Skip to main content

NASA rover tech looks set to revolutionize the humble bicycle tire

The humble bicycle tire could be about to undergo a dramatic transformation after a California-based startup this week unveiled a durable space-age tire that never goes flat.

Called METL, the design of the next-generation bicycle tire is based on technology developed by NASA that is aimed at enhancing the resilience of future lunar and Martian rovers.

SMART Tire Company

The SMART (Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology) Tire Company was formed last year with the central aim of commercializing a new category of airless tire invented for future space missions.

Recommended Videos

Made from a nickel-titanium alloy called NiTinol+, SMART describes its new tire as a “light, flexible, space-age metal that never goes flat, but still rides smooth.” It believes the material can become a permanent part of future bicycles, with design variations making it suitable for other kinds of vehicles, too.

The special shape-memory material gives the tire the ability to expand, contract, bend, or unbend at a rapid rate before quickly regaining its original shape. Even better, there’s no prospect of a puncture, and you’ll never have to inflate it.

Made in gold, silver, and metallic blue, the METL bike tire features a futuristic look and feel.

“Cyclists will not be able to wait to get their hands on these very cool-looking, space-age METL tires,” Earl Cole, CEO of SMART, said in a release. “The unique combination of these advanced materials, coupled with a next generation, eco-friendly design make for a revolutionary product.”

The METL tire will be available for cyclists in early 2022. Updates regarding the launch can be found via the company’s website or Twitter account.

“Shape memory alloys look extremely promising in revolutionizing the entire terrestrial tire industry,” said NASA engineer Santo Padula, adding, “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Indeed, SMART says it’s intent on taking on the $250 billion global tire market with the aim of becoming the next great American tire company, “bringing smarter and cleaner solutions to the future of transportation.”

SMART’s METL tire comes out of a partnership with NASA’s Glenn Research Center as part of an initiative geared toward commercializing some of the space agency’s innovations.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Google just gave vision to AI, but it’s still not available for everyone
Gemini Live App on the Galaxy S25 Ultra broadcast to a TV showing the Gemini app with the camera feature open

Google has just officially announced the roll out of a powerful Gemini AI feature that means the intelligence can now see.

This started in March as Google began to show off Gemini Live, but it's now become more widely available.

Read more
This modular Pebble and Apple Watch underdog just smashed funding goals
UNA Watch

Both the Pebble Watch and Apple Watch are due some fierce competition as a new modular brand, UNA, is gaining some serous backing and excitement.

The UNA Watch is the creation of a Scottish company that wants to give everyone modular control of smartwatch upgrades and repairs.

Read more
Tesla, Warner Bros. dodge some claims in ‘Blade Runner 2049’ lawsuit, copyright battle continues
Tesla Cybercab at night

Tesla and Warner Bros. scored a partial legal victory as a federal judge dismissed several claims in a lawsuit filed by Alcon Entertainment, a production company behind the 2017 sci-fi movie Blade Runner 2049, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit accused the two companies of using imagery from the film to promote Tesla’s autonomous Cybercab vehicle at an event hosted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Studios in Hollywood in October of last year.
U.S. District Judge George Wu indicated he was inclined to dismiss Alcon’s allegations that Tesla and Warner Bros. violated trademark law, according to Reuters. Specifically, the judge said Musk only referenced the original Blade Runner movie at the event, and noted that Tesla and Alcon are not competitors.
"Tesla and Musk are looking to sell cars," Reuters quoted Wu as saying. "Plaintiff is plainly not in that line of business."
Wu also dismissed most of Alcon's claims against Warner Bros., the distributor of the Blade Runner franchise.
However, the judge allowed Alcon to continue its copyright infringement claims against Tesla for its alleged use of AI-generated images mimicking scenes from Blade Runner 2049 without permission.
Alcan says that just hours before the Cybercab event, it had turned down a request from Tesla and WBD to use “an icononic still image” from the movie.
In the lawsuit, Alcon explained its decision by saying that “any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk’s massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account.”
Alcon further said it did not want Blade Runner 2049 “to be affiliated with Musk, Tesla, or any Musk company, for all of these reasons.”
But according to Alcon, Tesla went ahead with feeding images from Blade Runner 2049 into an AI image generator to yield a still image that appeared on screen for 10 seconds during the Cybercab event. With the image featured in the background, Musk directly referenced Blade Runner.
Alcon also said that Musk’s reference to Blade Runner 2049 was not a coincidence as the movie features a “strikingly designed, artificially intelligent, fully autonomous car.”

Read more