Imagine you could recapture some of the energy lost through your tires whenever you drive, with that energy being reused to power your car. Well, that could soon become reality as Japanese scientists have come up with a tire design that would leverage friction down below to produce electricity for the vehicle’s onboard accessories.
The energy-harvesting tire concept consists of a regular car tire and a special energy harvesting device planted inside it. A process known as frictional charging causes static electricity to form each time a tire’s footprint deforms as it rolls down the road. The harvesting device converts this into electricity that could conceivably be used to power certain accessories, like dashboard lights or radio, for example.
There’s no word yet of commercializing this technology, but the manufacturers hope that the tech could one day find many practical applications after further development.
