Tyres

December 2, 2006 Tyre-giant Pirelli has purchased the patent for an innovative new tyre monitoring system from design and styling company Fioravanti. The acquisition of the rights to the Fioravanti patent for monitoring the tyre footprints of a motor vehicle and automatically optimizing the behaviour of the motor vehicle will fast-track Pirelli’s ability to deliver its much-anticipated CyberTyre product to market. CyberTyre is one of a number of new technological systems (including X-Pressure, Safety Wheel System, and CyberWheel) being created by Pirelli with the aim of making tyres ever-more intelligent and interactive. The CyberTyre system instantaneously measures and wirelessly transmits information about the forces regulating vehicle dynamics by way of miniaturised electronic sensors. The small Turin-based Fioravanti company is developing quite a reputation for innovation, having previously developed an ingenious rotating roof design for its 2001 Alfa Romeo LF concept car which was subsequently used by Ferrari in the 575 SuperAmerica. Read More

June 15, 2006 The pneumatic tire has been one of the stand-out commercially-successful inventions of history, with around 1.2 billion car and truck tires sold each year, and an indeterminate number of bicycle, motorcycle and RV tyres on top of that. Whatsmore, the better it works, the quicker it wears out, ensuring that there’ll be a market next year because 75% of the tires sold will be replacements. Quite remarkably, despite such ubiquitous usage, the pneumatic tire has a massive Achilles heel – lose the air and it stops the vehicle. The most-read story in the history of this fine publication is about Michelin’s Tweel, the first viable alternative to the pneumatic tire in more than a century with its greatest asset being that it doesn’t go flat. Now there’s another flat-proof inflation system based on individual balls or air cells that has evolved from motorcycle off-road racing, where to win, you need to be able to finish the race. Tire Ball not only offers virtual flat-proof characteristics but simultaneously improves traction and improves suspension performance. Right now it’s a technology that’s only commercially viable for off-road RV and motorcycle racing but materials technology promises to ultimately lead to highway applications for the product. In addition to racing, the Tire Ball is also a natural for agricultural, commercial and military applications where a flat might cost you a whole lot more than time. Read More

Updated April 29, 2005 Michelin has showcased a potentially disruptive technology with significant ramifications for the future for mobility: an airless, integrated tyre and wheel combination dubbed the TWEEL (i.e. Tyre/WhEEL) . The Tweel promises performance levels beyond those possible with conventional pneumatic technology. The first commercial applications of the Tweel will be in lower-speed, lower-weight vehicles such as the iBOT mobility device and Segway's Concept Centaur. Designed by Segway-inventor Dean Kamen, the iBOT mobility device has the ability to climb stairs and navigate uneven terrain, offering mobility freedom impossible with traditional wheelchairs.

Additionally, Segway's Concept Centaur, a prototype that applies self-balancing technology to a four-wheel device, has also been equipped with Tweel to increase its performance potential. Read More

Despite wearing a black swimsuit complete with tyre tread across her body, Naomi Campbell was not so much road-kill as she was dressed to kill when recently launching the latest line of Pirelli's Ultra-High Performance tyres the Planet Zero (P Zero) in Rome.

The new and complete range of tyres address the increasing amount of high performance vehicles being sold in today's market. Many car manufacturers today offer vehicles that deliver more than 200 HP and it is estimated that the segment represents almost 25 percent of all cars sold. Read More