Global leading tire manufacturer Hankook Tire & Technology (hereinafter Hankook Tire) held the 2025 Design Innovation Day on September 11 at its headquarters, the Technoplex, in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

Hankook Tire leverages Design Innovation Day as a platform to showcase its technological vision for mobility and its achievements in innovative design. New solutions combining innovation, design, and sustainability were also unveiled. The event strengthens synergy with global partners to accelerate the company’s leadership position in mobility for the years ahead.

Hankook employees and key partners, including LG Electronics, Harvestance, and CALMANTECH, participated in the event. Visions and achievements in innovative design were revealed, including advancements in sustainable manufacturing enabled by 3D printing, robotics, and autonomous driving technologies.

Hankook Tire unveiled two outcomes of its Design Innovation Project. The first concept, the Eco-Conscious Design Tire, was developed under the theme of future sustainability using advanced 3D printing technology. Made from renewable and recycled materials, the tire embodies the company’s ESG vision for sustainable development. Its distinctive organic design was created in collaboration with Harvestance using NTop software.

Hankook Tire also unveiled WheelBot 2, its multidirectional mobility platform, and gave a live demonstration. WheelBot 2 is an advanced version of the first-generation model co-developed in 2022 through a technology partnership with robotics startup CALMANTECH. The model is equipped with a robotic wheel system using triaxial spherical tires. During the demonstration, Hankook presented the PathCruizer, a conceptual model powered by the WheelBot 2 platform with a two-seater pod, offering new possibilities for future mobility services.

The event also featured a presentation by In-Baek Park, Team Leader at the LG Production Engineering Research Institute, on the progress and importance of 3D printing technology. The session provided valuable insights into recent technological innovations and encouraged participants to exchange knowledge on the topic.

Hankook Tire is also intensifying its efforts to strengthen its technological leadership by actively engaging in open innovation projects with leading companies and institutions, both domestically and internationally. Through these collaborations, the company’s technological capabilities continue to evolve, driving progress in the mobility sector.

Since 2012, Hankook Tire has been carrying out the Design Innovation Project in collaboration with leading design universities worldwide, including the University of Cincinnati (USA), the Royal College of Art (UK), and Pforzheim University (Germany). The company is also developing future mobility innovations through technology partnerships with LG Electronics, Rainbow Robotics, CALMANTECH, and other key partners.

Through these efforts, Hankook Tire has consistently achieved outstanding results at prestigious design awards, including Red Dot, iF, and IDEA, thereby strengthening its prestigious global brand image, “Hankook,” and gaining ever-increasing international recognition.

In the years to come, Hankook Tire aims to further enhance its global competitiveness through innovations in technology and design, leveraging its state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure—one of the most advanced in the tire industry.