Hyosung to equip airbags on Amazon’s self-driving cars

Hyosung Advanced Materials will equip Amazon’s fully autonomous vehicles with its next generation one piece woven (OPW) airbags.

The company said on Mar. 16 that it signed a deal with Amazon’s autonomous vehicle startup Zoox, to supply airbags to Zoox “robotaxi” model from 2022.

The deal marks the airbag industry’s first supply contract regarding Amazon’s autonomous vehicle business.

OPW airbags, manufactured by the South Korean company's airbag affiliate Global Safety Textiles (GST), use a special weaving technology that bypasses the sewing process.

The weaving technology allows OPW airbags to maintain the inflated state for a longer period than ordinary airbags, ensuring extra safety for passengers according to the company.  

Zoox robotaxi is Amazon’s first fully autonomous vehicle unveiled in December 2020. The box-shaped vehicle can carry up to four passengers and has an interior design starkly different from that of traditional cars.

GST’s airbags are to be fitted in each of the four seats and are deployed from the above, as opposed to the front or the sides, and unfolds perpendicularly covering the passenger. 

GST holds numerous patent rights on OPW airbags, including the “X-tether” patent used to keep the airbags in shape after deployment. GST also had invented the world’s first PET(polyethylene terephthalate)-based airbag.

“We will continue to provide innovative products suitable in the era of new mobility, based on our OPW airbag technology and GST’s cutting-edge product development capability,” said Hyosung Advanced Materials CEO Hwang Jung-mo.

Write to Kyung-min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com
Daniel Cho edited this article.