Goodyear is going virtual and has just become the first tire manufacturer to purchase a driving simulator. They did this to increase their development capabilities, which could mean better and more personalised tyres. The VI-Grade driving simulator is a very interesting direction that has a lot of potentials.
Going virtual
The movement to virtual reality (VR) is constant. More and more problems are given virtual solutions and for good reason. Goodyear is going virtual in the hopes to be able to work closely with other manufacturers. Because of the ability to fine-tune and test many different aspects of the product. This will be one major benefit to this advancement.
“This level of simulation sophistication will allow Goodyear to drive breakthroughs in future tyre creation, leading to an enhanced customer and driver experience,” says Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s senior vice president and chief technology officer. “I’m proud to say that Goodyear is leading the industry with VI-grade and our simulation solutions, and we look forward to sharing that benefit with our customers.”
What is DiM?
Driver-in-Motion is the feedback system for this simulator. DiM allows the user to experience the simulation more accurately than ever before thanks to the nine-degrees-of-freedom moving platform. The goal of this product is to bridge the gap between testing and simulation.
A promising innovation
Goodyear could be really stepping up the game for tyre manufacturing and the virtual market. This news could be really promising when the next generation of tyres comes out.