January 16, 2013 at 11:53Wheels of the future, as they are today
Big companies have one small fetish - they like to release futuristic videos. Say, look how we will drastically change the world in the next ... eleven years. As a result, either Corning (manufacturer of Gorilla Glass) rolls everything into glass , then Microsoft hangs everything on the Metro interface . This is interesting in its own way, but it doesn’t really touch. Whether it’s the case when the manufacturer of such utilitarian products as car tires takes up futurism.
At the end of 2012, the South Korean manufacturer Hankook Tire rolled out an amazing video, which showed the vector of movement to the wheels of tomorrow. The basic idea is to adapt the wheel to a changing road surface. So sports tires can be divided into three sectors, increasing the grip area on bends, hollow wheels with electromagnets are able to withstand bumps, and a sector wheel for SUVs can effectively roll off-road.
Already on this alone it was possible to finish the topic. Although, the video shown is a matter of a very distant and not very likely future (say, I have strong doubts that the wheels on electromagnets will be more comfortable and simpler than the current solution with shock absorbers).
But let's see what happens to the wheels now. Where are auto giants most likely to move in the near future? Last year, it became known that Resilient Technologies was working on airless tires for military equipment. The profit is easily understood: such tires are able to withstand bullet hits and maintain operability when destroying up to 30 percent of internal cells. For civilians, the benefit is also understandable - from now on you can forget about punctures, hernias and pressure tests. Of course, fans of cast rollers will be upset, but the benefits are more than obvious.
(I hesitated for a long time what to put in the topic - a photo on the background of the girl, or a video with the wheels running in action. The girl won, so the video can be seen here ).
At the same time, one should not think that only a little-known company is engaged in such tires. To one degree or another, many large manufacturers are working on this project. For example, Michlen is going to release a commercial version of its Michelin Tweel by 2015. Despite the fact that the first samples were presented back in 2007.
But this is only one side of the coin. It is clear that along with the wheels, the road must also be modified. In this regard, the Dutch project of “smart” roads, starting this year, looks very interesting (source eng / rus) What is meant by the word smart. First of all, it is a fluorescent marking that absorbs the energy of the sun during the day and glows all night. Secondly, and this is especially interesting: the appearance of special signs on the asphalt, depending on weather conditions. Those. if the temperature drops below a certain point, snowflakes will appear on the pavement, indicating places where there may be ice.
Thirdly, it is assumed an adaptive lighting system that includes only the sector where the car is traveling and thus saving electricity (plus windmills working from the air flow generated by the machines). And fourthly, a dedicated lane for electric vehicles with the possibility of induction recharging being implemented in the future (this already looks fantastic).
So, to summarize, we can say that in two or three years a small revolution in a very traditional industry may well be waiting for us.
At the end of 2012, the South Korean manufacturer Hankook Tire rolled out an amazing video, which showed the vector of movement to the wheels of tomorrow. The basic idea is to adapt the wheel to a changing road surface. So sports tires can be divided into three sectors, increasing the grip area on bends, hollow wheels with electromagnets are able to withstand bumps, and a sector wheel for SUVs can effectively roll off-road.
Already on this alone it was possible to finish the topic. Although, the video shown is a matter of a very distant and not very likely future (say, I have strong doubts that the wheels on electromagnets will be more comfortable and simpler than the current solution with shock absorbers).
But let's see what happens to the wheels now. Where are auto giants most likely to move in the near future? Last year, it became known that Resilient Technologies was working on airless tires for military equipment. The profit is easily understood: such tires are able to withstand bullet hits and maintain operability when destroying up to 30 percent of internal cells. For civilians, the benefit is also understandable - from now on you can forget about punctures, hernias and pressure tests. Of course, fans of cast rollers will be upset, but the benefits are more than obvious.
(I hesitated for a long time what to put in the topic - a photo on the background of the girl, or a video with the wheels running in action. The girl won, so the video can be seen here ).
At the same time, one should not think that only a little-known company is engaged in such tires. To one degree or another, many large manufacturers are working on this project. For example, Michlen is going to release a commercial version of its Michelin Tweel by 2015. Despite the fact that the first samples were presented back in 2007.
But this is only one side of the coin. It is clear that along with the wheels, the road must also be modified. In this regard, the Dutch project of “smart” roads, starting this year, looks very interesting (source eng / rus) What is meant by the word smart. First of all, it is a fluorescent marking that absorbs the energy of the sun during the day and glows all night. Secondly, and this is especially interesting: the appearance of special signs on the asphalt, depending on weather conditions. Those. if the temperature drops below a certain point, snowflakes will appear on the pavement, indicating places where there may be ice.
Thirdly, it is assumed an adaptive lighting system that includes only the sector where the car is traveling and thus saving electricity (plus windmills working from the air flow generated by the machines). And fourthly, a dedicated lane for electric vehicles with the possibility of induction recharging being implemented in the future (this already looks fantastic).
So, to summarize, we can say that in two or three years a small revolution in a very traditional industry may well be waiting for us.