Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has begun testing custom-engineered non-pneumatic (airless) tyres to enable Starship Technologies delivery robots, extending its unique airless tyre architecture into new kinds of mobility.
Starship Technologies, a Goodyear Ventures portfolio company, develops and manages a network of over 1,000 autonomous last-mile robots that carry and deliver parcels, groceries, and food straight to clients. To fulfil Starship’s requirement for tyre health and maintenance, the business claims to have produced a specially constructed airless tyre meant to improve tyre life and reduce maintenance tasks for the delivery fleet.
The partners have begun in-field testing at Bowling Green State University in order to assess vehicle and tyre dependencies. Early test findings have been promising in terms of treadwear, braking, and vibration dampening. “We are pleased to extend our distinctive airless tyre topologies into new kinds of mobility,” said Michael Rachita, Goodyear’s senior programme manager, non-pneumatic tyres. The micro delivery space has unique tyre needs, and our NPT technology is suitable for meeting those needs and enabling a maintenance-free and long-lasting experience.”
“Our delivery robots do thousands of deliveries every day in all forms of weather and terrain,” said Siim Viilup, mechanical engineering manager at Starship Technologies. To ensure that we can meet the growing demand for our services, we want tyres that are dependable and keep our robots moving around the clock and over the world. It’s nice to see these new tyres providing both dependability and cost savings as we expand our business.”
