Advances in technology are not without surprise. The news, increasingly succinct, appears to facilitate, to promote a better quality of the day. Proof of this is the newest partnership between a tire startup and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ).
SMART Tire Company has teamed up with the independent US federal government agency responsible for the civil space program as well as aeronautics and space research to bring the first alloy bicycle tires to market. Novelty is basically an unspeakable contribution.
The new tires
Startup SMART Tire Company and NASA announced the new thing recently. As shown in a report published by the Odditycentral news portal, the innovative tires, which will likely be used on bicycles next year, were originally developed to meet the future missions of Mars Rover.
Called METL, the tires, considered by media coverage as revolutionary, are made of metal and have an intelligent memory, because, unlike common tires, they are able to reorganize their structure, based on a molecular one – that is, when you use them. compress, instantly return to the original shape.
Although they have the same flexibility as rubber-based materials, the new tires are as tough as titanium. This means that no cyclist will have to worry anymore about shelling out money to buy new tires for their own bike.
“The tires are made with highly resistant threads. These threads are intertwined and, therefore, create a structure capable of adhering the impacts that exist in certain areas. They are, in general terms, totally different from the tires that currently exist. The SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) material, in addition to acting as a shock absorber, allows cyclists to be able to cross any terrain effortlessly, even if the area is rock formation. Cyclists will be able to take trails without worrying about causing any kind of damage to the tires”, described NASA about the new technology in a press release.
The innovative technology
According to a survey carried out by the Odditycentral portal, the new METL smart tires are nothing more than a rim covered by an outer edge of wires made of a superelastic material called NiTinol +, which molds itself with the bumps but returns to its original shape. almost instantly.
Manufactured through a heating process – temperatures of more than 500 degrees Celsius – METL tires are designed to withstand extreme temperatures and environments similar to those that exist on other planets, such as, for example, Mars. Therefore, consumers can be extremely reassured about durability.
As we said at the beginning of the article, the new technology is the result of an initiative sponsored by NASA. The independent agency of the federal government of the United States invited some startups from the private sector to carry out functional adaptations to the innovations that were created to serve space missions. Startup SMART Tire Company was the winner of the challenge.
To launch the new tires on the market, the startup is now working on the development of a new component, which must coat the steel wires with a type of material similar to polyurethane. The new material must meet the same conditions as the technology developed by NASA and the startup.