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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, @02:10PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 06 2021, @02:10PM (#1184717)

    No way is that ever going to run on a typical road.
    Speedbumbs, potholes, waterplaning, snow, ice, tire changes, tire cost, asymmetric tire wear, punctures, cleaning just to name a few problems.

    Good luck with this one...looks like an operational, maintenance and environmental disaster.

  • (Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday October 06 2021, @02:31PM

    by looorg (578) on Wednesday October 06 2021, @02:31PM (#1184728)

    It does look a bit odd for that. There is a great future for it in warehouses tho, even tho they already have robots there that can do the work. But it might be more suited for that.