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Goodyear's Spherical Tire--Update

posted by martyb on Wednesday October 06 2021, @01:07AM   Printer-friendly
from the more-than-a-spherical-cow dept.

Leave it to the French to try something different--a new prototype platform for electric cars from Citroen doesn't need to steer the wheels, because normal (cylindrical) wheels are replaced by spherical tires, made specially by Goodyear. https://www.tiretechnologyinternational.com/news/new-tires-news/goodyear-develops-bespoke-eagle-360-spherical-concept-tire-for-citroen.html

Goodyear introduced the Eagle 360 concept at the Geneva International Motor Show in 2016, with a second iteration, the Eagle 360 Urban concept, following in 2017. The latest iteration of the design features a high level of maneuverability (due to the tire’s spherical shape) and long-lasting attributes (thanks to a tread surface that is four times larger than a standard tire). The tire provides extended range due to a low-rolling-resistance rubber and consistent grip in all driving directions thanks to hexagonal siping.

Link includes pics of the car/platform and the tire tread. Are you ready to drive on big black soccer balls? I want mine multi-colored like beach balls.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 06 2021, @06:55AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 06 2021, @06:55AM (#1184638)

    The steel belts required to keep the tire spherical at 25km/h could be used as motor windings, I suppose, but not very efficient. I see nothing about magnetic levitation in the summary. My bet would be rollers of some sort, but I'm not sure how they would be arranged.

  • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Wednesday October 06 2021, @03:55PM (2 children)

    by stretch611 (6199) on Wednesday October 06 2021, @03:55PM (#1184752)

    I would expect this to be built like a golf ball or a baseball. Multiple layers, the inside not necessarily rubber. A spherical rebar cage near the surface would likely replace "belts."

    --
    Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 07 2021, @02:20AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 07 2021, @02:20AM (#1185043)

      That would be much too heavy.

      • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Thursday October 07 2021, @04:20PM

        by stretch611 (6199) on Thursday October 07 2021, @04:20PM (#1185201)

        The center core could be a hollow aluminum sphere which would reduce weight while the structure of the sphere would provide a lot of structural support.

        --
        Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P