Goodyear unveils a wild concept for spherical tires

Brad Reed

One of the reasons that android BB-8 captured our imaginations in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was that its spherical design gave it the ability to fluidly move over rough desert regions in a way that you just couldn’t imagine R2-D2 pulling off. Now Goodyear has taken the wraps off an incredibly cool new concept for spherical tires that essentially look like what would happen if you installed four different BB-8s under the frame of your car.

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Here are some of the features touted by Goodyear in its concept video for the Eagle-360 tires:

  • The tires would be connected to the car via magnetic levitation.

  • Miniature sponges would be installed in the tires’ grooves that would expand the grooves’ size in wet conditions and thus deliver better traction while hydroplaning.

  • The tires also deliver lateral movement that you can’t get in regular tires, which would allow you to overtake other cars on a highway without changing your driving direction.

  • The tires are also capable of tracking the amount of wear they take and then positioning themselves to maximize the total amount of mileage you get from them.

While this is still a concept and is likely a long way from becoming a reality, it’s still an incredibly cool vision of future technology. Check out the full video below.

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