#Nonwovens / Technical Textiles
Hyosung advanced materials supplies airbags to Amazon’s self-driving cars
Robotaxi, which was unveiled in December last year by Amazon's self-driving car startup Zoox, is the first fully autonomous vehicle with a shape of a box. Such a design is frequently used in purpose-built vehicles (PBVs), which offer various interior spaces according to the diverse usage purposes. Airbags to be installed in PBVs thus require unique design that ensures extensibility accommodating flexible use of spaces. Hyosung Advanced Materials is the first supplier of airbags to fully autonomous PBVs.
In particular, ‘safety’ is a key factor in the new sector of fully autonomous driving. Airbags of self-driving cars should be designed in three dimensions so that it may protect that passengers with a more diverse and freer postures than in traditional vehicles. In a robotaxi, new generation OPW airbags manufactured by GST are mounted on all four-seats, face-to-face symmetrical seating configuration. An entirely different concept from conventional airbags was applied to the robotaxi airbags as they are deployed from the ceiling and at 90 degrees to protect passengers who may opt for diverse space layouts inside the vehicle.
Based on decades of experience, GST has been working with customers to develop new safety solutions through continuous innovation. This capability enabled the company to achieve swift development and production that meet the new mobility trends, including the advancement of self-driving, and respond flexibly to the requirements of new-generation airbags to be mounted in purpose-based vehicles (PBVs). This is why GST is favored by customers like Amazon.
Hyosung Advanced Materials CEO Jungmo Hwang said, “Our material technology provides users with ‘safety’ and ‘comfort.’”, “Based on GST's excellent product development capacity and OPW airbag manufacturing technology, we will continue to roll out innovative products that meet the increasingly diverse needs of users in the era of new mobility.”
