over a plurality of bands). In some embodiments, the plurality of bands include a 2.4 GHz band (e.g., for BLUETOOTH), 900 MHz GSM band, and a 415 MHz ISM band.  FIG. 7A  shows an example implementation of the triple mode antenna  700 - 1  showing the antenna elements  704  covering the 2.4 GHz, 900 MHz and 415 MHz bands (e.g., the 2.4 GHz band is covered by a combination of element  704 - 1 , element  704 - 2 , and element  704 - 3 ; the 900 MHz band is covered by a combination of element  704 - 1  and  704 - 2 ; and the 415 MHz band is covered by element  704 - 1 ). The antenna  700 - 1  includes inductance traces  706  (e.g., an inductance trace  706 - 1  having an inductance value L1 and an inductance trace  706 - 2  having an inductance value L2). In some embodiments, the values of the inductances L1 and L2 are adjusted to tune the transmission and reception of signals. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates schematic diagrams of additional embodiments of antennas  800  (e.g., antenna  800 - 1  through antenna  800 - 4 ) for use in a tire sensor device, in accordance with some embodiments. In particular,  FIG. 8  illustrates various shapes of antenna elements. In accordance with some embodiments, the shapes and sizes of the antenna elements can be adjusted, enhanced, or modified to improve performance in the frequencies (e.g., bands) of interest. Note that some elements, such as the inductance traces and connectors, have been omitted from the drawings of various antennas  800 . 
       FIG. 9  is a flow diagram of a method  900  for providing a user alert indicating one or more characteristics of a tire, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, various operations of method  900  are performed by a tire sensor device (e.g., tire sensor device  200 ,  FIG. 2 ). In some embodiments, various operations of method  900  are performed by a tire monitoring server (e.g., tire monitoring server  304 ,  FIG. 3 ) that receives data from a tire sensor device. In some embodiments, various operations of method  900  are performed by an electronic device (e.g., electronic device  302 - 1  and/or electronic device  302 - 2 ,  FIG. 3 ) communicatively-coupled with a tire sensor device and/or communicatively-coupled with a tire monitoring server. 
     Method  900  provides an improved process for detecting and reporting tire degradation in one or more vehicles. In some embodiments, method  900  uses an unconventional combination of measurement apparatuses (e.g., sensors) disposed within a tire to improve safety, performance, and efficiency (e.g., fuel and/or energy economy) of vehicles by improving tire maintenance. 
     The method  900  includes receiving ( 902 ) data from a plurality of sensors disposed within a tire. The plurality of sensors include a microphone, a temperature sensor, and an accelerometer. The data from the plurality of sensors are acquired at a frequency greater than a frequency of rotation of the tire (e.g., at a predefined speed and for a predefined tire size and/or circumference). For example, the data from the plurality of sensors are acquired at a frequency greater than the frequency of rotation of the tire when the vehicle is moving less than a maximum speed of 120 mph (e.g., accounting for the tires size and/or circumference). In some embodiments, data from the plurality of sensors are acquired at a frequency greater than twice the frequency of rotation of the tire. In some embodiments, data from the plurality of sensors are acquired at a frequency greater than a Nyquist frequency based on relevant features in the data when the tire is rotating at a predefined speed. In some embodiments, data from the plurality of sensors are acquired at a frequency of at least 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz, or 5000 Hz. 
     The method  900  further includes determining ( 904 ) one or more characteristics of the tire using the data from the plurality of sensors acquired at the frequency greater than the frequency of rotation of the tire. The one or more characteristics of the tire are selected from the group consisting of: a wheel misalignment; a slow leak; a puncture; rubber decay; low tread depth; excessive load; and a mileage limit exceeded. 
     In some embodiments, the determination of the one or more characteristics of the tire using the data from the plurality of sensors acquired at the frequency greater than the frequency of rotation of the tire is based on one or more features of a power spectral density of data from the plurality of sensors, wherein the one or more features have characteristic frequencies greater than the frequency of rotation of the tire (e.g., the method includes analyzing a power spectral density of the data from the plurality of sensors at the frequency greater than the frequency of rotation of the tire). 
     Further, in some embodiments, high-frequency vibrations in a tire (e.g., vibrations at a frequency greater than the frequency of rotation of the tire) can be sensed by the microphone and/or the accelerometer. These vibrations can be used to understand the road surface, and/or the friction between the tire and the road surface. Thus, in some embodiments, determining the one or more characteristics of the tire using the data from the plurality of sensors acquired at the frequency greater than the frequency of rotation of the tire includes accounting for (e.g., correcting for) one or more driving conditions, such as a road surface and/or ambient temperature. 
     In some embodiments, determining that the rubber on the tire has decayed includes detecting anomalies and/or trends in the motion and vibration of the tire (e.g., by detecting trends in vibration signals, as measured by the accelerometer and/or microphone). For example, determining that the rubber on the tire has decayed includes detecting an emergent peak in the power spectral density of the accelerometer and/or microphone data and determining that the emergent peak is not due to driving conditions. 
     In some embodiments, determining that the tire is mounted to a misaligned wheel includes analyzing motion (e.g., wobble) of the tire as determined by data from the accelerometer and other sensors (e.g., the microphone). For example, the accelerometer is a three-axis accelerometer and determining that the tire is mounted to a misaligned wheel includes detecting that data from the accelerometer include periodic motion of the tire along an axis of rotation of the tire (e.g., at the frequency of rotation of the tire). 
     In some embodiments, the plurality of sensors includes a pressure sensor and determining that the tire has a slow leak includes detecting that the data from the pressure sensor has decreased below a predefined rate (e.g., has decreased slowly). In some embodiments, determining that the tire has a slow leak includes determining that the decrease in pressure is not due to changes in ambient temperature. 
     In some embodiments, the plurality of sensors includes a pressure sensor and determining that the tire has a puncture includes detecting that the data from the pressure sensor has decreased above a predefined rate (e.g., has decreased quickly). 
     In some embodiments, determining that the tire has an excessive load includes correlating two or more of pressure, vehicle speed, and footprint length. In some embodiments, determining that the tire has an excessive load includes comparing footprint lengths between tires. 
     In some embodiments, determining that a mileage limit of the tire is exceeded includes counting a number of rotations (e.g., revolutions) of the tire to determine a total mileage of the tire. In some embodiments, the total mileage of the tire is compared to a specification mileage limit for the tire to determine that the mileage limit is exceeded. 
     In some embodiments, method  900  further includes determining a duration of a rotation of the tire (e.g., by determining a length of time of a single revolution of the tire from the accelerometer and/or microphone data and/or the power spectral density of the accelerometer and/or microphone data). In some embodiments, method  900  further includes determining a length of a footprint of the tire (e.g., by multiplying the duration of the rotation of the tire by a known circumference of the tire). 
     In some embodiments, method  900  includes mounting a tire sensor device on the tire. The tire sensor device includes the plurality of sensors. The tire sensor device further includes memory configured to store data received by the plurality of sensors and one or more processors coupled with the memory. The one or more processors are configured to perform one or more initial processing operations on the data received by the plurality of sensors; and an antenna, coupled with the one or more processors, configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more external devices. The information from the plurality of sensors is received from the tire sensor device. 
     The method  900  further includes providing ( 906 ) a user alert indicating the one or more characteristics of the tire (e.g., through the dashboard summary of user interface  600 ,  FIG. 6 , or as a text message as shown in  FIG. 5C ). 
     Although  FIG. 9  illustrates a number of logical stages in a particular order, stages which are not order dependent may be reordered and other stages may be combined or broken out. Some reordering or other groupings not specifically mentioned will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, so the ordering and groupings presented herein are not exhaustive. Moreover, it should be recognized that the stages could be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. Further, method  900  may include any of the operations described elsewhere in this document (e.g., with respect to method  1000 ,  FIG. 10 ). 
       FIG. 10  is a flow diagram of a method  1000  for providing a dashboard summary of one or more tire conditions for a plurality of vehicles, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, various operations of method  1000  are performed by a tire sensor device (e.g., tire sensor device  200 ,  FIG. 2 ). In some embodiments, various operations of method  1000  are performed by a tire monitoring server (e.g., tire monitoring server  304 ,  FIG. 3 ) that receives data from a tire sensor device. In some embodiments, various operations of method  1000  are performed by an electronic device (e.g., electronic device  302 - 1  and/or electronic device  302 - 2 ,  FIG. 3 ) communicatively-coupled with a tire sensor device and/or communicatively-coupled with a tire monitoring server. 
     Method  1000  provides an improved process for detecting and reporting tire degradation in one or more vehicles (e.g., a fleet of vehicles). In some embodiments, method  1000  uses an unconventional combination of measurement apparatuses (e.g., sensors) disposed within a tire to improve safety, performance, and efficiency (e.g., fuel and/or energy economy) of vehicles by improving tire maintenance. 
     In some embodiments, method  1000  include mounting ( 1002 ) a tire sensor device (e.g., tire sensor device  200 ) on a respective tire of each vehicle of a plurality of vehicles. The tire sensor device includes: a plurality of sensors including a microphone, a temperature sensor, and an accelerometer; and memory configured to store data received by the plurality of sensors. The one or more processors are coupled with the memory and configured to perform one or more initial processing operations on the data received by the plurality of sensors. The tire sensor device optionally includes an antenna, coupled with the one or more processors, configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more external devices. 
     Method  1000  further includes receiving ( 1004 ) information (e.g., data from tire sensor devices) from the plurality of vehicles indicating presence or absence of a plurality of tire conditions, including one or more tire conditions selected from the group consisting of: wheel misalignment; a slow leak; a puncture; rubber decay; low tread depth; excessive load; and a mileage limit exceeded. In some embodiments, the information indicating the presence or absence of a plurality of tire conditions is received from a plurality of sensors disposed within a respective tire from the plurality of vehicles, the plurality of sensors including a microphone, a temperature sensor, and an accelerometer. Various embodiments for determining and/or detecting the presence or absence of such tire conditions are described above with reference to method  900 ,  FIG. 9 . For brevity, those details are not repeated here. 
     In some embodiments, method  1000  further includes displaying ( 1006 ) a dashboard summary of the one or more tire conditions for the plurality of vehicles (e.g., the dashboard summary of user interface  600 ,  FIG. 6 ). In some embodiments, method  1000  includes enabling display of a dashboard summary of the one or more tire conditions for the plurality of vehicles (e.g., transmitting the dashboard summary, via and API, to a client device to be displayed in a web browser). 
     In some embodiments, the dashboard summary indicates a number of tires requiring service for each of the one or more tire conditions (e.g., as described with reference to indication  608 ,  FIG. 6 ). 
     In some embodiments, the dashboard summary indicates required service on a per tire basis for a respective vehicle of the plurality of vehicles (e.g., as described with reference to representations  604 ,  FIG. 6 ). In some embodiments, the dashboard summary includes visual representations of each tire of the respective vehicle. The visual representation of a respective tire indicates whether the respective tire requires service. In some embodiments, a color of the visual representation of the respective tire indicates whether the respective tire requires service. 
     In some embodiments, method  1000  further includes receiving updated information from a respective vehicle of the plurality of vehicles indicating that a tire on the respective vehicle requires service and providing an alert indicating that the tire on the respective vehicle requires service (e.g., by updating a visual appearance of the visual representation of a respective tire and/or by providing a text alert such as that shown in  FIG. 5C ). 
     In some embodiments, method  1000  includes, prior to operation  1002 , receiving registration information from a plurality of tire sensor devices mounted on tires in the plurality of vehicles (e.g., as described with reference to  FIG. 5A ). In some embodiments, method  1000  includes associating the plurality of tire sensor devices with the tires on the plurality of vehicles. In some embodiments, method  1000  includes associating the plurality of tire sensor devices with a user&#39;s account (e.g., in a table, e.g., sensor registration database  496 ,  FIG. 4B ). In some embodiments, the dashboard summary is a dashboard summary for the user&#39;s account. In some embodiments, receiving registration information from a tire sensor device includes receiving an image of the tire on which the tire sensor device is mounted and performing image analysis to determine one or more characteristics of the tire (e.g., using text recognition to read the model, make, age, serial number, and/or size of the tire off of tire codes imprinted on the tire&#39;s sidewall). 
     Although  FIG. 10  illustrates a number of logical stages in a particular order, stages which are not order dependent may be reordered and other stages may be combined or broken out. Some reordering or other groupings not specifically mentioned will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, so the ordering and groupings presented herein are not exhaustive. Moreover, it should be recognized that the stages could be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. Further, method  1000  may include any of the operations described elsewhere in this document (e.g., with respect to method  900 ,  FIG. 9 ). 
       FIGS. 11A-11B  shows a tire sensor dock  1100 , in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, tire sensor dock  1100  is adapted to receive a tire sensor device  1110  ( FIG. 11B ) (e.g., which may be functionally analogous to tire sensor device  200 ,  FIG. 2 ). For example, tire sensor dock  1100  includes an opening  1104  that provides a snug fit with the tire sensor device  1110 . In some embodiments, tire sensor dock  1100  is adapted to receive (e.g., mate with) a tire sensor device  1110  such that the tire sensor device  1110  is non-rotatably positioned within the sensor dock. For example, tire sensor dock  1100  includes or has formed therein a boss  1102  which abuts the tire sensor device  1110  and prevents rotation (e.g., the tire sensor device  1110  has formed therein a complementary feature that receives the boss  1102  and prevents rotation). Alternatively, tire sensor dock  1100  is adapted to receive a boss formed on the tire sensor device  1110 . 
     A bottom surface  1106  of the tire sensor dock  1100  is further adapted to be affixed to the inner surface of a tire. In some embodiments, the tire sensor dock  1100  is made of natural rubber. The tire sensor dock  1100  is affixed and chemically bonded to the tire using a gum (e.g., a rubber vulcanizing cement) that cross-links with inner surface of the tire (e.g., thus, the tire sensor dock  1100  is permanently affixed to the tire). The durometer of the rubber of the tire sensor dock  1100  is similar to that of a tire after vulcanization (e.g., ranges between 40-80 depending on the stiffness required). In some embodiments, the tire sensor dock  1100  has a similar stiffness (e.g., within 5% or within 10%) to that of the tire so that the tire sensor dock  1100  flexes in a similar manner as the tire as it is rolling on the ground. Having a similar stiffness as the tire reduces shear stresses between the tire and the sensor dock caused by vibrations while in use and increases the lifespan of the tire sensor dock  1100  (e.g., the tire sensor dock  1100  can withstand speeds up to 300 mph and is designed to last at least 5 years). 
     The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles and their practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the embodiments and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc., are, in some instances, used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first electronic device could be termed a second electronic device, and, similarly, a second electronic device could be termed a first electronic device, without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments. The first electronic device and the second electronic device are both electronic devices, but they are not the same electronic device. 
     The terminology used in the description of the various embodiments described herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     As used herein, the term “if” is, optionally, construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting” or “in accordance with a determination that,” depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” is, optionally, construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in accordance with a determination that [a stated condition or event] is detected,” depending on the context.