Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Eagle-360 concept tire has been named one of Time magazine’s “Best Inventions of the Year 2016.”
“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,” says Goodyear’s Chief Technical Officer Joe Zekoski. “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.”
Each year, Time magazine’s technology editors list the year’s “best inventions that are making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun.” This year’s list includes 25 inventions. In addition to Goodyear’s Eagle-360 concept, the list includes a virtual reality headset, shoes that lace themselves, a solar roof collaboration between Tesla and SolarCity, and the Chevy Bolt electric vehicle.
The Goodyear Eagle-360 is a spherical-shaped design concept tire that would provide self-driving cars ultimate maneuverability, connectivity and biomimicry to increase safety. “Although the Eagle-360 is a future concept, it represents an essential aspect of Goodyear’s innovation strategy and our vision for smart and safe mobility,” says Zekoski.
Watch the video for a description of the concept’s technology:
A full list of the 2016 Time magazine “Best Inventions of the Year 2016” is available online.
