The air-filled or pneumatic tire is composed of a core filled with airtight sealed pressurized air. Usually, a reinforced steel belted tread or other type of materials, seals this inner core and provides the contact part with the road.
The tire will remain inflated with all the weight of the vehicle resting on it, because the pressure of the air inside the tire is greater than atmospheric air pressure. The pressure of the air within the tire provides resistance against forces that attempt to deform the tire. When the tire hits bumps in the road, this gives the tire a slight degree of a cushioning effect. If you have experienced taking a ride in an old-fashioned carriage which had wooden wheels, you understand exactly how big of a difference a set of pneumatic tires makes.
Surely, there are several drawbacks to pneumatic tires. For example in high-performance situations or highly dangerous applications, these tires could suffer a puncture and this would result in a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds could result in a dangerous car crash. Military planners should take into consideration tires getting blown out by explosion shrapnel or shooting of guns. The worst nightmare of a vehicle crew is becoming trapped within a fire zone because of all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires evidently don't suffer from these problems and hence, might be more suitable in some applications.
Pneumatic tires have another problem involving variations in air pressure and tire performance. Lower tire pressure can create increased comfort and improved traction. This is due to the fact that tires flatten slightly and more tread is touching the road. The air pressure in the tire works to maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire as well as maintain the "up and down" stiffness. Hence, less air pressure enables the sidewalls of the tires to flex. Unfortunately, this leads to poor handling. Within an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
There are other problems with air pressure. Customers are notoriously undependable when it comes to maintaining proper air pressure. Tires that have wrong air pressure could lead to dangerous situations. It is important to note that pneumatic tires are prone to temperature changes also, that can be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is really vital to take into account the kind of environments you would be needing your machine to function in so that you can check the tires regularly and keep the machine as safe as possible.