Incredible Tire Designs of the Future

The tires of today are proven, but imperfect. We need to improve overall efficiency, ecology and economy of road transportation.

Three layer tires that adapt to the road on the fly, variable tread depths, adjustable road contact, magnetic fields, and replaceable tread are all options for replacing the rubber on our vehicles of the future. 

Cavemen Would Be Proud

A Hankook Tire competition has brought together some of the country’s brightest industrial design students. They utilized complex data and outside the box thinking to rewrite the way we think about the rubber meeting the road. Here’s what they came up with.

Tiltread- A design that splits the tire into three parallel ring sections, letting you take corners like a motorcycle. As the wheel turns, each section is individually raised or lowered, allowing for maximum traction with the road. Power is supplied to each section via an electric motor, allowing each section to spin at different rates as necessary!

Motiv- Perfect for the off-roader in all of us, the Motiv offers a number of height-variable, non-pneumatic tread blocks that adapt to extremely rough terrain on the fly, without the risk of blow-outs.

Tessella- An eco-friendly tire with interchangeable tread components. Instead of throwing out the whole tire, just replace the worn tread. It’s the green way of rollin’ around.

eMembrane- A hybrid tire that lets you manipulate tire to road interaction. Move from full contact mode for grip and cornering to fuel efficiency mode, reducing contact and improving rolling resistance.

MagTrac- An independent wheel and hub assembly designed for the utmost in comfort. It’s literally like riding on air. Magnetic field technology generates empty space between the wheel and hub, allowing for the quietest and most comfortable ride imaginable.

Industry professionals believe an upgrade to our on and off road tech is long overdue. Though the Tiltread concept was the winner of the Hankook competition, it’ll be amazing to see what bits and pieces  of each of the designs actually end up hitting the road.

Hankook via PRN

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