Smart Electric Tires
Kumho Tire picked up the Winner Prize in the concept category of Germany’s International Forum Design Award 2023.
The iF Design Award is an international design competition that was first held in 1954 and celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. It has a jury of 133 experts from around the world.
The award-winning product, Airborne Tire, is a system tire for urban air mobility (UAM), and Kumho Tire planned a UAM system tire using a magnetic field in line with a forecast that the Korean UAM market will expand.
Airborne tires can move an aircraft by rotating their wheels using electricity only without a separate wheel motor through magnetic suspension and rotating wheel devices. When the aircraft is in the air, only the power of a magnetic field is used to keep the tire wheels in the air. The mixture of rubber parts and airless parts reduces the strong impact that passengers may feel by enabling a soft landing.