Sustainable mobility of the future may very well carry Hankook’s signature! During its Design Innovation Day 2025 earlier this month, the renowned Korean tire manufacturer unveiled two innovations that offer a striking glimpse of tomorrow’s roads: a 3D-printed sustainable tire and a robotized vehicle able to dance gracefully, even in the tightest spaces.
PathCruizer: a vehicle that spins on the spot
What if your car could drive sideways like a crab, spin on itself, or glide diagonally? The PathCruizer, developed with the start-up CALMANTECH, makes this vision a reality. With the robotized WheelBot 2 platform and its futuristic spherical wheels, this two-seater can move in any direction effortlessly. Designed for narrow areas such as airports, urban hubs, or crowded parking lots, the PathCruizer perfectly illustrates how robotics can transform our everyday travel. Be sure to check out the demo video to see just how impressively smooth its maneuvers are!
Design Innovation Day 2025: when printing meets ecology
Imagine a tire produced not on a traditional assembly line, but layer by layer, like a particularly high-tech sculpture. That’s the promise of the Sustainable Concept Tire, made with recycled and renewable raw materials. Its unusual, organic design is inspired by the most efficient shapes found in nature. On top of that, its production aims to consume fewer resources while ensuring a longer lifespan.
This unique design was only possible thanks to a collaboration with Harvestance and the use of the NTop design software. Their cutting-edge expertise made it possible to develop a tire that is manufactured intelligently, recycled easily, and truly kickstarts the transition toward more environmentally friendly mobility.
These surprising innovations don’t just appear out of thin air. They are part of the Design Innovation Project, launched by Hankook in 2012. With universities like Cincinnati and the Royal College of Art in London, along with technology partners such as LG Electronics and Rainbow Robotics, the project has already delivered several prototypes. Many concepts have even won prestigious international awards such as the Red Dot Award and the iF Award.
In the end, the Design Innovation Day 2025 doesn’t just showcase spectacular prototypes. It paints a clear picture of a future where design, technology, and sustainability walk hand in hand long before they reach our roads! Stay tuned to our blog: reality might one day look very much like this Hankook-imagined future…
