The air-filled or pneumatic tire is composed of a core filled with airtight sealed pressurized air. Normally, a tread made with reinforced steel belting or other type of materials, seals this inner core and provides the contact area with the road.
Since the pressure of the air inside the tire is more 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. This gives the tire a slight degree of a cushioning effect as the tire hits bumps in the road. If you have experienced taking a ride in an old-fashioned carriage that had wooden wheels, you understand how big of a difference a set of pneumatic tires can make.
Pneumatic tires also come with drawbacks. Highly dangerous applications or high-performance situations for instance, these tires could suffer a puncture and this would lead to a total failure. The consequence of a blowout at high speeds could result in a serious car crash. Military planners have to consider tires getting blown out by shooting 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 evidently don't suffer from these issues and hence, in some applications, may be more suitable.
Pneumatic tires have one more issue involving variations in air pressure and tire performance. Lower tire pressure can create improved traction and increased comfort. This is because of the fact that tires flatten slightly and more tread is placed in contact with the road. The air pressure in the tire works to maintain the "up and down" stiffness as well as maintain the lateral stiffness of the tire. Therefore, reduced air pressure allows the tires' sidewalls to flex. Unfortunately, this results in poor handling. Within an airless tire, the stiffness in those two dimensions is independent.
There are other problems with air pressure. Consumers are notoriously undependable when it comes to maintaining correct air pressure. Tires which have wrong air pressure could result in unsafe situations. It is really important to note that pneumatic tires are susceptible to temperature changes too, which can be responsible for changing the internal tire pressure. It is really important to take into account the type of settings you will be needing your equipment to function in so that you could frequently inspect the tires and keep the machine as safe as possible.