Wheel

Robots often struggle to adapt to changing conditions. Now engineers at Caltech have designed a new robot that can roll around on four wheels, flip them into rotors to fly, or transform for six other types of motion.

Back in 2013, California-based startup Shark Wheel hit Kickstarter with a very odd-looking cube-shaped skateboard wheel. Now the company has supersized the design for a pair of funky electric cars for kids – the Shark SUV and the Shark UTV.

Although a completely flat-surfaced wheel would be aerodynamic, it would also be hard to keep cool – especially during the braking process. An experimental new wheel rim, however, has cooling vents that open as needed … and they're activated by heat.

If you were taller than average, and had a bicycle made to fit your body size, regular 700C/29-inch wheels would be disproportionately small. That's where the DirtySixer AllRoad Mark II comes in, as it features huge 36-inch wheels.

Last year we told you about the prototype Tuck Bike, which featured both a folding frame and folding full-size 700c wheels. Well, you may soon be able to own one, as it's the subject of a just-launched Kickstarter campaign.

Hyundai Mobis moves closer to revolutionizing EV maneuverability. Three years after introducing the e-Corner Module, it's testing a working all-in-one wheel prototype with integrated intelligent steering, braking, drive and suspension hardware.

Removing and reinstalling a bike's rear wheel can be quite a laborious, frustrating process, as you have to wrangle the chain, derailleur and disc brake. The new Fasten system, however, allows the wheel to quickly drop straight down out of the frame.

Few things punish bicycle wheels harder than world championship-level downhill mountain bike racing, so France's Nawa Technologies has signed up with a top-level downhill team to prove the strength of its nanotube-reinforced carbon fiber.

Hankook's R&D department has been working with biorobotics experts from Seoul National University and Harvard engineers on a weird transforming origami wheel project. These folding oddities can drastically alter their diameter and carry heavy loads.

The company that first patented the tubeless tire is thrusting forth into the future with a "rechargeable" concept wheel that lets you add extra tire tread by popping a capsule into the center of the hub, which then extrudes it out to the surface.

Ford seems to believe theft of fancy alloy wheels is on the rise thanks to improved security systems that make it harder to steal whole cars. So it's working on creating anti-theft wheel nuts, each individually 3D printed for the car owner.

​Although Teslas may get a lot of attention, many EVs are actually small cars designed solely for urban use, made by struggling startup companies. A new wheel module could help increase the economic viability of building such vehicles, by simplifying the design and production processes.