The company’s big ticket item is a super-elastic car tire made from a special nickel-titanium material called Nitinol. Known as a shape memory alloy (SMA), the metal mimics the elasticity of rubber but is as strong as titanium. Through molecular-level phase transitions, the “tire” can expand and contract rapidly to survive extreme deformation, then pop back to its original shape without losing integrity.
It will be lighter than conventional tires because it won’t need an inner frame to support the assembly. Plus, the tire will never require air (which all current pneumatically inflated tires need), and here’s the icing atop the proverbial cake — it will never go flat.
It won’t look exactly like the funky NASA rover wheels, though. Instead, SMART’s products will be wrapped in treads and sidewalls made from a special rubber and polymer material it claims will last “much longer” than standard rubber, and the metal mesh will never touch the ground directly. All the rubber is re-treadable, so it can be replaced when worn out. The sidewalls are needed not just for looks, but also to keep road debris from gunking up the tire.
Although the space-age car tire still isn’t ready for prime time, it’s not the only card up SMART’s sleeve. The company’s first commercial product will be an airless bicycle tire called METL, based on the same technology. These wheels should be available to order by the end of 2023, and will cost between $100 and $150.
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