Goodyear's Oxygene tires are filled with moss. (Goodyear)
Goodyear has an idea for a tire that might grow on you.
Its Oxygene is a 3D-printed tire that’s not full of air, but living moss.
A rolling stone has nothing on these tires. (Goodyear)
The concept behind it is that the moss soaks up water from the road and turns it into oxygen through photosynthesis, which could help improve the air quality in city centers. Goodyear estimates that if all of the cars in Paris had a set, they would swap 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide for 3,000 tons of oxygen each year.
Electricity generated by photosynthesis powers electronics and lights in the tire. (Goodyear)
Photosynthesis generates electricity, too, which the tire uses to power built-in artificial intelligence and a Li-Fi system that connects it to the vehicle, the infrastructure and the internet. Because everything must be connected to the internet.
A light strip around the tire can be used to signal surrounding cars and pedestrians. (Goodyear)
The Oxygene also has a light strip where a whitewall would normally be that can change colors and be used to signal other cars and pedestrians in more ways than a turn indicator could.
There are no plans for production. But who knows? There was a time that vulcanization wasn't a thing, either. (Goodyear)
The rubber matrix that houses it all is puncture-proof and made from recycled tires, so the circle of life is fully-covered.
But don’t head out front to water the street just yet. The Oxygene is on display at the Geneva Motor Show, but it isn’t going into production anytime soon. Goodyear says it’s just an exercise to challenge the thinking about this sort of thing for those who do.