Each year Goodyear Tires brings to the Geneva International Motor Show a new concept tire that may one day be a reality on future automobiles. However, with the show's cancelation due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the company has gone ahead and revealed this year’s concept, a self-regenerating tire that adapts and changes to meet individual mobility needs.

The Goodyear Recharge tire is based on two innovations. The first is a reloadable and biodegradable tread compound that can recharge individual capsules that simplifies the process of replacing tires. The tires are filled with customized liquid compound in capsules that allow the tire to regenerate and to adapt over time to climatic circumstances and road conditions, Goodyear said.

Another innovation is that the tires are made of biological material reinforced with fibers made of spider silk, one of the toughest natural materials in the world. Goodyear said this will make the tires not just durable, but 100% biodegradable.

Last year, Goodyear introduced a concept tire for flying cars that could work both on the road and as the propeller for a vehicle through the air. In 2018, Goodyear revealed a concept tire that featured living moss growing within the sidewall that absorbs and circulates moisture and water from the road surface allowing photosynthesis to occur and release oxygen into the air.

In recent years, the company has also introduced concept tires geared toward electric vehicles (EVs) and designed to support the heavier weight of EV batteries. Another concept involved spherical tires for autonomous vehicles that are ball-like tires suspended from a vehicle by magnetic fields.