Goodyear’s latest concept tyre, introduced at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show, quite literally brings the future of mobility to life as a visionary solution for cleaner, more convenient, safer and more sustainable urban mobility.
The concept, named Oxygene, has a unique structure that features living moss growing within the sidewall. This open structure and the tyre’s smart tread design absorb and circulate moisture and water from the road surface, allowing photosynthesis to occur and therefore releasing oxygen into the air.
Inspired by the principles of the circular economy, with emphasis on reducing material waste, emissions, and energy loss, Goodyear’s Oxygene concept is designed to integrate seamlessly into future cityscapes, featuring several performance solutions:
At the Geneva International Motor Show 2017, Goodyear presented the Eagle 360 Urban concept tire. The design builds on the concept unveiled last year with the Eagle-360 and adds Artificial Intelligence, a bionic skin and a morphing tread to the mix. By including these features, the tire can sense road and weather conditions, decide the appropriate course of action and if necessary, transform to the optimal tread. Using the data it has collected, the tire can morph its tread, adding ‘dimples’ for wet conditions and giving it a slick appearance for dry conditions.
With this latest release, Goodyear revealed its long-term vision for future smart, connected tires and pushes the boundaries, anticipating and addressing the evolving needs and challenges of the mobility ecosystem of the far-future.
After 117 years of making tyres, Goodyear today presented a vision of a future tire that looks radically different from tyres —it’s a sphere.
Goodyear unveiled its latest concept tyre, Eagle-360, at the Geneva International Motor Show. The spherical, 3-D printed tyre highlights Goodyear’s vision for the future and presents an inspiring solution for the long-term future when autonomous driving is expected to be more mainstream.
According to a recent study from Navigant Research, 85 million autonomous-capable vehicles are expected to be sold annually around the world by 2035 [9], for example. According to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Tech Choice Study, consumers are most concerned with ensuring safety through technology in autonomous cars. [10]
“By steadily reducing the driver interaction and intervention in self-driving vehicles, tyres will play an even more important role as the primary link to the road,” said Joseph Zekoski, Goodyear’s senior vice president and chief technical officer. “Goodyear’s concept tyres play a dual role in the future both as creative platforms to push the boundaries of conventional thinking and as testbeds for next-generation technologies.”
[9] Source: Navigant Research, Advanced Drive Assistance Systems and the Evolution of Self Driving Functionality: Global Market Analysis and Forecasts: http://www.navigantresearch.com/research/autonomous-vehicles
[10] Source: The 2015 U.S. Tech Choice Study was fielded in January through March 2015 and is based on an online survey of more than 5,300 consumers who purchased/leased a new vehicle in the past five years. - See more at: http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-us-tech-choice-study