The AI-powered robotic platform enables tire changes and vehicle inspections with minimal human intervention.
Automated Tire Inc. (ATI), a physical AI and robotics company modernizing the automotive service bay, announced its emergence from stealth and unveiled SmartBay, an AI-powered robotic platform for automotive services. The initial applications focus on tire changes, wheel balancing and vehicle inspections.
With SmartBay, automotive dealerships and tire and service centers can shift from manual, variable processes to a technology-first system that understands, adapts and executes complex physical tasks in real time, according to ATI. SmartBay uses advanced robotics, computer vision and machine learning to generate the proper execution for each vehicle, rather than relying on preprogrammed routines that require manual intervention for outliers and real-world variables.
“While the auto industry has made great strides with advanced technologies over recent decades, automotive service bays have seen little innovation to match,” said Andy Chalofsky, chief executive officer, Automated Tire, Inc. “Most notably, electric vehicles wear through tires up to 30% faster. The proliferation of EVs creates significantly more tire service opportunities, but tire technician jobs are dirty, injury-prone, and difficult to fill. Our SmartBay platform gives modern shops a meaningful solution to turn a dangerous, manual chore into a high-tech, automated process that matches the sophistication of the vehicles being serviced.”
SmartBay Platform
- Enables a single technician to manage up to three service bays simultaneously, cutting the time required for a full tire service roughly in half, to as little as 30 minutes.
- Works across most consumer vehicles, performing a unique execution for each vehicle and managing real-world variability without human intervention.
- Minimizes material waste and delivers ride quality with its precision wheel-weight tool that dispenses the exact amount of weight composite required for accurate balance.
- Fits entirely within a standard 12-foot service bay, maintaining full bay functionality and flexibility across other services when needed.
Automotive Service Industry Concerns
SmartBay addresses three primary concerns in the automotive service industry, ATI said. These include an ongoing and increasing labor shortage; automation of tire changes, the most injury-prone aspect of routine automotive service; and increasing service bay throughput by significantly reducing the time required for tire changes.
NADA Report on Technician Shortage
According to a report from the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA), the industry faces a shortage of at least 37,000 new technicians annually, as seasoned technicians retire and fewer young professionals enter the trade. This shortage leaves shop owners trapped in a cycle of understaffing and expensive retraining. That perpetual cycle worsens as high turnover leads to potentially inconsistent service quality and even more grueling wait times that frustrate customers and compress profit margins.
How SmartBay Works
Once a vehicle is positioned, the system automatically initiates inspection, identifying tire and wheel conditions while capturing diagnostic data. The robotic system then executes the tire change and wheel balancing process, removing and reinstalling tires with consistent accuracy while simultaneously calculating and applying precise wheel weights to ensure optimal balance.
Throughout the process, SmartBay continuously collects and analyzes data, generating real-time insights and customer-facing reports while optimizing each step for efficiency. By combining automated inspection, tire handling, balancing and data intelligence into a single workflow, SmartBay reduces manual intervention, increases throughput and delivers faster, more consistent service outcomes, the company said.
Post time: May-15-2026
