An air-filled or pneumatic tire is composed on an inner core which is sealed airtight and filled with pressurized air. Normally, a tread made with reinforced steel belting or other kind of materials, provides the contact area with the road and seals this inner core.
As the pressure of the air in the tire is greater than atmospheric air pressure, the tire remains inflated even with a vehicles' weight resting on it. The pressure of the air within the tire provides resistance against forces which 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 precisely how big of a difference a set of pneumatic tires can make.
Pneumatic tires also come with disadvantages. Highly dangerous applications or high-performance situations for instance, these tires could suffer a puncture and this would lead to a complete failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds can result in a serious car accident. Military planners should take into consideration tires getting blown out by firing of guns or explosion shrapnel. The worst nightmare of a vehicle crew is becoming trapped in a fire zone due to all of their tires becoming flat. Airless tires obviously don't suffer from these type of issues and thus, in certain applications, could be more suitable.
The pneumatic tire may have problems as well with the variation in tire performance and air pressure. The lower pressure inside a tire could increase the comfort level and the traction. This is because of the fact that tires flatten a little and more tread is placed in contact with the road. The pressure of the air inside of 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 tires' sidewalls to flex. This leads to poor handling unfortunately. In an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
Air pressure factors into other problems also. When it comes to maintaining correct air pressure, consumers are notoriously unreliable. Improper air pressure within tires could result in very dangerous situations. It is important to note that pneumatic tires are also prone to temperature changes, which can be responsible for changing the internal pressure of the tire. It is important to consider the kind of settings you would be requiring your equipment to operate in so that you could frequently check the tires and keep the machine as safe as possible.