Every year many people die in car accidents, which is a disappointing fact. Quite often it is because of high-speed blow-outs, or when driver forget to check the pressure. Even the small gap can be deadly at high speeds. It is even more critical in military, when tires are very vulnerable to damage. There were many interesting improvements to tire design to make them more durable and resistant to damage, like "run while flat" feature. Although they were safer than usual, they just couldn't offer good protection from explosives or shrapnel. Military engineers were thinking how to make a tire that would be protected from shrapnel and even explosives, and they found a solution - tires without air at all!Resilient Technologies, manufacturer of these new tires, went to Mother Nature for answer, how to make a durable, strong and comfortable to drive tire without using air - and they found it. They used the concept of honeycomb, with hexagon-shaped forms inside the tire. Pattern was carefully designed to emulate the ride feel of pneumatic tires, so ride would be as comfortable and fast as on usual tires. This design not only eliminates the need of air inside, it is also much safer - it allows shrapnel to pass through the open surfaces without harm at all. The material is very strong too. It is based on a polymeric web, and can take not only bullet fire, but also explosions from an improvised explosive device - and still give the possibility to drive up to 50 miles per hour. Honeycomb tires run quieter and cooler that usual pneumatic ones, which is also a positive side.
Resilient are planning to begin mass-production of these in the 2011. They signed a contract with military, so their tires will be added to the Humvee design. We all know that military always grab hottest things, but after several years military technologies always find their implementation in the usual life. So let's hope that this tire design will find a way to Detroit and we will benefit from all its advantages pretty soon.
