Kumho Tire says it is working to digitally transform its development process to respond quickly to rapid changes in the mobility industry. To achieve this, it will actively leverage big data and artificial intelligence (AI) in product development to build a digital twin that predicts compound properties and tire performance.
Working with Hyosung Information Systems, Kumho has recently developed virtual compound simulation (VCS) and virtual tire simulation (VTS) processes that take advantage of AI and big data. VCS predicts the lab characteristics of rubber during compound design and VTS simulates the driving performance of tires.
Kumho claims the VCS system makes it possible to anticipate the performance of novel compounds with new properties by using AI to analyze test-based big data that has built up over time. In general, developing tire compounds is a long and costly process since it involves mixing and vulcanizing substances to develop rubber that meets a range of complex requirements, such as those for energy loss, friction and wear. VCS makes use of simulation to considerably reduce the number of tests, which translates into the potential to cut tire compound development time by up to 50%.
The VTS system is expected to cut development time by up to half, using design factors and test-based big data and leveraging machine learning algorithms to predict tire performance.
“In a proactive response to dramatic changes in the mobility industry, we have pooled our IT and digital resources to build a digital twin system that helps reduce development time and costs, maximize efficiency and raise technological competitiveness,” said Kim Keewoon, SVP of tire performance research at Kumho Tire. “Going forward, Kumho Tire will redouble its efforts to develop technology-intensive products that incorporate the needs of consumers by creating an advanced and future-oriented development environment.”
