Forget everything you know about tires. A team of Ukrainian engineers just finished combat trials on 3D-printed airless wheels that could keep ground robots rolling through shrapnel, rubble, and frozen mud. And yes, this matters way beyond the battlefield.

According to TechRadar, the project brings together Print&Live UA, iSCALE 3D, and specialists who have completed field evaluations and combat trials. The design uses large-scale 3D printing with a rounded tread, closed profile, and a two-piece disc. No air. No pressure maintenance. No stopping because a fragment shredded your rubber.

Why should you care if you’re not running a robot in a war zone? Because the same tech is already showing up in e-motorbikes, bicycles, and even amusement park props. The future of wheels is printed, not inflated.

What Makes These 3D-Printed Airless Wheels Different

Conventional pneumatic tires are a liability when the terrain turns hostile. A single piece of barbed wire or a blast fragment can immobilize a remotely operated vehicle, leaving it exposed. Recovery often means sending personnel into dangerous areas. That’s a problem no amount of spare tires can solve.

The Ukrainian design eliminates internal air pressure entirely. The wheel keeps its supporting function without inflation. Inside, there’s a digitally adaptable lattice made from durable elastomers and composite polymers. Unlike open cellular designs, these wheels have an enclosed construction and curved tread geometry that limits dirt, stones, and ice from packing around the wheel.

Low mass and a rounded profile also reduce ground contact and rolling resistance. Print&Live estimates the design could extend a robot’s operating distance by as much as 30% compared with foreign alternatives. The complete wheel set weighs between 32 and 56 kg, versus 88 to 144 kg for cited foreign airless options. Conventional pneumatic sets weigh about 30 to 72 kg, so it’s not lighter than every traditional tire, but reducing unsprung and rotating mass still eases strain on gearboxes and electric drives.

Digital Customization And Field Repairs

Here’s where it gets really interesting for makers and tinkerers. The manufacturing approach lets engineers adjust wheel stiffness, shock absorption, and geometry digitally based on a robot’s weight and operating requirements. No production line overhaul needed. That means specialized variants can be developed fast.

Field servicing is another win. The patented two-piece rim allows damaged tires to be installed or replaced without conventional tire-changing machinery. No specialized presses. No workshop. Just swap and go. A complete set reportedly costs around €680, though the exact configuration and replacement costs aren’t specified.

The project has passed R&D and production is already happening in limited quantities for combat units. Independent operational evidence is still needed to see how these wheels hold up under sustained use and repeated impacts.

3D Printing’s Bigger Game: From Battlefields To Disney

This isn’t an isolated breakthrough. Large-format 3D printing is having a moment across industries. Berlin-based BigRep made headlines with the NERA, the world’s first fully 3D-printed electric motorcycle, complete with airless tires and customizable treads. The bike weighs just 132 pounds. BigRep also printed the world’s first 3D-printed airless bicycle tire using its PRO FLEX material.

Meanwhile, Creality just announced KliTek, a new nozzle-changing system that cuts color swaps to five seconds and handles TPU at 80A, 85A, 90A, and 95A hardness levels. That means you can print soft, squeezable parts and hard structures in a single job. GamingTrend reports it’s coming in Q3 2026.

And MIT researchers have developed Liquid Metal Printing that can 3D print furniture parts in minutes using molten aluminum. It’s ten times faster than comparable metal additive processes, though resolution is still rough. As Skylar Tibbits told Designboom, ‘If we could make this machine something that people could actually use to melt down recycled aluminum and print parts, that would be a game-changer in metal manufacturing.’

Even Disney is paying attention. Haddy, a large-format 3D printing factory, was selected for the 2025 Disney Accelerator. The company’s AI-powered microfactory platform could rapidly produce theme park props and set designs. With only four companies chosen from thousands of applicants, that’s a strong signal.

The Verdict: Should You Care About 3D-Printed Airless Wheels?

Absolutely. If you’re a gamer, you’ve already seen fictional worlds built on rugged, repairable tech. This is that tech becoming real. If you’re a maker, the same principles are landing in desktop printers. If you’re just someone who hates getting a flat tire, the writing is on the wall.

The Ukrainian 3D-printed airless wheels aren’t perfect yet. They’re heavier than some pneumatic options, and independent long-term data is still missing. But they survived combat trials. They cut weight versus foreign airless alternatives. They extend range by up to 30%. And they can be swapped in the field without a workshop.

Start with the TechRadar piece if you want the full military specs. Then check out Creality’s KliTek if you’re ready to print your own flexible parts. The revolution won’t be televised. It’ll be printed, layer by layer, and it won’t need air.

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Lagos gives telcos 30 days to verify gaming licences, and the clock is already ticking. The Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority dropped a public notice on October 12 that puts mobile network operators, VAS aggregators, and VAS providers on notice: verify every gaming operator on your platform or face the consequences. This is not a drill. It is a full regulatory shakedown with a deadline.

If you run a betting or lottery service through USSD, SMS, short codes, mobile apps, or carrier billing in Lagos, your telecom partner now has to check your paperwork. And they have to hand over transaction records going back to November 22, 2024. That is the date the Supreme Court affirmed that lottery and games of chance fall under state control, not federal. The LSLGA is using that ruling as its legal hammer.

What The Directive Actually Says

The notice is blunt. NCC approvals for telecom or VAS activities do not authorise anyone to conduct or facilitate gaming in Lagos. That means your shiny NCC licence is not a free pass. The LSLGA wants state-level gaming licences, and it wants proof.

Telecoms and VAS providers must verify the licensing and tax compliance status of every gaming operator using their platforms. They must stop onboarding unlicensed operators immediately. They must suspend existing services that lack proper authorisation. And they must submit transaction, carrier-billing, and revenue-sharing records covering the arrears period.

That data will be used to assess unpaid gaming taxes, statutory levies, and other fiscal obligations. We are talking penalties and interest too. The Good Causes Levy is specifically mentioned. If you have been running a betting service on a telecom platform without remitting state levies, the LSLGA is coming for that money.

Why This Hits Different

This is not just about one or two rogue operators. The LSLGA is targeting the infrastructure itself. Telecoms are the pipes. Without USSD codes, short codes, and carrier billing, most mobile betting in Nigeria would grind to a halt. The regulator knows this. By forcing telcos to police their own platforms, the LSLGA is cutting off the oxygen supply to unlicensed operators.

The notice cites Section 33(3) of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Law 2021, which prohibits specified gaming activities without a valid licence. It also references Section 101(5), which says directors, managers, secretaries, and other principal officers can be held personally liable if an offence happens with their consent, connivance, or neglect. That is not a slap on the wrist. That is jail time territory.

For telecom executives, this means due diligence is no longer optional. If your platform facilitates unlicensed gaming and you knew or should have known, you could be in the crosshairs. The LSLGA is not playing.

The 30-Day Countdown

After the 30-day compliance period expires, the Authority says it will issue statutory notices and pursue enforcement measures. That could mean fines, licence revocations, or worse. The notice explicitly states that using telecom infrastructure, carrier-billing platforms, payment channels, or other technological intermediaries does not exempt gaming businesses from state licensing requirements.

In plain English: you cannot hide behind your telecom partner. If you are offering betting or lottery services in Lagos, you need a state licence. Full stop.

This directive also has a retroactive bite. The LSLGA wants records from November 22, 2024, to the date of the notice. That is nearly a year of transactions. Operators who thought they could fly under the radar during that period are now facing a full audit. The regulator will calculate exactly how much you owe in taxes, levies, and penalties. And you have 30 days to settle up.

What This Means For The Industry

The Nigerian gaming sector has been a wild west for years. Federal and state regulators have clashed over jurisdiction. The Supreme Court ruling in Attorney-General of Lagos State & Ors. v. Attorney-General of the Federation & Ors. settled the matter: states control lottery and games of chance. Lagos is now flexing that authority.

For licensed operators, this is good news. It levels the playing field. Unlicensed competitors who have been undercutting them by dodging taxes and levies will either have to comply or shut down. For consumers, it means more protection. The LSLGA says the notice is meant to protect consumers and safeguard the integrity of the gaming industry.

But for telecoms and VAS providers, this is a logistical nightmare. They now have to audit every gaming operator on their books, verify licences, submit years of transaction data, and suspend non-compliant services. All within 30 days. That is a massive operational lift.

What Happens Next

The LSLGA has made it clear: this is not a suggestion. It is a directive with a hard deadline. Telecoms and VAS providers who fail to comply will face enforcement action. Gaming operators who fail to regularise their status will be cut off from the platforms that keep them alive.

The notice also reminds operators to account for and remit all applicable licence fees, gaming taxes, and statutory levies, including the Good Causes Levy. If you have been skipping those payments, now is the time to make things right. The LSLGA has your transaction records. They know what you owe.

This move by Lagos could set a precedent for other states. If it works, expect more state regulators to follow suit. The era of federal-only gaming regulation in Nigeria is over. States are taking control, and they are using telecom infrastructure as their enforcement lever.

For now, all eyes are on the 30-day clock. Telecoms and VAS providers have until early November to comply. After that, the LSLGA has promised to unleash its full enforcement powers. If you are a gaming operator in Lagos, you should be talking to your lawyers. If you are a telecom executive, you should be auditing your platform. And if you are a bettor, you might want to check whether your favourite platform is licensed. Things are about to get real.

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Netflix just dropped the first Narnia trailer for Greta Gerwig’s The Magician’s Nephew, and the internet is already split down the middle. The trailer runs on Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” — a song that almost never gets licensed for movie soundtracks — and shows the literal creation of Narnia. Daniel Craig plays the magician. Meryl Streep voices Aslan. It hits IMAX on February 12, 2027, and streams on Netflix April 2, 2027.

The Trailer Is A Rock Opera, For Better Or Worse

Gerwig told Empire earlier this year she wanted “a rock opera” and that “Narnia is literally a world made out of music.” The trailer delivers on that promise. We see young Digory Kirke (David McKenna) and Polly Plummer (Beatrice Campbell) pulled into “infinity worlds” by Digory’s uncle Andrew Ketterley (Craig). Light magic, dark magic, a van with wings stopping behind a horse — it’s a lot.

That’s also the problem some fans have. The Geekiary’s Farid-ul-Haq wrote that the CGI fest and Jadis’s shiny outfit “lost” him, comparing the vibe to He-Man and A Wrinkle in Time — two movies that didn’t exactly set the box office on fire. The $200 million budget is reportedly real, and Netflix is betting big.

This is the first time The Magician’s Nephew has been adapted as a live-action film. It’s the sixth book in C.S. Lewis’s series but chronologically the first story, set 1,000 years before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Emma Mackey plays Jadis, the future White Witch. Carey Mulligan, Ciarán Hinds, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough, Susan Wokoma and Samantha Spiro round out the cast.

Gerwig’s Narnia trailer is also notable for being Netflix’s first real theatrical push. The streamer acquired the rights in 2018 and has mostly done limited runs for awards. This one gets IMAX previews on February 10, a wide release February 12, and then Netflix on April 2. That’s a big shift for a company that used to drop everything on streaming day one.

The Music And The Backlash

Andrew Watt and Mark Ronson — both Barbie collaborators — handled the score. The “Stairway to Heaven” needle drop is the trailer’s flex. Led Zeppelin rarely licenses that song, so Netflix clearly paid up. Whether it fits the film or just feels like a trailer trick is the debate.

The bigger controversy is Streep as the voice of Aslan. In the books, Aslan is a clear Christ figure. Casting a woman has already sparked criticism online. The Geekiary noted the backlash started before the trailer even dropped. Gerwig hasn’t addressed it directly in the sources we have, so this remains an open fan argument.

Gerwig’s statement about the film is heartfelt. She said she read The Magician’s Nephew as a child and fell in love with “a cosmic lion singing the world of Narnia to life.” She called it “the honor of a lifetime” to imagine it into being. That passion shows in the trailer’s ambition, even if the execution is busy.

Should Fans Be Excited Or Worried?

Here’s the honest read: the Narnia trailer is gorgeous but crowded. Gerwig proved with Barbie that she can handle a massive IP, a huge cast, and a trailer that gets clowned before release. Barbie had backlash too. It made $1.44 billion and got a Best Picture nomination. So writing this off now is premature.

But the concerns are real. Infinite worlds and multiverse logic have burned mainstream audiences before. The trailer leans hard on spectacle. If the story doesn’t ground Digory and Polly, it’s going to feel like a theme park ride.

What works: the young leads look likable, the creation-of-Narnia imagery is genuinely stunning, and the “Stairway to Heaven” choice signals Gerwig is swinging for something operatic. What doesn’t: the density of effects, the Jadis reveal, and the sense that Netflix is selling a franchise before it’s earned one.

The Verdict

If you’re a Narnia fan, watch the Narnia trailer. If you’re a Gerwig fan, watch it twice. If you hated the CGI-heavy fantasy boom of the 2010s, this might not convert you. But Gerwig has earned the benefit of the doubt.

Start with the trailer’s first 30 seconds — the quiet build before the magic hits. That’s where the film’s heart probably lives. Then decide if you’re buying an IMAX ticket for February 10 or waiting for April 2 on Netflix.

Either way, the conversation is just starting. And that’s exactly what Netflix wanted.

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