Bridgestone’s AirFree tires tested on eve autonomy’s autonomous transport vehicle

A demonstration trial of Bridgestone’s AirFree tires fitted to eve autonomy’s Level 4 autonomous transport vehicle, eve auto, has been underway at Bridgestone’s Nasu Plant since June 2026. According to response.jp, the companies have been conducting technical studies since 2024 and confirmed stable driving in production operations.

According to response.jp, AirFree does not require air-pressure management and is designed to prevent punctures. For businesses operating autonomous transport vehicles inside factories, the question is whether the tires can reduce maintenance burdens, but the report does not establish the extent of any reduction or the conditions for use.

The focus of this initiative is not the autonomous driving functions themselves, but the testing of tires—a component tied to vehicle maintenance—in actual factory operations. AirFree is said to have a design that does not require air-pressure management and prevents punctures. Reports that stable driving was confirmed in actual production operations indicate that the tire design is being evaluated in combination with vehicle operations. However, the reports do not specify the distance traveled, trial period or comparison conditions with conventional tires, so it is not possible to determine how much the confirmation of stable driving means for maintenance burdens or vehicle availability. In eve autonomy to exhibit eve auto at IMTS 2026, proposing outdoor transport automation for North America, we covered eve auto as an autonomous transport service for indoor and outdoor logistics at factories and distribution facilities. The current trial can be viewed as an effort to test, under operating conditions, one of the vehicle’s components: the tires that contact the road surface. We have also reported on Nikkei report: Subaru tests Bridgestone’s expandable rubber robot hand, but robot hands and tires have different uses and technologies. The only common point that can be drawn is that Bridgestone’s materials and component technologies are being applied to individual parts of robots and autonomous transport vehicles, and the conditions for implementation are being tested. For factory transport, operational planning involves not only autonomous driving but also inspection and replacement of the parts that support vehicle movement. How AirFree’s feature of eliminating the need for air-pressure management contributes to the continuous operation of Level 4 vehicles needs to be evaluated in terms of factors including load conditions and driving environments, not just the tire’s design. Data to look for next include the number of vehicles in the trial, driving conditions, durability and changes in maintenance work. These details are not included in the reports, so it is not possible to draw conclusions about adoption in mass production or operational benefits.

The trial is taking place in production operations at Bridgestone’s Nasu Plant, making it relevant to the evaluation of tire use in factory transport in Japan. Further assessment is needed to determine whether the driving conditions and maintenance effects shown by the trial apply to other factory environments.