This photo provided by Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp. shows its OPW airbags.
SEOUL, March 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp. a carbon fiber business unit of South Korean textile and chemical conglomerate Hyosung Group, said Tuesday that it will supply airbags for Robotaxi, a completely autonomous vehicle developed by Amazon.
Hyosung Advanced Materials’ subsidiary and a airbag manufacturer Global Safety Textiles GmbH signed a contract to supply next-generation one-piece woven (OPW) airbags to Zoox Inc., Amazon’s self-driving vehicle startup, through an automobile parts supplier ZF Korea Co.
The airbags are the first of their kind to be used for self-driving vehicles, Hyosung Advanced Materials said.
The OPW airbags are made using a special technology that doesn’t require a separate sewing process.
They will be installed above Robotaxi’s four passenger seats that face each other, deploying from the ceiling in the case of an accident.
The airbags can sustain their inflated state much longer than other models, and are capable of ensuring better safety of the passengers.
The box-shaped Zoox Robotaxi, revealed late last year, is the world’s first completely autonomous vehicle.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
