A tire tread depth reader fills those fields inside the app you already ship. With the TireBuddy ToolKit, Anyline’s SDK for digital tire inspections, a technician sweeps a phone across the tread. Your app then receives a measured depth for that wheel. The tire stays on the car, and the service bay needs no extra hardware. Fleetback took this route with its after-sales platform for dealers, and CJ BMW and Tokvila now run their tire inspections through it.
The core of the mobile tire tread scanner
The tread module measures depth across the full width of the tire from one short sweep of the camera. The technician holds the phone about 20 cm (8 inches) from the tread and keeps it parallel to the surface. Then they move it in an arc from one shoulder to the other. Anyline’s AI reads the whole tread, around 100,000 points per tire, with precision down to 0.5 mm.
It runs on the phones and tablets your customers’ technicians already carry. The ToolKit supports native iOS and Android apps, plus Flutter and React Native, so it fits the stack your team builds on today. Anyline lists the recommended devices on its tire tread depth measurement page.
The reading itself is made in the Anyline cloud. The phone records the sweep and uploads it, and the depth comes back to your app when processing is done. Each service bay therefore needs a stable internet connection. You can style the capture screens and messages to match your product, and every result lands in your own inspection records.
How the SDK guides technicians through each scan
Consistent readings start with a consistent sweep, so the module ships with its own user guidance. Before the first capture, a short learning card shows the technician how to hold the phone. A full-screen prompt then coaches the sweep: the right distance, the phone parallel to the tread, and a slow, steady pass from shoulder to shoulder that lasts about seven seconds.
Every technician at every site gets the same coaching. A new hire learns the same method as the most experienced person in the group. That keeps readings comparable across branches and from one visit to the next, which is what makes a tread history worth keeping.
If a capture fails, the SDK returns an error code, and the integration guide maps each code to a message for the technician. Your app can show it in your own words and send the technician straight back to the sweep.
Turning tread depth into a full vehicle inspection
The tread module is built to sit inside a complete inspection. Every reading is tied to a wheel position and a vehicle. A typical flow starts with the car: the technician scans the VIN or license plate, and your app opens the record. Then, tire by tire, they can capture the tire size, the sidewall, and the DOT/TIN code before sweeping the tread.
Processing runs in the background, so the inspection keeps moving. Each tread sweep returns a measurement ID the moment it ends. Your app stores that ID against the wheel position, such as front left, while the technician walks on to the next tire. When the result is ready, your app fetches it by ID and puts the depth on the right tire.
A final call adds your business context. One request per vehicle and one per tire attach details such as the shop, the employee, and your transaction number. Each reading then traces back to the visit, the branch, and the person who took it. That gives fleet and leasing customers a clean audit trail.
Watch the full tire inspection process here.
Onboarding materials you can build into your app
Anyline supplies the training content along with the code. The learning-card video and the full-screen capture tutorial come as ready files. Your team can drop them straight into your onboarding screens, along with guidance copy you can adapt to your own tone.
For wider training, Anyline’s YouTube tutorial shows how to sweep a tire tread from start to finish. Embed it in your help center, or link it from the first screen a new user sees.
TireBuddy: How to scan Tire Tread, from Anyline’s YouTube channel.
Your developers work from two references. The interactive integration guide shows only the steps and code samples for the modules and platform you pick. The Tire Tread SDK documentation holds the full reference. Anyline’s team also runs a walkthrough and a short training session when you start.
How Fleetback dealers put the integration to work
Fleetback is a dealership software company based in Luxembourg. Its After-Sales solution already handled check-in, video and customer messaging. The team added Anyline’s tread and sidewall modules to that product, so dealers now create a tire report automatically and share it with the customer. Fabian Motte, Fleetback’s CEO, sums up the business case:
Scanning and sharing tire tread information with customers helps them make confident decisions on when to replace worn tires and ensures they will continue to come back to your service bay for future repairs.
CJ BMW, New Zealand: complete inspections and more labor sold
Coombes Johnston BMW has eight technicians servicing around 25 vehicles a day. When the aftersales manager asked the team what slowed their digital inspections down, every technician named the same step: writing out sidewall details by hand. With Anyline inside Fleetback, one phone now captures tread depth, DOT/TIN, sidewall, VIN and license plate.
The dealership reports a 95% Fleetback report completion rate. It also identifies 90% of tire opportunities while the car is still on site. Automated sidewall identification saves each technician five minutes per report, and the team sells two more hours of labor every day. The full figures are in the CJ BMW success story.
Tokvila, Lithuania: from paper sheets to records on the vehicle
Tokvila is the largest Toyota dealership in Lithuania, with 22 technicians. They used to measure tread with hand rulers and write each reading on a printed sheet. Finding an old reading meant a trip to the archive. Anyline now runs inside the Fleetback workflow the team already knew, and technicians record tread readings and photos on a mobile device. Each record is stored against the vehicle. The handwriting step is gone, and the typos went with it.
Our technicians now have a tool that is easy to use, and our customers can see a clear picture of the condition of their tires.
Neither dealership changed software to get there. Tire inspections arrived inside a tool their technicians already opened every morning. An SDK integration gives your own customers that same path.
What to settle before you integrate
A smartphone SDK is one of several ways to get a tread reading into software. Each suits a different operation.
| Approach | Best at | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Handheld gauge, typed in | Lowest cost, with nothing to integrate | A few points per tire, entered by hand, with no image for the customer |
| Drive-over reader in the lane | Reads every car that crosses it, with no technician step | Needs a fixed lane, installation and its own integration, and serves one location |
| Your own computer vision | Full control of the model | You collect the training data and maintain the model and device support yourself |
| Anyline SDK in your app | Guided measurement on phones your customers already own, inside your workflow and records | Needs a technician at the wheel and a stable connection for processing |
Four decisions shape most integrations of the tread module:
- Which modules ship first. Tread alone gives you measured depth. Adding tire and vehicle identification (VIN, license plate, DOT/TIN and sidewall) turns it into a complete inspection.
- Which result each user sees. The global value suits customer reports. Regional values suit technicians and service advisors.
- Connectivity and devices. Check the connection in each service bay. Then compare your customers’ devices with Anyline’s recommended list.
- Where the records live. Results land in your backend with your business context attached. Anyline is GDPR compliant and holds ISO/IEC 27001 certification.
Some of your customers will have no app and no development team. The TireBuddy App gives them the same AI-powered tire inspections without an integration, and the comparison of the app and the SDK sets out when each route fits.
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Frequently asked questions
Is there an app that can measure tire tread depth?
Does the tire tread depth SDK work on iPhone and Android?
Does tread depth measurement need an internet connection?
What results does the tread depth SDK return?
How accurate is tire tread depth measurement on a smartphone?
Should we integrate the TireBuddy ToolKit or use the TireBuddy App?
About the Author
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Valentyna Zhuk
Marketing Communications Manager
Valentyna Zhuk is Marketing Communications Manager at Anyline, where she leads press and content communications for the company's AI products, with a primary focus on automotive. She works closely with Anyline's product team to explain how the technology works in practice for the businesses that use it, including tire retailers and dealerships. She brings nearly two decades of international brand and marketing leadership to the role. Her articles cover the practical use of AI in the automotive industry.
