Kumho Tire Wins Grand Prize at 'IDEA', One of the World's Top 3 Design Competitions

Airless-Based Fin-Sread Tire That Does Not Require Air
Meets 5 Evaluation Criteria Including Innovation and User Benefits

Kumho Tire won the grand prize on the 15th at the 2021 North America IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards), one of the world's top three design awards, for its airless Fin-Sread tire.

Photo by Kumho Tire

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Kumho Tire announced on the 15th that it won the grand prize at the 2021 North America IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards), one of the world's top three design awards.

IDEA, hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), is considered one of the world's top three design competitions alongside Germany's Red Dot Design Award and iF Design Award.

Kumho Tire explained that the Fin-Sread tire, which won the grand prize this time, met five evaluation criteria: design innovation, user benefits, advantages for business clients and brands, social benefits, and aesthetics.

Kumho Tire newly designed the tire platform of the Fin-Sread tire to achieve driving performance suitable for future vehicles. Departing from the conventional concept of supporting vehicles through rubber and air, it created a new tire structure based on airless technology. This structure actively implements the performance required for future vehicles, such as safety, comfort, and low noise.

In particular, the Fin-Sread tire collects and utilizes big data such as road data and traffic information based on a 5G environment, communicates organically with autonomous mobility, and implements performance that changes moment by moment according to needs.

It was also recognized for excellence from an environmental perspective. Existing tires cause environmental problems because large tires must be discarded entirely depending on the degree of wear or damage. This tire allows only the tread to be replaced in case of damage or wear, enabling the establishment of an eco-friendly tire ecosystem.

Jomansik, Head of Research and Development at Kumho Tire, said, "The new concept Fin-Sread tire realizes the performance needed for electric vehicles and purpose-built mobility vehicles (PBV) and will actively drive future mobility."

He added, "Kumho Tire is proactively responding to rapidly changing technology trends by actively utilizing big data and artificial intelligence technologies in tire development, building a tire digital twin environment, advancing performance prediction systems, and securing next-generation advanced technologies. We will continue to be a mobility partner that provides customers with a stable and enhanced value experience through innovative technology and future-oriented design."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.