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Tyres mimic shark in the wet

Riley Riley

For all those who thought a story about tyres couldn’t possibly be interesting.

Uniroyal reveals its latest wet weather tyre mimics nature by adopting the attributes of shark skin.

The company says research shows one in four of us are fascinated by the technology found in swimsuits, boat surfaces and car tyres — all modelled on the characteristics of shark skin with its microscopic patterns that allow better water dispersal.

People believe biomimicry is better because it offers proven results, is a more natural solution and a better use of scarce resources.

Uniroyal’s Mark Griffiths said quite often the challenges we face have already been solved, so putting our brightest minds to work studying the natural world makes sense.

“Our experts at Uniroyal recognised the exceptional dispersal of water by shark skin and inspired by that developed some of the best performing tyres for wet weather braking,” he said.

“Based on shark skin, Uniroyal ensures fantastic water dispersal on wet roads allowing vehicles to perform at their safest.

“When the tyre is able to get rid of surface water more quickly, it is less likely the car will aquaplane and the driver lose control.”

Biomimicry is the imitation of nature to solve the challenges we face.

A study of 2000 adults revealed people agree it is four and a half times more effective to mimic nature than develop ideas from scratch.

We believe healthcare (55 per cent), energy generation (43 per cent) and food and farming (31 per cent) are the sectors most likely to benefit from bio mimicry

Other sectors to gain are in the areas of environmental protection, water conservation and transport.

The study also found a third of motorists are unaware that manufacturers develop tyres specifically for rain and wet conditions (for left and right drive too as it turns out).

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Riley