Tyre developed specifically for flying cars

Goodyear has launched a new tyre concept designed specifically for flying cars.

The Goodyear AERO is a two-in-one tyre designed for autonomous flying cars. The concept works as both a road-going everyday tyre and a propeller for flying through the sky. The company hopes to steel a march on other manufacturers and be prepared for future vehicles.

The AERO features spokes which would support the weight of a vehicle and act as fan blades to provide lift when the wheel is tilted. airless tyre uses a non-pneumatic structure that is flexible enough to dampen shocks when driving on the road, and strong enough to rotate at the high speeds necessary for the rotors to create vertical lift.

The concept would use magnetic force to provide frictionless propulsion. This would enable the high rotating speeds required to drive the vehicle on the ground and, when the wheel is tilted, lift a vehicle into the air and propel it forward.

Taking advantage of the need for connectivity in vehicles, the concept would also feature an embedded A.I. processor that would combine information from the tyre’s sensors with data from vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.

“For over 120 years Goodyear has obsessively pursued innovations and inventions, partnering with the pioneers driving change and discovery in transport,” says Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s chief technology officer. “With mobility companies looking to the sky for the answer to the challenges of urban transport and congestion, our work on advanced tyre architectures and materials led us to imagine a wheel that could serve both as a traditional tyre on the road and as a propulsion system in the sky.”

The new concept could be seen on flying cars in the future, which would offer a solution to congestion problems in towns, cities and on motorways. A number of manufacturers are working on the technology, having released concept drawings of what they believe future designs could look like.