In addition to employing the technology to expedite the tire development process itself, reducing development time, raw material consumption, and CO2 emissions, virtual tire development is already assisting Bridgestone in producing lighter, more environmentally friendly, and more effective tires.
Bridgestone is dedicated to providing sustainable innovation, with tire development playing a significant role. Bridgestone is a global pioneer in advanced solutions and sustainable mobility. We are making this process more sustainable and efficient with the use of cutting-edge virtual tire modeling and simulation technology.
Before producing prototypes and doing physical testing, we can develop a digital tire, test it virtually, and make any adjustments using our in-house Virtual Tyre Development technology. In addition to giving more accuracy and flexibility, this approach reduces development time, raw material consumption, and CO2 emissions, which results in considerable efficiency and environmental benefits.
Reducing our impact
Because the prototype tires are not manufactured during development, Virtual Tyre Development saves about 200 tires in each project we use the technology for. This results in a 60 percent reduction in raw materials and CO2 emissions during the tire development phase.
A final check with actual tires will always be on the schedule because the real world is, of course, our ultimate goal for any tire. However, because of Virtual Tyre Development, physical testing can be done later in the development process to complete the loop and finalize the tire. Traditionally, up to 40,000 kilometers of track testing are necessary to physically test the prototype tires. We offer a solution with Virtual Tyre Development that makes the process more sustainable and efficient by lowering the need for physical testing and the associated exhaust emissions.
We are trying to accomplish the responsible manufacturing objectives outlined in our CSR strategy, "Our Way to Serve," with this creative method. Due to the technology's success, we are now incorporating it into every step of our tire development procedures. Virtual Tyre Development has been used to launch our most recent high-end tires, including the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Reaping the rewards of more flexible development
More than ten years ago, Bridgestone EMIA started utilizing virtual modeling technology, but mainly for research purposes. In 2015, the Bridgestone Tyre Development Team began using the Virtual Tyre Development technology. Since then, our modeling and simulation portfolios have steadily advanced, reaching a very high degree of accuracy today.
Through the use of virtual tire modeling technology, Bridgestone can employ a virtual environment for a significant portion of the development process, forecasting the performance of various tires under various conditions before their physical construction.
Because it is so quick to tweak a tire's digital twin and test it on a driving simulator right away, virtual tire development gives us the flexibility to test a lot more variations of a particular tire. In addition to the significant environmental benefits, this can save up to 50% on time to market and associated expenses by reducing product development time and outdoor and fleet tire testing.
As a leader in tire virtual modeling, we have collaborated extensively with automakers in recent years to provide incredibly precise digital representations of our OEM tires and to use the technology to create our high-end replacement tires.
As a result, those automakers can utilize our virtual tires on driving simulators to create their automobiles. Virtual Tyre Development gives them a precise and reliable picture of how our tires will function. Physical testing at the latter stage of development revealed that the virtual and real tires produced results that were in line with each other.