The future of mobility includes more than the worldwide movement toward electric vehicles, self-driving cars and alternative fuel. CES® 2021 exhibitor Bridgestone explores how innovative tire-centric solutions can add value for drivers and passengers and address pain points.
Learn more about three of Bridgestone’s initiatives and how they are leading consumers to a sustainable, safe and accessible future of mobility.
Air-Free Concept Tires
Conventional tires are inflated with high-pressure air to support the weight of a vehicle and absorb shock. Flat tires or a change in tire pressure can lead to difficulties and safety concerns with driving.
Bridgestone’s airless tires eliminate the need to worry about flat tires. The air-free concept technology uses a unique spoke structure along the inner sides of tires to support the weight of the vehicle.
The new concept not only requires less maintenance and prevents tire punctures, but it also provides more design flexibility and is more recyclable than conventional tires.
Run-Flat Tire Technology
Specifically designed to allow drivers to safely continue for up to 50 miles at 50 mph after a puncture or flat tire, Bridgestone’s run-flat tires enable a safer driving experience and eliminates the need for spare tires and wheels.
Reinforced sidewall supports along the run-flat tires help support the weight of a vehicle even with a flat tire. Using NanoPro-Tech engineering, the sidewalls are designed on a molecular level to resist heat buildup and maintain shape even under pressure.
PlusStop Barrier-Less Bus Stop Curb
The gap between bus-boarding entrances and a sidewalk curb can often create difficulties for young children, senior citizens, parents with strollers and those with mobility needs.
For drivers, the fear of damaging tire sidewalls through contact with a curb can result in them refraining from stopping buses too close to curbs.
Looking to address this issue, Bridgestone partnered with other organizations to develop and introduce PlusStop, a barrier-less curb solution. Sloped road shoulders, grooved projections, rounded curb bases and more in the full curb system help eliminate tire-to-curb contact while informing drivers of when they have successfully approached the curb without a gap.
Bridgestone’s tire development data insights have helped the company and its partners develop the system, which has been installed at bus stops throughout Japan, including for locations meant for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
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