Hankook Tire has won in the Professional Concept and Communication categories at the iF Design Awards 2021. Hankook was recognized in both categories for its Design Innovation Project 2020.
Design Innovation is Hankook’s R&D project, held every two years in collaboration with one of the world’s leading design universities. Through joint research, the project puts forward a vision for future driving and solutions that tackle today’s mobility challenges. For the Design Innovation 2020, Hankook collaborated with professors and students from the Department of Industrial Design at the University of Cincinnati.
Under the theme ”Urban Reshaping,” the project visualized transformation of cities by reconfiguring mobility as part of living spaces rather than stand-alone. It exists in a future which adopts augmented automation infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies such as eco-friendly technology, autonomous driving and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
A modular platform, which Hankook proposed and named “Hankook Platform System (HPS)-Cell,” was recognized as the winner of the Professional Concept category. It applies “Hankook Innovative Performance (H.I.P),” which represents Hankook’s technological breakthroughs and emphasizes that the tire indeed sits at the center of mobility. In particular, Hankook says it received high scores in the Form criterion, which evaluates aesthetics and execution, as well as in the Differentiation criterion, which evaluates individuality and intrinsic value.
The tire of HPS-Cell is an airless tire featuring unit-cell structure. It is a concept tire that uses sensor technology, variable wheels and optimized infrastructure to identify tire treads and road conditions in real time, respond to wear-out risks and change tread patterns according to road conditions.
In addition, the Design Innovation Film 2020, the concept film to bring the conceptual tire and HPS-Cell platform to life, won the award in the Communication category. The film illustrates how an urban population in the future may use this kind of mobility platform. Hankook says it was highly scored in the Impact criterion, which evaluates sustainability and social contribution.
