Air is generally added to tires. Goodyear tires will put air in your tires.
Goodyear is committed to helping the environment. It can be difficult to incorporate tires into Goodyear’s products, as it is a company that is primarily known for its tires. The research and development teams tried, but it didn’t stop them from creating the Oxygene tire. It will be displayed at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. And yes, there is living moss in it. It’s so much more.
You can see in the photos above that there are sidewall strips made of gray and blue. It’s not an option. The tire creates electricity by photosynthesis (remember that there’s living matter in there). This light can be used to communicate various vehicle actions such as turning and braking. To make this possible, the tire is embedded with sensors, electronics, and even a processor. It’s hopefully all pothole-resistant.
This is actually the secondary function of the tire, a byproduct if you like of its mission to generate fresh air. The Oxygene takes in moisture from the road, and then uses CO2 from the atmosphere to fuel the moss. Goodyear estimates that a city of 2.5 million vehicles could produce 3,000 tons of oxygen per year and absorb 4,000 tons CO2. This would be 10 million tires. However, it’s still a significant amount of fresh air.
You don’t have to worry about tire punctures or blowouts because the tire is an airless design. It is made from recycled rubber and has a main structure.
It’s a concept, but Goodyear says it is meant to “challenge our thinking and drive the debate around smart and safe future mobility.” So don’t be surprised to see living tires in your neighborhood. Goodyear deserves credit for thinking outside of the box in this instance.