Its celebration time for the folks at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company as one of their concepts has made it to a list of bests of 2016. Goodyear’s Eagle-360 concept tire has been named one of Time magazine’s – Best Inventions of the Year 2016. The tech editors at Time magazine pick out products that are invented in the corresponding year that are making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun.
The Goodyear Eagle-360 concept tyre is spherical concept tyre. It debuted in March allows cars to move in many new directions, including sideways into a parallel parking space and at specific angles and speeds to counteract slippery surfaces. Sebastien Fontaine, an industrial designer at Goodyear emphasises that magnetic levitation is the key to the concept. Traditional tires are bolted to cars, the Eagle 360s hover beneath them, free from the limits of traditional steering. It will provide self-driving cars ultimate manoeuvrability, connectivity and biomimicry to increase safety.
Speaking of the concept, Goodyear’s Chief Technical Officer Joe Zekoski expressed that by steadily reducing the driver interaction and intervention in self-driving vehicles, tires will play an even more important role as the primary link to the road.
He further added that Goodyear’s concept tires play a dual role in that future both as creative platforms to push the boundaries of conventional thinking and testbeds for next-generation technologies. Although the Eagle-360 is a future concept, it represents an essential aspect of Goodyear’s innovation strategy and the company’s vision for smart and safe mobility.
