Goodyear's new concept is a complete balls-up

Tyre maker Goodyear has come up with a wild new concept that is said to reinvent the wheel by imagining what a vehicle will look like in 2030.

Called the 360 Concept, the Goodyear plan for the future is to replace the traditional wheel and tyre combination with a ball-shaped wheel and spherical tyre.

Instead of a physical or mechanical connection, the tyre maker says the vehicle's body will hover over the ball-shaped tyre and wheel using magnetic levitation similar to the system currently used on a handful of high-speed railways.

The advantage of this radical approach, says Goodyear, is the vehicle that uses these wheels will have incredible manoeuvrability compared to a traditional car. In motorway or parking scenarios, the Goodyear concept car will, for example, have the ability to move 90deg sideways.

The system works by embedding an electric motor and battery pack within the ball-shaped wheel. On the move the motor drives the wheel, while a sophisticated gyro stabilises the wheel itself and allows dramatic changes in direction when required.

Small batteries within the wheels, in the future, won't be a problem because Goodyear predicts the batteries will be charged using wireless charging pads embedded in the road.

The other advantage of the new system is road wear can be evened out, or the spherical tyres could mix treads for dry, wet or snowy roads.

Unlike most tyres available today, Goodyear has developed a multi-directional tyre that offers similar grip levels which ever direction it rotates. The idea was said to be inspired by brain coral after researchers found the underwater species has adapted to changing water currents by using a unique pattern.

The new tyre tech also includes tread grooves that soften when wet to allow more water to pass through its tread patterns, reducing the risk of aquaplaning.

Finally, Goodyear says that sphere-shaped tyres deform less, so they lose less energy through their lower rolling resistance.

The most radical part of the new 360 Concept is the magnetic levitation - but, according to Goodyear engineers, when the tyre maker investigated how much energy would be needed for the system, it calculated that it needed just 50W per wheel to support a car - something that is easily achievable with a vehicle that produces 60kW.

The driving experience, meanwhile, might leave enthusiasts wanting. With the complex calculations involved with the wheel technology alone, Goodyear envisages its 360 concept to be fully autonomous.