AKRON—Goodyear will install a dynamic driving simulator at its Innovation Center in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, a move the company said will strengthen its product development and enhance technical collaboration with its Akron headquarters.
The European site will receive a DiM250 (Driver-in-Motion) Dynamic Driving Simulator from VI-grade GmbH. Another DiM250 recently was installed in Akron.
Both of Goodyear's innovation centers also have VI-grade compact simulators.
Driving simulators allow tire models to be developed, tested and validated early in the development cycle, identifying the best performing tires before building a first prototype, Goodyear said. This matches with the pace of the automotive development process, providing tire models at the right time when requested by vehicle manufacturers.
"This level of simulation capability is a clear technology leadership advantage," Chris Helsel, Goodyear's senior vice president and chief technology officer, said in a statement. "We are always looking to improve the development process and maintain our status as the preferred supplier for our customers."
Established in 2005, Darmstadt, Germany-based VI-grade describes itself as the "leading" provider of software products and services for advanced applications in the field of system level simulation
"With DiM250 and Compact simulators on both sides of the ocean, Goodyear is now at the forefront of virtual tire development and gains a significant competitive advantage when it comes to collaboration with automotive OEMs and accelerated product development," said Guido Bairati, Vi-grade's VP of global sales and marketing.
