Nexen Tire has established a high-dynamic driving simulator at its central research institute, The Nexen UniverCity, in Seoul, South Korea. The simulator – believed to be supplied by Ansible Motion – is the first of its kind in the Korean tire industry. It is intended to support tire research and development using VR and AI technologies.
The simulator enables testing of acceleration, steering response, braking and other performance metrics in a variety of driving conditions. Nexen Tire said it expects to minimize unnecessary trial and error, reduce prototype production and real vehicle testing and accelerate innovation while cutting costs.
The company also expects the simulator to support faster and more accurate alignment with original equipment (OE) requirements, and strengthen collaboration in developing tires for new concepts and high-performance vehicles. Furthermore, less reliance on prototypes and physical testing will contribute to reducing the use of fossil fuel.
Building on this milestone, Nexen Tire plans to gradually establish a full virtual development process that integrates finite element method (FEM) analysis and AI technologies, with the long-term goal of replacing all tests with simulation-based validation.
“Ahead of the industry trend toward virtual development of vehicles and tires, the establishment of our high-dynamic driving simulator is a strategic investment to lead the future mobility sector,” said John Bosco (Hyeon Suk) Kim, CEO of Nexen Tire. “By combining VR and AI technologies, we will enhance both the efficiency and precision of our R&D while contributing to ESG management, thereby strengthening our global competitiveness.”
In related news, Apollo Tyres has announced the upcoming opening of its outdoor tire testing facility in Ivalo, Finland, specifically engineered for winter and all-season tire evaluation