Airless tyre wins automotive and transport award
Kumho’s ‘Birth On Nature’ tyre requires no inflation at all
An airless tyre has won an award in the automotive and transport category of America’s International Design Excellence Awards.
Kumho’s ‘Birth On Nature’ (BON) tyre doesn’t need to be inflated, relying instead upon a ‘voronoi architecture’- style design.
It’s the second year in a row that the South Korean manufacturer has been handed an award.
Jeong Taek-Gyun, the senior managing director of Kumho’s R&D headquarters, said: “It is very rewarding that Kumho’s latest example of futuristic design and technology has been recognised by the Industrial Designers Society of America, and means Kumho becomes the first passenger tyre manufacturer to win all three of the world’s top design accolades – Germany’s Red Dot and iF Design and America’s IDEA awards – two years in a row.”
Despite not being filled with air, the BON has the same level of structural stability that you’d expect to find with a traditional tyre.
Its design mimics that of leaf cells or honeycomb, giving it not only strength but also a good amount of economic efficiency.
