Goodyear airless tyre technology for autonomous Starship robots

To address Starship’s request related to tyre health and maintenance, Goodyear developed a specially engineered airless tyre designed to extend tyre life and reduce maintenance activities for Starship’s delivery fleet.

Goodyear and Starship have entered an in-field testing phase at Bowling Green State University to evaluate vehicle and tyre dependencies. Early on-vehicle tyre testing data has shown positive results with respect to tread wear, braking and vibration dampening.

“We are excited to extend our unique airless tire architectures into new forms of mobility,” said Michael Rachita, Goodyear’s senior program manager, non-pneumatic tyres, adding that “The micro delivery space presents a different set of needs as it relates to the tyre, and our NPT technology is ideal to meet those needs to help enable a maintenance-free and long-lasting experience.”

“Our delivery robots make thousands of deliveries every day in all types of weather conditions and terrain,” said Siim Viilup, mechanical engineering manager, Starship Technologies. “To make sure we can keep up with the growing demand for our services, we need tyres that are reliable and keep our robots on the move around the clock and around the globe. It’s great to see these new tyres offering reliability as well as cost savings as we scale our business,” Viilup added.

Starship Technologies is revolutionising deliveries with autonomous robots. The robots are designed to deliver food, groceries and packages locally in minutes. The delivery robots have traveled millions of miles and completed over 2m autonomous deliveries around the world. They drive autonomously but are monitored by humans who can take control at any time. Starship was founded by Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis (Skype Chief Architect and Co-founder) and Alastair Westgarth is the CEO.