Digital ‘twin’ to speed up Kumho’s tyre development

Kumho Tire says it intends to respond more quickly to changes in the mobility sector by transforming its tyre development process. The tyre maker refers to its plans as a “digital transformation” and says it will create a “twin” of the tyres it develops in order to cut lead times. Through the use of big data and artificial intelligence, this digital twin will be able to predict the characteristics of the tyre’s compounds as well as how the tyre will behave when driven.

Kumho Tire worked with South Korean integrated ICT infrastructure solutions specialist Hyosung Information System to develop a system that can predict compound and tyre performance using these methods. The result is VCS (Virtual Compound Simulation), which predicts the characteristics of rubbers and related materials when designing tyre compounds, and VTS (Virtual Tire Simulation), which predicts a tyre’s driving performance. The tyre maker pairs its experience and accumulated data with Hyosung’s Pentaho data analysis platform.

The VCS system predicts the performance of new specification compounds by drawing upon accumulated test-based big data, eliminating the need to mix and vulcanise various recipes and thus cutting cost and time. Kumho and Hyosung say VCS can reduce the time taken to develop compounds by about 50 per cent.

Since tyres need to meet an array of driving performance requirements that include those for rolling resistance, braking, anti-abrasiveness, ride comfort, and noise and vibration, it is vital to optimise design factors such as compound, pattern, structure, and shape. The VTS system is a model that predicts tyre performance through a machine learning algorithm using big data based on tyre design factors and test results.

Redoubled efforts

“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, maximise efficiency, and raise technological competitiveness,” said Kim keewoon, Kumho Tire’s senior vice-president of tyre performance research. “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.”