Goodyear develops concept tyre with artificial intelligence

In what could be a key contribution to the future of autonomous cars, Goodyear has chosen the Geneva motor show to display its newly-intelligent Eagle 360 Urban ‘ball tyre’.

This concept takes the 360-degree design that was previewed at last year’s Geneva show an important step further, by endowing the tyre with a ‘brain’ and sensors to add to the car’s data as it goes along.

The system can not only analyse road conditions, it can also use artificial intelligence to assist the car in making perceptive decisions about a chosen route or dynamic movements.

In case you’re wondering how an omni-directional ball tyre can possibly be connected to the car, the answer is – it’s not. Well, not by any conventional physical means anyway. Magnetism is the key. The Urban tyres are held underneath the car by means of magnetic levitation, the same technology that’s already been proven in high-speed rail applications.

The 360-degree rotate-ability this gives makes the car a lot more agile. Indeed, it can turn around ‘on the spot’, which sounds like a useful facility in city driving.