Michelin’s Puncture Proof Tyres | The Future Is Here!

Isn’t it disappointing when you see that your car has got a flat tyre? It is the most troubling and frustrating feeling to encounter a flat. You are all set with your plans, and a flat tyre could ruin all of them. A flat tyre comes with the hassle of changing it before you get going.No one wants this hassle to come their way, but there is no way out. Tyres are prone to be punctured until they are on the roads. Puncture-proof tyres are all we want!

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What if I said that Puncture-proof tyres had been developed? Won’t you believe me, right? But it’s the truth. In the near future, we will have puncture-proof tyres. By puncture-proof, I mean that they will not have any air losses as they won’t already have any air in them!

Perplexed? Don’t worry. You won’t be if you read further!

Michelin, in association with General Motors, has developed a new tyre technology. Michelin’s Puncture Proof tyres won’t use air at all. These tyres are completely free from blowouts. According to Michelin, around 20% of tyres (200 million tyres) scrapped annually can be blamed on blowouts or irregular wear caused by drivers running the wrong pressures. This leads to a large number of resources being wasted annually worldwide. By introducing this tyre technology, Michelin aims to reduce the pollution caused by scraping. Furthermore, this will save the wastage of the raw material used to produce the tyres.

Also, if tyres get blown out at high speeds, it can also be dangerous for the passengers and fellow road vehicles. Considering all these things, Michelin, in association with GM, has come out with UPTIS. This would be a breakthrough in the automotive industry. This innovation will be extremely beneficial to the masses in the near future.

The “Unique Puncture Proof Tire System”, abbreviated as UPTIS, is a system which utilizes composite materials and advanced architecture, which helps it to bear the load of the car without having any compressed air inside it. In the current tests, UPTIS has emerged as a successful approach towards the future that Michelin and GM hope to have.

Florent Menegaux, chief executive officer for Michelin Group said, “Uptis demonstrates that Michelin’s vision for a future of sustainable mobility is an achievable dream. We can seize the future today by working with strategic partners like GM, who share our ambitions for transforming mobility.”

Michelin’s puncture-proof tyres seem to be a promising future technology. This can benefit the users by saving time which could have been wasted by flat tyres and blowouts.

But there is no innovation that doesn’t face challenges. Material fatigue and sagging is the major challenge that this technology would face. The road tests have been miraculously well, but we are yet to see how it does on a long-term basis being subjected to continuous loads. Also, the shock-absorbing capacities, braking, acceleration, and driving dynamics must be sorted out before the UPTIS is finalized for commercial production. Price is the key factor that will decide how well the UPTIS is accepted by the masses and performs in the market.

At present, the UPTIS is just a prototype, but if things go as planned, we will soon see these on the roads. Michelin plans to commercialize the production of UPTIS by 2024. These tyres will be compatible with all types of vehicles, whether EVs or autonomous.

We all hope to see this breakthrough on the roads soon but if you want to catch a glimpse, watch this puncture-proof tyre in action here.