Hankook has been given the title of “Highly Commended” under the “Tyre Manufacturer – Producer” category at the Journey to Automation Awards (J2A Awards), as a result of the company’s Virtual Compound Design system. The Awards Show has been organised by the European Rubber Journal.
The European Rubber Journal (ERJ) Awards Hankook’s AI Research
As one of the world’s leading publications in the automotive industry, the J2A Awards recognise tyre brands’ efforts in automation and digital transformation. During its inaugural ceremony, Hankook was recognised for its Virtual Compound Design (VCD) system that predicts the characteristics of tyre compounds and finds an optimal combination through artificial intelligence (AI) analysis.
The VCD system, which was established in 2015 is an ongoing project designed to lay the foundation for AI-driven tyre development, with Hankook collating various data from previous AI tyre research, as well as performing different analysis of the data to develop as “big data” with the potential to apply AI, if possible.
In the following years since the start of the project, Hankook collaborated with the prestigious Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) to advance the AI model the company had created. This partnership led to an improvement in accuracy by applying new AI technology such as auto machine learning (Auto-ML). This was followed by an integration of Amazon Web Services into all processes, enabling Hankook to store, process, and analyse huge amounts of data such as that gathered from the VCD system, with plans to gradually integrate the AI system into its compound development process starting next year and completing the virtual compound design technology by 2023.
“We are honoured to be recognised for the challenge that we have been taking to change the future of mobility and create endless possibilities through digital transformation. We believe that our commitment to advance this new endeavour will not only transform how the tyres will be produced in the future but set a new paradigm for the entire automotive industry”, says Bonhee Ku, Senior Vice President and CTO of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd..
Aside from the VCD system, Hankook has developed a series of AI-based technologies including “Automatic Inspection Process” based on AI and digital sensors and a facility abnormality prediction system CMS+ (Hankook Condition Monitoring System Plus) in line with the company’s ambition to lead digital transformation in the automotive industry.
