Skip to content
  • KOSPI 2745.82 -9.29 -0.34%
  • KOSDAQ 910.05 -1.20 -0.13%
  • KOSPI200 373.22 -0.86 -0.23%
  • USD/KRW 1350 -1 -0.07%
  • JPY100/KRW 892.24 -0.48 -0.05%
  • EUR/KRW 1458.27 -4.53 -0.31%
  • CNH/KRW 185.94 -0.31 -0.17%
View Market Snapshot
COVID-19

Auto parts maker Mando to co-develop COVID-19 ventilators with NASA

By Aug 24, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)

2 Min read

nasa

Mando Corp, a South Korean auto parts manufacturer, has been picked by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a ventilator co-developer for its global project to aid patients suffering from acute respiratory diseases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mando is one of 28 companies chosen from six continents to produce ventilators for the project, according to NASA’s statement on its website. A total of 96 companies had submitted proposals to participate in the project. Mando was the only Northeast Asian company chosen.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is carrying out the project, dubbed VITAL, to develop ventilators in partnership with companies worldwide to meet global demand during the pandemic. Mando will co-develop ventilators and supply them for emergency use, according to company sources on August 24.

The South Korean company has been working to apply its automotive technology to medical device development, which it plans to nurture as its new growth sector.

Its redundancy steering system, a safety mechanism, was likely key in getting the nod from NASA. In 2018, Mando succeeded in mass-producing its dual-mode steering system with the redundant mode, a key technology for autonomous driving.

Compared to ventilators used at hospitals, the ventilators Mando are developing with NASA will have minimum mechanical and electronic components so that they can be used outside the hospital. They are optimal for emergency use: in the field, in disaster situations, in isolation facilities and in temporary hospitals.

Mando has been ramping up investment in medical device development and has set up a team in charge of this business. In line with this, it is developing air injectors for patients with sleep apnea, when breathing pauses during sleep.

“Starting with air injectors for personal use, we will roll out a broad range of medical devices,” a Mando source told the Korean Investors.

“As long as we stick to our key business of auto parts manufacturing, we are unlikely to develop into the next stage. We are exploring various new businesses, including the medical device business,” said Mando’s Senior Vice President Cho Seong-hyeon.

Meanwhile, its bigger homegrown rival Hyundai Mobis Co. has been putting effort into developing electric vehicle and self-driving technologies alongside its affiliates Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp.

Write to Byung-uk Do at dodo@hankyung.com


(Photo: NASA website)

Yeonhee Kim edited this article

Comment 0
0/300