Goodyear prepared a surprise at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show and introduced its latest AERO concept tire that represents a milestone in the development of autonomous flying cars. The tire of the future is designed as a multimodal tilting rotor, which allows driving on the road as well as flying through the sky.
Goodyear addresses the modern challenges of urban traffic stress with its visionary concept of the AERO tire. Thanks to dual functionality, the AERO tire would be suitable for both driving on the road and flying through the sky where tires would operate as propellers.
Innovative advantages of the AERO concept tire
Goodyear’s AERO tire is designed as a multimodal tilting rotor. Fitted in a conventional position, it would serve as a drive train to transfer and absorb forces to and from the road in a traditional orientation and an aircraft propulsion system to provide lift in another orientation. The unique airless tires would provide sufficient support on the road and carry the weight of the car, while in the flying position, they would serve as rotor blades intended for a take-off. The non-pneumatic structure would be 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. At the same time, using a magnetic force would provide frictionless propulsion and 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.
The tire would use light-based, fibre optic sensors to monitor road conditions, tire wear and the structural integrity of the tire itself. The concept would also feature an embedded A.I. processor that would combine information from the tire’s sensors with data from vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, and analyze these streams of data to recommend a course of action. The vehicle would therefore be able to adapt to a flying or driving mode, and identify and resolve potential tire-related issues before they happen.
Despite the fact that the AERO visionary tire only exists in a conceptual form, some of its features, such as the non-pneumatic structure and intelligent tire capabilities, are already the subject of further development in Goodyear. The aforementioned advantages of the AERO tire also trigger new ideas on the development of tires and mobility technologies of the future.