Hankook Wins Two IDEA 2026 Awards for Upcycling and WheelBot2 Innovation

Hankook Tire & Technology secured two finalist honors at the 2026 IDEA Design Awards hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), the company announced, recognizing its upcycling project ‘re:move’ and modular robotic wheel system ‘WheelBot2’ on the international stage.

IDEA Design Award Recognition for re:move and WheelBot2

The 2026 IDEA Design Awards evaluate entries based on user experience, sustainability, social impact, and technical innovation, standing alongside the Red Dot and iF Design Awards as one of the world’s three major design competitions. Hankook Tire earned recognition in two distinct categories for projects highlighting industrial sustainability and advanced mobility concepts.

The upcycling project ‘re:move’ received a finalist prize in the Social Impact Design category. Developed in collaboration with Seoul National University’s circular design research lab DiscoLab, the project utilizes ‘bladders’—the internal rubber components that apply pressure during tire molding—which typically end up as discarded factory waste. By processing these used bladders into powder, the partners created an upcycling series featuring furniture, bricks, and lifestyle goods. Prior to the IDEA recognition, re:move collected a Red Dot Design Award winner title, an A’ Design Award gold prize, and a Green Good Design Award.

WheelBot2 enables 360-degree omnidirectional movement

Alongside the sustainability project, Hankook Tire secured a finalist spot in the Concepts & Speculative Design category for ‘WheelBot2’. The spherical tire system incorporates a 3-axis driving movement structure. Each wheel features an independently driven internal motor paired with a crab walking drive motor to execute specialized steering maneuvers. This configuration enables 360-degree omnidirectional movement, allowing precise control and tight directional shifts within restricted spaces.