Hankook Tire Unveils Innovative Design Outcomes at ‘Design Innovation Day 2025’

Global leading tire company Hankook Tire & Technology (hereafter Hankook Tire) hosted the ‘Design Innovation Day 2025’ event on September 11 at its headquarters, the ‘Technoplex,’ located in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

‘Design Innovation Day’ serves as a platform for Hankook Tire to showcase its mobility technology vision and innovative design achievements, while presenting new solutions that integrate innovation, design, and sustainability. The event also reinforces collaboration with global partners to accelerate the company’s leadership in future mobility.

This year’s event brought together Hankook employees and key partners, including LG Electronics, Harvestance, and CALMANTECH. The gathering highlighted innovative design achievements and visions spanning sustainable manufacturing innovations enabled by 3D printing, robotics, and autonomous driving technologies.

During the event, Hankook Tire unveiled two outcomes from its Design Innovation Project. ‘Sustainable Concept Tire,’ the first reveal, was developed under the theme of “Future Sustainability” using advanced 3D printing technology. Utilizing renewable and recycled materials, the tire embodies the company’s ESG vision for sustainability. Its distinctive organic design was realized through a collaboration with Harvestance using the software ‘NTop.’

Hankook Tire also unveiled and demonstrated the multi-directional mobility platform ‘WheelBot 2.’ ‘WheelBot 2’ is an advanced version of the first-generation model co-developed in 2022 through a technology partnership with robotics startup CALMANTECH. It features a robotic wheel system equipped with tri-axial spherical tires. As part of the demonstration, Hankook showcased the ‘PathCruizer,’ a concept model powered by ‘WheelBot 2’ with a two-seater pod, presenting a differentiated solution that highlights new possibilities for future mobility services.

The event also featured a presentation by In-baek Park, Team Leader at LG Production Engineering Research Institute, on the topic of “Advancements and Importance of 3D Printing Technology.” The session provided valuable insights into the latest technological trends and fostered knowledge sharing among participants.

Hankook Tire is also accelerating its efforts to strengthen technology leadership by actively pursuing Open Innovation initiatives with leading domestic and global companies and institutions. Through these collaborations, the company continues to advance its technological capabilities and drive innovation across the mobility industry.

Since 2012, Hankook Tire has been driving the ‘Design Innovation Project’ in collaboration with leading design universities worldwide, including the University of Cincinnati in the U.S., the Royal College of Art in the U.K., and Pforzheim University in Germany. The company is also advancing innovation in future mobility through ongoing technology partnerships with LG Electronics, Rainbow Robotics, CALMANTECH, and other key partners.

Building on these efforts, Hankook Tire has consistently achieved outstanding results at prestigious global design awards, including the Red Dot, iF, and IDEA awards, further solidifying the premium stature of its unified global brand, ‘Hankook,’ and enhancing its global recognition.

Looking ahead, Hankook Tire plans to further enhance its global competitiveness by continuing to drive technology and design innovation, leveraging its state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure, one of the most advanced in the tire industry.