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Ah, the thrill of traveling through the planetary landscape. Without being bound by the astronaut suit, you can listen to the sounds of the open air-only you, your bicycle and a set of spaced apart metal wheels can almost guarantee that no matter where you are adventurous, you will never be trapped.
Sounds like science fiction? If the earth is not, if your bicycle is equipped with a pair of NASA-approved titanium-nickel alloy tires, designed by the people of SMART Tyre Company. SMART (abbreviation for shape memory alloy radial technology), after seeing all the damage that the surface of Mars may cause to the aluminum wheels of the Curiosity rover, got inspiration from NASA and has been developing high-tech wheel rims to withstand future space missions— —Now its goal is to apply the same technology to the bicycle world.
SMART’s “tires” are truly complete rims; the rims where the metal is in contact with the ground are made of a shape-adapted mesh alloy called NiTinol, which has been “specially treated” by Inverse, “more or less Permanently maintain its shape." During the manufacturing process, the wheel is heated to temperatures exceeding 500 degrees Celsius. The result is that the material will spring back to its original shape with every deformation and bump on the road, and has a design designed for extreme temperatures and The impact on the planet’s surface is far more violent than the Earth.
The webby material looks very futuristic, allowing light to pass through its porous alloy membrane while maintaining the same basic shape as traditional rubber bicycle tires:
Image source: SMART Tire Company
Image source: SMART Tire Company
These tires are the result of a startup program launched by NASA last year to attract the private sector to use their space-suitable innovations in the real world. NASA stated that “super-elastic” tire technology is one of nine such innovations to be shown at NASA Startup Studio in the summer of 2020. SMART shows how a set of super-reliable wheels can bring many benefits to cyclists on our planet. -In addition, keep the space rover moving on the moon and Mars.
NASA describes the underlying technology as a durable alloy braid, in which "wires are woven together to form an airless tire structure, which is different from current rigid wheels, which has the ability to bend with the terrain. SMA [shape memory alloy ] The material acts as a shock absorber and can traverse rock-filled terrain effortlessly without breaking or damaging the tires."
You don't need a huge leap of imagination to imagine all the methods that may be useful to bike lovers in order to find the next big earth excitement forever. Like their spacer tires, they are still being developed for future rover applications, and the tires look cool.
SMART is currently silent about the cost of this wheeled magic, but is serious about launching it for use in the real world. The company is currently raising additional funds for its METL bicycle tires through WeFunder, with the aim of providing cyclists with a tire, whether on a distant planet or on ancient soil, it may be more expensive than the bicycle they are connected to. durable.
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