Using AI to Pioneer the Future of Mobility

Chris Helsel doesn’t talk about technology as an abstract ideal. He talks about it as a vehicle for real transformation. For the Senior Vice President of Global Operations and CTO of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, artificial intelligence, sensors, and data are reshaping not only how tires are manufactured, but how vehicles interact with the world around them.

Helsel weaves together the story of a company with more than 125 years of legacy and the emerging future of mobility: one where tires aren’t just rubber circles on the road, but connected devices generating insights and powering safety, autonomy, and innovation.

Mobility Innovation Begins With Data and Sensors

Goodyear may be best known for making more than 150 million tires a year across consumer, commercial, aircraft, and racing applications. But under Helsel’s leadership, the company is pushing beyond traditional manufacturing into a new era where products and technology are deeply intertwined.

He explained how Goodyear is leveraging tire intelligence through the Internet of Things (IoT), putting sensors inside tires to collect “temperature, pressure, acceleration, ID.” Small, real-time signals that become powerful inputs once they reach the cloud via telematics.

“Our solution has a sensor in the tire… It measures temperature, pressure, acceleration, ID… we take that information… and pass it through telematics, up to the cloud.” This is significant because the tire is the only part of a vehicle in constant contact with the road. 

That contact point contains rich information about road conditions, friction, wear, and performance. By turning tires into data generators, Goodyear is enabling visibility that was historically impossible: a first step toward smarter vehicles and safer roads.

AI as Superhuman Augmentation

Helsel also offered a vivid metaphor for how AI is impacting engineering teams across Goodyear: he compares AI to the Iron Man suit: a tool that augments human capability rather than replaces it.

“The AI basically tells them right away what to go do. So I almost think of it as Tony Stark. When you put on the Iron Man suit, it gives you a kind of superhuman augmentation.” This framing reflects a larger strategic philosophy. Data in isolation is overwhelming, even for expert engineers. But when AI can sift through large volumes of signals from sensors and systems, it enables teams to focus on interpretation, creativity, and high-impact decisions.

Helsel emphasized that engineers simply cannot consume all the data on their own, making AI essential: “It’s impossible that we’re going to think engineers are going to be able to consume that data… You’re going to need these types of [AI] technologies in order to discern those insights.” By augmenting human expertise with intelligent analytics, Goodyear is enhancing both speed and quality across product innovation, testing, and operations.

From Physical Products to Digital Services

One of Goodyear’s most forward-looking goals, as highlighted in the episode, is the ambition to make every tire a smart tire by 2028. These aren’t tires that merely roll. They are sensors with computational value, feeding data back to Goodyear and, ultimately, to fleet operators and vehicle systems.

This shift transforms a commodity product into a connected service. Smart tires can predict friction levels, signal maintenance needs, and integrate with autonomous or assisted driving systems: a capability especially relevant for heavy commercial fleets, ride-hailing services, and next-generation vehicles that require real-time environmental context.

It can also directly influence autonomous vehicle development. With real-time friction prediction and surface condition insights, vehicle control systems gain a critical source of ground truth, the tire-to-road interface, enabling safer, more reliable autonomy across varied conditions.

AI in Product Design and Operational Efficiency

Beyond connected tires, Helsel discussed how AI helps accelerate simulation and design processes that once required significant human time and computational resources. For example, the company uses AI models trained on existing simulation data to make early predictions about tire mold shapes, how design choices will impact performance, cutting design cycles roughly in half.

“…we’ve done thousands of those already today. Why don’t we train some AI on that to give us the first prediction of what that mold shape should look like? So… you’re able to hone in on that in half the time.”

This doesn’t just speed product development. It enables deeper experimentation at scale with less human effort and lowers the cost of innovation, especially important in a global business with manufacturing and R&D operations spanning many continents.

Balancing Tradition With Tomorrow’s Technology

One theme that emerged from Helsel’s remarks is the balance between Goodyear’s legacy and its ongoing transformation. The company has been innovating for 125 years: a significant heritage that can sometimes make forward-looking shifts more challenging. But Helsel described this evolution as a bridge between tradition and digital innovation: “We’re bringing IoT to tires… in addition to the way we’ve done for 125 years with chemistry and mechanics.”

The lesson isn’t to abandon what has worked but to augment it intelligently with data and AI. By marrying traditional engineering rigor with modern analytics, Goodyear is expanding its competitive edge, not only in materials and production, but in the smart services and insights that future vehicles and operators will require.

Sustainable Innovation and New Materials

While data and AI are central, innovation doesn’t stop there. Helsel also pointed to exciting advances in materials science, including engineered nanomaterials, that could redefine performance and sustainability in tires.

Even at massive production scale, novel materials have the potential to reduce environmental impact and unlock new mechanical behaviors. This focus highlights how AI and digital transformation aren’t separate from Goodyear’s core engineering identity; they are amplifiers of it.

Lessons Learned

Chris Helsel’s insights offer a blueprint for how traditional manufacturing companies can meaningfully integrate AI and data-driven practices:

• AI as augmentation: Treat AI not as a replacement for domain expertise but as a multiplier of human capability.
• Data as a strategic asset: Sensors and telematics transform ordinary products into data platforms that unlock new business value.
• Speed through simulation: AI can accelerate iterative design where traditional simulation bottlenecks once slowed innovation.
• Bridging legacy and innovation: Respect core engineering roots while embracing digital tools that enable next-generation products.
• Vision for mobility: Look beyond products to services: smart tires and real-time vehicle data are key nodes in the future mobility ecosystem.
  

In a world where mobility is rapidly evolving toward autonomy, connectivity, electrification, and data-centric services. Goodyear’s blend of engineering heritage and digital foresight shows how even century-old companies can drive the road ahead.