Carmaker Porsche is taking a minority stake in Israeli technology company Tactile Mobility which has a solution to artificially give a car “a sense of touch”.

The solution simulates touch by using an algorithm to process data that is provided by existing sensors and is used to, for example, improve assessment of friction coefficient between tyres and the road surface. It can also be used to better optimise servicing and battery management.

 “Tactile Mobility’s method helps us collect additional information about the condition of vehicles and roads that goes beyond the information that can be obtained with conventional sensor systems,” explained Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche.

This could have significant connected vehicle applications, for example spotting a change in road surface conditions and warning other vehicles about them.