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31 First of all: Get a grip
31 First of all: Get a grip
„First, Just Drive Away“
Reutlingen Textile Engineer Advances
the Auto Sock
Why didn’t Henry Ford listen to his wife,
Clara? At the beginning of the 20 th century,
Clara suggested to her husband that he
applies a material to the tires of his cars
so that drivers could drive off on snow
covered surfaces. Evidently, she couldn’t
persuade her husband of this proposal.
Approximately 90 years later, the owner
of a small tire shop north of Oslo, Bård
Løtveit, intrigued by the idea, began
experimenting with a material that
provides friction between snow and the
tires allowing the car to drive off. By
attaching different types of fabric to a
woodblock, then applying various
amounts of power to the block he found
that the fabric pulls the device across
the ice. From this experiment at his
hometown Ice Rink, was the idea for the
“Auto Sock” born. Backed by Fred Olson,
a renowned investor, Løtveit brought the
“Auto Socks” brand onto the market.
Winter traction aid:
the official designation for
the high-tech fibre snow-chain
The basic principle of the Auto Sock is
simple. The basis for the Auto Sock is a
special, light, synthetic material that can
quickly be pulled over the tires. The
underlying fibers cross the tires
horizontally, interlocking with the
ground’s surface, thereby creating a bond
between the tire and the road. An
electrostatic charge attracts the material
to the ground, making it safer to drive
off on snow and ice.
“With the Auto Socks, you can at least
drive away” says Harald Dallman,
Professor of Textile Technology at
Reutlingen University.
He and his development team have been
working together with Løtveit’s Norwegian
company since fall 2003. Until now, the
product was largely completed. However,
some problems arose during the product
trials. For example, some units broke
down under changing climate conditions;
a theme that even today, the team
endeavors to improve.
Initially, the Textile Technology graduates
wanted to maintain the quality of the
product; careful that every feature of the
material be specified throughout the
entire manufacturing process. Every fiber,
every thread, every seam would be
precisely determined. They created a
manual containing all the Auto Sock
specifications as a set of standards for
the suppliers as well as verification of
compliance with automobile industry
specifications. Commissioned by the
Norwegian company, the Reutlingen team
has been working for the last two years
on the technical advancement of the
product.
“We operate within the range of grip,
durability and price. All three areas must
be considered,” Dallmann describes the
base conditions of his research projects.
In the university laboratory, a road
simulation tested the friction properties
of various fiber surfaces under different
conditions.
“We learned a lot in the process. There
are many types of snow and they all
behave differently,” says Dallmann,
knowing that this observation will aid in
future projects.
Presently, a driving aid made from the
same material, only in larger pieces, is
being developed for semi-trailer trucks.
Essentially, the goal here is to be “first
to drive away,” and then to convince the
winter driver that driving off on snow
Bigger, but made of the same material: “AutoSock” for lorries.
and ice is possible. It is expected that
further applications of this product will
follow.
The work for the Reutlingen researchers
doesn’t seem to end. In addition to
product improvement and enhancements,
they are increasingly busy inspecting and
reviewing illegal reproductions for legal
proceedings.
The Auto Socks for passenger vehicles
have been available on the German market
for some time. They have been tested,
with positive results by TÜV, and as with
snow chains, the Auto Socks have been
approved for use with speeds up to 50
km/h. Different car makers have already
released similar driving aids with Toyota,
Honda, Subaru and Mazda offering them
on the Japanese market. Fiat and
Mercedes Benz cars already come
equipped with Auto Socks.
If Henry Ford had only known…
http://www.autosock.com
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