Goodyear Oxygene Concept Tire Is Filled With Moss Not Air

Goodyear has unveiled a new concept tire called Oxygene that has a very odd structure. The tire has living moss growing in the sidewall of the tire. Goodyear says that the open structure of the tire and its smart tread design absorb and circulate moisture and water from the road and allow photosynthesis to occur and oxygen to be released.

Goodyear says that the concept tire is part of a "smarter, greener infrastructure" and that this sort of thing is critical to addressing challenges of urban mobility in the future as cities grow ever larger. The moss will take in CO2 from the air and expel oxygen just as all living, green plants do.

Oxygene is a non-pneumatic tire that is 3D printed with rubber powder from old recycled traditional tires. It has a lightweight, shock-absorbing structure that is long-lasting and puncture-free. The big upside here is no more flat tires.

Goodyear also says that Oxygene is able to harvest the energy generated during photosynthesis to power embedded electronics like sensors and AI processing units. The sidewall also has a customizable light strip integrated that can change colors to warn of lane changes or braking.

Oxygene also has integrated LiFi tech for connectivity to the IoT and to support vehicle-to-vehicle communications. This tire seems far from practical for today's cars and there is no indication when or if it might ever enter production.