KUALA LUMPUR: The Goodyear Tire Rubber Company's unique Eagle-360 concept tyre has been named one of TIME magazine’s Best Inventions of the Year (2016).
Each year, TIME magazine’s technology editors list the year’s best inventions that are making the world better, smarter and in some cases — a little more fun.
This year’s list had 25 inventions, which in addition to Goodyear’s Eagle-360 concept, included a virtual reality headset, shoes that lace themselves, a solar roof collaboration between Tesla and SolarCity, and the Chevy Bolt electric vehicle.
“By steadily reducing the driver interaction and intervention in self-driving vehicles, tyres will play an even more important role as the primary link to the road,” said Goodyear chief technical officer Joe Zekoski.
“Goodyear’s concept tyres play a dual role in that future both as creative platforms to push the boundaries of conventional thinking and testbeds for next-generation technologies. Although the Eagle-360 is a future concept, it represents an essential aspect of Goodyear’s innovation strategy and our vision for smart and safe mobility," he added.
The spherical-shaped concept tyre is touted by the company to be ideal for providing self-driving cars the ultimate amount of maneuverability, connectivity and biomimicry to increase safety.
