A new non-pneumatic, honeycomb-like tire has been developed that is designed to withstand both bomb blasts and bullet-fire by allowing objects such as shrapnel, or even whole bullets to pass through it.

Developed in a collaborative effort between Resilient Technologies and Wisconsin-Madison’s Polymer Engineering Center, the tire consists of a round honeycomb wrapped around the wheel hub, which itself is wrapped with thick heavy-duty tread.

The tires have been designed for the US Army so that troops don’t get stranded when their tires are blown out, but could be equally useful on our roads for those smart enough to drive, but clueless enough not to know how to change a flat. The new design could someday, at long last, make spare tires completely redundant.

The structure of their bulletproof tire is similar to one developed by Michelin back in 2006 called the TWEEL, which uses triangles instead of the six-sided cells. The honeycomb structure improves on the TWEEL by transferring loads more evenly, thus better duplicating the feel of regular pneumatic tires.

Sources:

Resilient Technologies and Scientific American

Via: CNET