Bridgestone integrates VI-grade’s simulator with existing AI and simulation technologies for virtualized tire-vehicle interaction.
UDINE, Italy, Feb 21, 2025 – VI-grade announced that Bridgestone has invested in VI-grade’s dynamic driving simulator. The new simulator will be installed at Bridgestone’s EMEA R&D Centre near Rome, Italy, enhancing their virtual tire development (VTD) capabilities and enabling a more sustainable and efficient approach to tire innovation.
With this investment, Bridgestone aims to scale up its ability to virtually design, test, and validate tires using advanced simulation and AI technologies. By combining VI-grade’s high-fidelity simulator with its existing simulation and AI technologies, Bridgestone can simulate complex tire-vehicle interactions adopting a fully virtualized process. This approach accelerates time-to-market, saves physical prototypes and improves collaboration with OEMs by enabling simultaneous tire and vehicle development through iterative virtual testing. Additionally, the new simulator will empower Bridgestone to achieve its sustainability goals by reducing physical testing and material waste. The company projects that up to 12,000 experimental tires will be saved annually, contributing to a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions and raw material consumption.
“This investment in our internal driver-in-the-loop simulation capabilities is a major milestone as we build a comprehensive ecosystem for accurately predicting tire performance in the virtual world. It also gives us the capabilities to experiment with new and innovative combinations of designs and materials in a fully virtual environment,” says Emilio Tiberio, chief technology officer Bridgestone West.
“Bridgestone’s investment in the state-of-the-art dynamic driving simulator reflects the trust that global industry leaders place in our simulation solutions,” added Guido Bairati, managing director at VI-grade. “Widely recognized as the industry standard and used extensively by OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers worldwide, our state-of-the-art dynamic driving simulator is the perfect tool for Bridgestone to enhance their virtual tire development capabilities, reduce time to market, and achieve their ambitious sustainability goals.”
For further information, please visit vi-grade.com.
