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Virtual Development Center Breuberg: Pirelli aims to accelerate tire development with AI

Thanks to artificial intelligence and the application of neural networks, the tire manufacturer aims to reduce development time by one third - and the number of physical prototypes by the same measure. The environment is also expected to benefit from this.

Well simulated, half developed: Pirelli has put a virtual development center into operation - and aims to drastically reduce development time and effort. | Photo: Pirelli
Well simulated, half developed: Pirelli has put a virtual development center into operation - and aims to drastically reduce development time and effort. | Photo: Pirelli
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The Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli continues to invest in Germany and underscores its commitment with the opening of the so-called Virtual Development Center (VDC) at its site in Breuberg, Hesse. At the same time, this is seen as a milestone in tire development. The site with around 2,500 employees - including 250 engineers - is expected to fuel Pirelli's growth in Germany and accelerate development in general. The aim is to develop and test tires partially virtually in the future. The provider hopes to gain significant advantages for itself and its original equipment customers in the automotive industry.

The development time for tires is shortened by up to 30 percent, and the tire manufacturer requires up to 30 percent fewer physical prototypes. This not only saves time and money but also makes a significant contribution to sustainable production. The manufacturer aims to produce CO2-neutral by 2030. The driving simulator is a component of the virtual tire development process and enables increasingly precise results compared to conventional methods. It is hoped to better meet the requirements of automobile manufacturers.

 

From the perspective of Wolfgang Meier, Chairman of the Management Board of Pirelli Germany, simulation technologies and AI can also optimize the performance of tires for electric vehicles. This allows us to quickly respond to the dynamic demands of electromobility and future mobility concepts by developing tires specifically designed for these vehicles to maximize efficiency, safety, and performance.

"Electromobility changes everything – from tire performance to rolling noise. At the VDC, we anticipate and shape these changes by developing tires that meet the unique requirements of electric drives, such as improved traction and durability while simultaneously reducing rolling resistance and noise levels to optimize the electric driving experience," emphasizes Thomas Michel, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at Pirelli Germany.

 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and neural networks play an important role in this innovative tire development, Michel continues. They significantly accelerate the development of virtual tire models. What used to take hours or even days is now often done in just a few seconds. Michel even speaks of a "kind of virtual tire factory".

"In our VDC, we can develop tires for automobiles that do not yet exist in reality, but which are provided to us by automotive manufacturers as digital models," Michel continues to explain.

The engineers at Pirelli can input virtual versions of all vehicle models provided by the car manufacturers into the simulator. The test drives then begin with the virtual tire models. The engineers recognize how the vehicle's behavior is or should be influenced by steering, acceleration, and braking interventions on the virtual vehicle.

“The VDC, including the simulator, supports all virtual project phases for German car manufacturers," emphasizes Florian Waffenschmidt, Head of VDC Pirelli Germany. “In this process, we test tires virtually for combustion engines as well as our Elect-technology tires for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.”

With the Virtual Development Center and its static driving simulator, the manufacturer sees its role as an innovation leader in the tire industry highlighted at its German location. The combination of high-tech simulation, artificial intelligence, and expert knowledge is intended to pave the way for a "new era of mobility," the tire experts advertise.

Translated automatically from German.
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