When the tyre industry speaks today about digitalisation, virtual validation and sustainability, it often does so in abstract terms – models, data sets, algorithms and computing power. Yet, at its core, tyre development remains an intrinsically human endeavour. Grip, stability, steering feel and ride comfort are ultimately experienced by people, not machines. Bridging that divide between digital precision and human perception has become one of the defining challenges of modern tyre R&D.

Few companies sit more squarely at that intersection than Ansible Motion. Known globally for its high-fidelity Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulators, the company has, over the past decade and a half, quietly reshaped how vehicle manufacturers, motorsport teams and – most notably – tyre makers think about simulation-led development.

At the centre of this evolution is Salman Safdar, Executive Director at Ansible Motion, whose perspective is shaped not only by technological ambition but also by a deep understanding of how tyres influence the driving experience in ways that no other vehicle component can.

ORIGINS ROOTED IN FIRST PRINCIPLES

Although Ansible Motion is frequently associated with motorsport and advanced vehicle simulation, its origin story is less about racing glamour and more about questioning inherited assumptions. When the company was founded in 2009, the dominant simulator architectures used in motorsport had been adapted from aerospace applications – an approach that Safdar and his colleagues believed was fundamentally flawed.

“When we started the company in 2009, it was to provide an alternative to aerospace-derived simulator architectures that were beginning to make their way into motorsport applications. At the time, many high-level racing teams were investing in technologies that were, from a first principles perspective, better suited to simulating aircraft than ground vehicles,” Safdar explains.

Aircraft and cars, after all, interact with their environments in profoundly different ways. Aerodynamic forces act over long distances and gentle arcs, while tyres generate immediate, localised forces through a constantly changing contact patch. Subtle road surface irregularities, rapid directional changes and short-range visual cues define the driving experience on the ground.“We intentionally departed from the popular, but limited, hexapod – or Stewart platform – and invented a novel, six-degree-of-freedom motion system built in logical layers corresponding to primary ground vehicle axes. The intention was that it would be linear, agile and highly dynamic – and that it would be much better suited to simulating ground vehicles than anything else,” Safdar explains.

Tyres, he notes, were central to that architectural rethink from the very beginning. “Tyres are one of the fundamental reasons why ground vehicle simulators need to be architecturally different from aerospace simulators. Directional changes are immediate with tyres… subtle disturbances that result from pavement irregularities are ever-present… human sensory experiences regarding vehicle control and stability are fundamentally different,” he says.

In that sense, tyre performance was embedded in Ansible Motion’s DNA long before the tyre industry itself became a direct customer.

FROM VEHICLE OEMS TO TYRE MANUFACTURERS

For much of its early life, Ansible Motion’s simulators were deployed primarily by vehicle manufacturers and elite motorsport teams. The tyre industry, traditionally more conservative in its adoption of immersive simulation, took longer to engage directly. That has now changed decisively.

“Today, the tyre industry is a core strategic pillar in our simulation R&D and sales pipeline, alongside OEM vehicle development, advanced mobility research programmes and motorsport. Currently, Michelin, Continental, Nexen, and most recently, Kumho Tire are trusting Ansible Motion driving simulators to develop their next generation of tyres,” Safdar says.

This shift reflects broader pressures reshaping tyre R&D. Development cycles are shortening, sustainability targets are tightening and the cost of physical testing – both financial and environmental – is under intense scrutiny. At the same time, the rise of electric vehicles has introduced new performance trade-offs, forcing tyre engineers to balance rolling resistance, noise, durability and grip in unfamiliar combinations.

Against this backdrop, Driver-in-the-Loop simulation has emerged as a powerful complement to conventional modelling and laboratory testing.

WHY DRIVER-IN-THE-LOOP MATTERS

At its simplest, DIL simulation places a human driver inside a virtual vehicle, interacting in real time with simulated tyres, roads and vehicle systems. For Safdar, the value lies precisely in that human presence.

“The key aspect of Driver-in-the-Loop simulation is the human element. Unlike other simulation and lab testing approaches, DIL simulation invites – in fact, it requires – human participation,” he says.

Modern tyre development depends on a complex interplay between objective metrics and subjective perception. Measurements of braking distance, lateral force or rolling resistance must ultimately align with how a tyre feels to a driver – how it communicates grip, how it responds on centre, how it rides over imperfect surfaces.

DIL simulators allow these subjective attributes to be explored much earlier in the development cycle and more frequently than is possible with physical prototypes alone. Crucially, this happens in parallel with traditional simulation and modelling work, not in isolation.

“This allows critical decisions to be made early enough to avoid delays and unexpected expenses in later stages of programmes. It also reduces costs and environmental impacts due to reduced prototyping,” Safdar notes.

Beyond efficiency gains, Safdar emphasises a less tangible but equally important benefit: collaboration. DIL simulators function as hubs where engineers, test drivers and decision-makers can converge around a shared experience.

“In a sense it enables tyre engineers to be engineers – so they can be more creative in a lower-risk environment,” he says.

THE KUMHO TIRE CASE STUDY

The partnership with Kumho Tire provides a clear illustration of how these principles translate into practice. Framed under the banner ‘Driving the Future with Digital Tyres’, the collaboration reflects a shared ambition to accelerate tyre development through digitalisation while embedding subjective assessment earlier in the design process.

“Both Kumho Tire and Ansible have a shared ambition to accelerate tyre development through digitalisation and to inject subjective assessments into earlier tyre design stages,” Safdar says.

Achieving that ambition requires more than just motion hardware. High-fidelity sensory cueing – perfect synchronisation between motion, visuals and steering feedback – is essential if drivers are to trust what they feel in the simulator. Equally important is process optimisation: a computational environment that integrates multiple modelling tools seamlessly and allows engineers to run tests efficiently and extract meaningful data.

Modern tyre development depends on a complex interplay between objective metrics and subjective perception. Measurements of braking distance, lateral force or rolling resistance must ultimately align with how a tyre feels to a driver – how it communicates grip, how it responds on centre, how it rides over imperfect surfaces.

Safdar believes Ansible Motion’s strength lies in precisely that integration capability. “We believe that Kumho Tire, in part, selected Ansible Motion due to our expertise in integrating advanced tyre models with other HIL, MIL, SIL software and hardware elements,” he explains, referencing hardware-, model- and software-in-the-loop methodologies. High-fidelity digital road surfaces, developed by Ansible Motion’s sister company rFpro, also play a key role.

There is also a market reality underpinning the partnership. “Within a highly competitive space, Ansible Motion supplies over 50 percent of engineering-grade DIL simulators to the marketplace. So perhaps there is some confidence in working with us,” Safdar notes.

FROM ASPIRATIONS TO MEASURABLE OUTCOMES

Digital transformation initiatives often falter at the point where aspiration meets execution. Safdar is candid about the need for clear targets and measurable outcomes if DIL simulation is to deliver real value.

“It’s important to have the aspirations in the first place. But it’s important to clearly identify targets and be able to measure achievements towards them,” he says.

He illustrates this using the concept of multi-attribute spider – or radar – charts, commonly used by tyre engineers to visualise trade-offs. For electric vehicle tyres, key attributes might include rolling resistance, durability, noise, wet and dry traction, load capacity and material sustainability. Improvements in one area often come at the expense of another.

“The end goal is to create a tyre that strikes an acceptable balance for a particular vehicle application,” Safdar explains.

The same logic applies to high-performance tyres, albeit with a different set of priorities: dry braking, wet handling, comfort, on-centre feel and tread wear, among others.

“Designing a tyre is a complex process. The utility of DIL simulation lies in its ability to keep real people involved with conceptual – digital – explorations of all the above trade-offs,” he says.

In practical terms, success can be measured in several ways. How much time was saved in reaching a design decision? How many prototype tyres were avoided? Did virtual prototyping improve alignment between objective data and subjective perception?

In some cases, entirely new metrics emerge, such as improved communication between tyre suppliers and vehicle OEMs during fitment programmes.

REPLICATING TYRE-ROAD INTERACTION

A recurring scepticism surrounding simulation is whether virtual environments can ever replicate the complexity of real-world tyre-road interaction with sufficient fidelity. Safdar’s response is clear: the fidelity depends less on the simulator itself and more on the quality of the models it integrates.

“DIL simulation – except for the human participant – is indeed a virtual environment. This means that human-experienced ‘tyres’ and ‘roadways’ and ‘vehicles’ are computer representations,” he says.

Ansible Motion does not develop tyre, road or vehicle models in-house. Instead, it provides an open, scalable co-simulation architecture – the Distributed Data Bus (DDB) – that connects industry-leading third-party models and customer-developed tools in real time.

“This gives our customers an engineering sandbox where they can use and combine different models that come from trusted third-party simulation providers as well as models that they might develop in-house,” Safdar explains.

The result is a test environment where subjective and objective assessments are conducted much as they would be on a proving ground – except that changes are made with keystrokes rather than tools, and hundreds of evaluations can be run without interrupting a driver’s mental state.

Safdar cites a recent example from Ansible Motion’s UK R&D centre, where a customer ran parallel DIL sessions on opposite sides of the globe. Within four hours, the teams gathered sufficient data to inform the next phase of tyre development. The equivalent physical testing, used as a correlation benchmark, had taken two weeks.

“Test drivers were scoring physical tyres against virtual tyres and seeking correlation within five percent – which they achieved,” he says.

THE DELTA S3 ECOSYSTEM

Central to many of these applications is Ansible Motion’s Delta S3 class of DIL simulators, including variants such as the Delta S3 Spin and S3 Thrust. Safdar is careful to describe them not merely as platforms but as complete ecosystems.

“They are turn-key DIL ecosystems that include all aspects of sensory cueing, including high-fidelity motion, visuals, steering feedback, haptics and audio,” he says.

Correlation with real-world data, he argues, is primarily a function of model quality rather than simulator mechanics. The simulator’s role is to deliver sensory cues accurately and collect driver inputs faithfully, while the DDB ensures synchronised execution across all models.

“If a simulator session and its supporting models are set up correctly… correlation is typically not an issue,” Safdar says. Deviations, when they occur, are often treated as valuable insights that help refine the models themselves.

WHERE SIMULATION DELIVERS THE GREATEST VALUE

From a tyre engineer’s perspective, the greatest benefits of simulation-based validation emerge early in the development cycle, when design freedom is at its highest.

“Simulation allows quick sanity checks on the numerous models and directs attention towards focused refinements of the selected few that show promise. This allows significant cost and time saving,” Safdar explains.

Further downstream, DIL simulation can eliminate entire rounds of prototype iterations, particularly in OEM fitment programmes. The return on investment is often easy for tyre manufacturers to quantify. Safdar points to Continental’s estimate that its simulator usage eliminates around 10,000 sets of test tyres per year, along with roughly 100,000 kilometres of physical driving.

MEETING THE EV CHALLENGE

Electric vehicles have intensified the demands placed on tyres. Higher torque loads, increased vehicle mass, stricter noise requirements and heightened sensitivity to rolling resistance all converge in ways that challenge traditional development approaches.

“Ansible Motion simulators can replicate a wide range of EV-specific scenarios, enabling engineers to tune vehicle performance by testing high torque behaviour, instantaneous load changes, lane changes, high-speed cornering and braking, while also modelling NVH and cabin noise more accurately,” Safdar says.

With lightweight vehicle structures limiting the use of sound-deadening materials, tyres play an increasingly prominent role in overall NVH performance. DIL simulators also allow safe exploration of energy efficiency, regenerative braking strategies and charge-deplete cycles.

Crucially, they enable engineers to explore rolling resistance optimisation in the context of competing trade-offs, such as reinforced constructions required to handle battery weight and torque.

DEFINING THE DIGITAL TYRE

Safdar defines a digital tyre as “a validated virtual representation of a real tyre which considers material properties, compound, tread design, tyre profile, contact patch information, aerodynamic and thermodynamic properties.”

Commercial viability depends on establishing strong correlation between digital and physical tyres, often through close collaboration with vehicle OEMs. When implemented effectively, virtual validation reduces reliance on early prototypes – saving time, cost and environmental impact.

“DIL simulation, in particular by incorporating the test driver’s subjective feedback at the early design phase, can inject insights that would otherwise not be discovered, thus avoiding costly late changes,” Safdar notes.

EXPANDING THE GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

Beyond established partnerships with Kumho, Continental and Michelin, Ansible Motion sees growing demand for digital R&D infrastructure across regions, particularly in Asia. OEM-driven virtual development programmes are increasingly mandating simulator use among suppliers.

Emerging markets and new entrants, especially in China’s rapidly expanding EV sector, represent a further growth opportunity. For these companies, simulation offers a way to compete with established brands on speed, cost and measurable ROI.

“Speed, reasonable cost and measurable ROI are key to success. And we’re happy that this falls within the core competencies of Ansible Motion’s products and solutions,” Safdar says.

LOOKING AHEAD

Over the next 5–10 years, Safdar expects tyre development to be shaped increasingly by digital twins and AI-generated models incorporating new compounds and manufacturing processes. Validation demands will rise, as will regulatory scrutiny, making simulation indispensable not only for development but also for homologation.

“Subjective driver evaluation remains a critical cornerstone of the driving experience and brand identity,” he says. Sustainability pressures will further accelerate the shift towards virtual validation.

“If we can help reduce environmental impacts and reliance on physical prototypes, we are happy to be a part of it,” Safdar concludes. “We would like to think that Ansible Motion is positioned as a key enabler of digital, data-driven tyre innovations.”

VMI has announced that it will showcase multiple new automation solutions at The Tire Cologne, aimed at advancing the retreading process. Among the innovations is an automatic splice unit, which will be on display and available for short demonstrations at the event. VMI account manager Ronald Noppers is scheduled to present on automation in retreading on 11 June at 12:45.

The company is introducing the automatic splice unit and automatic recipe loading as initial steps towards greater industry automation. Designed for applying extruded hot cushion gum to buffed tire casings, the VMI RETRAXX system currently relies heavily on skilled manual labour, a resource that is becoming scarcer and more expensive. To address this, VMI introduced an automated wingformer setting upgrade for the RETRAXX in 2024, allowing operators to start an automatic cycle that positions the wingformers without manual intervention.

Key advantages of these automation solutions include reduced operator dependency and improved uniformity and product quality. VMI will be located in hall 7 at stand number C-041.

MESNAC made a notable return to the Indian market by participating in the 2026 India Rubber Expo, held in Delhi from 7 to 10 April. After an eight-year absence from offline professional exhibitions in the country, the company presented its advanced machinery and intelligent manufacturing solutions. This participation highlighted its strong technical expertise and service capabilities within the rubber machinery sector while also signalling a renewed commitment to long-term growth and a deep-rooted presence in the region.

At the event, MESNAC’s Vice President, Wang Zhiming, and his team held productive discussions with representatives from several local tyre manufacturers, including long-established industry leaders and existing clients. These conversations focused on technical exchanges regarding core equipment. The company’s exhibition booth attracted nearly 100 professional visitors each day, which helped strengthen ties with long-term partners and facilitated in-depth technical dialogues with potential new collaborators.

Given the steady expansion of India’s tyre industry, MESNAC is dedicated to further strengthening its local market position through a focus on both technology and service. By supporting the sector’s continuous upgrade, the company aims to play a key role in the industry’s evolving landscape.

China’s Tercelo Tire Group is taking a measured, niche-led approach to global expansion, with India’s fast-growing mining sector firmly in its sights.

At a time when global tyre markets are being reshaped by regulation, geopolitics and intense pricing pressure, China’s Tercelo Tire Group is pursuing a strategy that favours clarity over scale. Rather than chasing volumes across crowded segments, the company is focusing on specific markets and applications where long-term demand fundamentals are strongest.

Nowhere is this approach more evident than in India, where Tercelo is positioning itself squarely within the off-the-road (OTR) tyre segment, aligned with the country’s rapidly expanding mining and infrastructure ecosystem.

The Chinese company, part of the Fortune 500 company Wuchan Zhongda Chemical Group, is a nine-year-old tyre maker selling products under the Tercelo, Transmate, Superhawk, Yingba, Three-A and Rapid brands, among others. The company claims to have over USD 7.2 billion in annual operating revenue and growing.

In an exclusive interaction with Tyre Trends, Akash Gupta, Country Manager – India & Africa, Tercelo Tire Group, said, “We are very new in this segment. We can say we are a small baby (in India) right now. But we are entering the market with a very clear mindset – slow growth, strong quality focus and very specific targeting.”

For a Chinese tyre manufacturer, India is not the easiest market to enter. It is fiercely competitive, dominated by strong domestic brands and governed by increasingly strict trade and quality regulations. Yet, Gupta believes that these very challenges make India strategically compelling.

“India is a very big market for the tyre industry. People like economical tyres – affordable tyres. Historically, Chinese brands always had some presence because of price competitiveness. Even a 10 or 20 percent market share is very big in India,” he said.

However, that landscape has changed significantly over the past few years.

CHOOSING INDIA AMID REGULATION AND RESISTANCE

India’s tyre market has undergone a sharp regulatory shift, particularly in response to rising imports and the government’s push to strengthen domestic manufacturing. Anti-dumping duties, mandatory BIS certification and tighter customs scrutiny have fundamentally altered the playing field – especially for Chinese manufacturers.

“The government started anti-dumping because they are giving scope to local manufacturers. If you don’t protect them, it becomes very difficult,” Gupta explained.

As a result, entire segments are effectively closed to Chinese imports. “PCR, motorcycle and some other tyres – nobody can bring them from China now. So Chinese tyres are not coming into India in these segments,” Gupta said.

While tyres continue to enter India from countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Japan, Gupta dismisses suggestions that Chinese manufacturers can simply reroute shipments through third markets.

“It’s not possible. A lot of people tried Dubai, but it failed. The cost is very high. You send tyres to Dubai, then again to India – the margins simply don’t make sense,” he stated firmly.

Faced with these realities, Tercelo made a deliberate strategic decision. “That is why our focus is not TBR or PCR. Our focus is only OTR,” Gupta said.

Unlike passenger or truck tyres, OTR tyres cater to a specialised industrial customer base, are less price-elastic and are closely tied to capital-intensive sectors such as mining, construction and quarrying. For Tercelo, this segment offers a more stable entry point.

He said, “OTR is a growing sector in the Indian market. We have Coal India, Adani, Reliance – a lot of mining companies. And now the government is also encouraging many small companies to enter mining.”

RISING THROUGH COVID-19

Tercelo’s rise has been shaped by disruption. The company began its manufacturing journey in 2019 — just as the Covid-19 pandemic brought global industrial activity to a standstill.

“When Covid started, all the factories in China were shutting down. But what our company did was something very different,” Gupta recalled.

Instead of retreating, Tercelo expanded. “They bought four factories in China – two for TBR, one for OTR and one for PCR. These were very major factories,” he said.

Among them were Super Hawk and O’Green Group, established manufacturing facilities with strong domestic reputations. “We started from there,” Gupta added.

This bold move allowed Tercelo to build scale quickly once markets reopened. “Today, we are selling more than one million tyres every year – OTR, TBR and PCR combined,” he said.

The company has also structured its brand portfolio carefully to address different geographies and customer expectations. “Our premium brand is Transmate/Tercelo (PCR, TBR and OTR),” Gupta explained. “Then we have Routeck (TBR) for the mid-segment, which is an economical tyre.”

For highly price-sensitive markets, Tercelo operates distinct brands. “StepRising (TBR) and EcoSaver (TBR) are only for Africa. Africa market prefers cheap tyres – low price, low quality. That is the reality,” he said.

This segmentation, Gupta believes, is critical. “You cannot sell the same tyre in Europe, India and Africa with the same positioning. Every market has its own mindset,” he averred.

INDIA’S OTR OPPORTUNITY: MINING, INFRASTRUCTURE AND LONG-TERM DEMAND

India’s mining sector is undergoing a structural expansion, driven by rising energy demand, infrastructure development and policy reforms aimed at increasing private participation.

“The government has given a lot of tenders to small, small companies to participate in mining. We believe the mining business for the next five years is going to be very big,” Gupta said.

While large conglomerates continue to dominate, the emergence of smaller operators is creating opportunities for mid-segment OTR tyre suppliers – exactly where Tercelo wants to position itself.

“We are manufacturing from small OTR to giant OTR tyres. But in India, we see ourselves more in the mid-segment of giant OTR (16.00-25 to 12.00-24),” he said. These tyres serve large dumpers, loaders and haul trucks used in coal, iron ore and limestone mines. “Big vehicles used by companies like Adani, Reliance – that is where our focus is,” he explained.

Rather than chasing aggressive volumes, Tercelo is targeting measured penetration. “We are not trying to take a big share. We are trying to enter gradually,” Gupta reiterated. The numbers reflect this caution. “We are targeting maybe two or three percent of the market initially. In the next three years, my target is five percent. I don’t want anything more,” Gupta explained.

For the executive, this is a realistic and sustainable ambition. “We are only six years old,” he says. “There are many Chinese companies – Triangle Tires, Techking Tires, Advance, Maxam – they are veterans of 20, 30, even 40 years.”

Competing with them requires patience. “Quality, consistency and service – that is how we will succeed,” he added.

REGULATORY CONTRADICTIONS AND MARKET REALITIES

Despite his pragmatic outlook, Gupta does not shy away from critiquing India’s regulatory inconsistencies, particularly in the TBR segment.

“The government has anti-dumping, but at the same time, some Chinese companies are getting BIS. Companies like Sailun, Jetsea and Double Coin – they have BIS (TBR),” he pointed out.

As a result, these brands are able to sell significant volumes. “They are selling 20,000–30,000 tyres every year, sometimes more,” Gupta revealed. For him, this creates mixed signals. He argued, “If your rules are rules, then stick to them. Why give loopholes?”

He adds that such decisions also affect domestic manufacturers. “Somehow, you are taking market away from MRF, Apollo Tyres and JK Tyre also. This feels negative,” he said.

These contradictions reinforce Tercelo’s conservative India strategy. “That is why we don’t want to get into grey areas. OTR is clean, focused and aligned with India’s growth story,” he explained.

AFRICA AND EMERGING MARKETS: VOLUME THROUGH PRICE

While India is a story of regulation and selective opportunity, Africa represents a completely different dynamic – one dominated by price sensitivity and limited technical awareness.

“I worked in Africa for almost 20 years. I know the market very well,” Gupta recalled. According to him, African customers prioritise upfront cost above all else. “They don’t want to invest a lot of money on premium tyres because their awareness is very little,” he explained.

Basic practices such as load management and tyre pressure maintenance are often ignored. “They don’t know how to drive vehicles properly, how to maintain air pressure – it’s just load and run,” Gupta said.

Premium tyres do have a niche audience. “If transporters are Indian or British, they understand quality. But local African customers want a USD 100 tyre. That is enough for them,” he said.

This lack of maintenance awareness drives high replacement demand – a reality Gupta acknowledged candidly. “Replacement is very high everywhere – India, Africa, even some parts of Asia. And trust me, all manufacturers love this problem,” he said.

He explained with disarming honesty that if customers started maintaining tyres properly, checking pressure, loading correctly, then the replacement market will reduce and business will go down. “And Frankly speaking, nobody wants that,” he said.

A MEASURED VISION FOR THE ROAD AHEAD

Unlike many new entrants who promise aggressive expansion, Tercelo’s leadership is deliberately cautious in its outlook. He averred, “We are not chasing big numbers. We are chasing stability.”

In India, that means aligning closely with mining growth, building credibility with fleet operators and gradually expanding product acceptance.

He reiterated that while the competition is severe, it is important to acknowledge that Tercelo Tire started in 2019. “Six years is nothing in this industry,” he pointed out.

Yet, Gupta remains confident that discipline will pay off. “If we maintain quality, service and pricing balance, five percent market share is more than enough for us,” said an optimistic Gupta.

As global tyre markets continue to fragment and regional strategies become increasingly important, Tercelo’s approach is looking at an alternative playbook strategy for India – focusing on a niche before building up to a larger play.

“We are starting slowly. But slow growth with the right direction is always better than fast growth with no control,” Gupta concluded. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily moving from experimentation to practical deployment in tyre manufacturing, where complex processes and variable raw materials often limit the effectiveness of fixed production standards. By analysing large volumes of plant data and responding to real-time process conditions, AI-driven optimisation systems are helping manufacturers improve efficiency, reduce waste and stabilise product quality. In an interaction with Tyre Trends, Vincent Barjaud of Braincube explains how such systems are transforming key production stages including mixing, extrusion and curing while complementing operator expertise.

The tyre industry indeed depends heavily on raw materials with significant variability, particularly those derived from natural sources and petrochemicals. These materials change over time and therefore are not always consistent in terms of quality and performance. Because industrial processes operate under constantly changing conditions, fixed production standards often create a hidden performance ceiling. Systems capable of adapting to real-time conditions allow plants to consistently reach the best achievable operating point.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping manufacturers move beyond fixed production standards towards more adaptive approaches. Real-Time Process Optimisation (RTPO) processes historical and real-time plant data to continuously adjust operating setpoints based on live process conditions. By responding to variability in raw materials, equipment behaviour and operating environments, RTPO enables plants to consistently operate closer to their optimal performance point.

Speaking exclusive to Tyre Trends on the integration of AI, Technical Partner Manager at France-based Technology firm Braincube, Vicent Barjaud, said, “Our AI-driven solution provides real-time process optimisation by recommending the exact action operators should take, on which actuator and at what moment. Instead of suggesting a broad operating range, the system recommends the precise optimal value in real time. Because operating context evolve during production, this optimal value may change within hours. The system continuously adapts to these changes to maintain optimal performance.” The company devises solutions to address the entire tyre manufacturing process, but the software is particularly effective in compound mixing, extrusion and curing, where material transformation through machine actuation makes these stages highly process-oriented and suitable for optimisation.

The implementation typically takes six to twelve weeks from project kick-off to go-live. During this phase, plant data sources are connected and structured for AI analysis without requiring access to confidential compound formulations.

Since most industrial players maintain historical data through data historians, this data is injected into the system, enabling real-time optimisation and recommendations from day one, and in rare cases where no historical data exists, a few weeks are required to gather sufficient operational data.

The solution can be implemented in any plant equipped with PLC-based automation systems, while additional digital systems such as MES, ERP or LIMS improve recommendation accuracy, although valuable real-time operator guidance can still be delivered with only historian data and basic inputs.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

According to Barjaud, one of the biggest opportunities for improvement lies in the uniformity of the final tyre, particularly during quality control at the end of production. This is largely due to the curing stage.

“Plants often operate dozens of different curing moulds. Each mould functions as an individual asset, but many manufacturers treat them as if they were identical. In reality, each mould behaves slightly differently, which can affect tyre uniformity. Recognising and optimising these individual differences can significantly improve efficiency and product consistency,” he added.

It is considered beneficial to treat each curing mould individually because every mould has distinct characteristics including differences in lifetime, behaviour, wear patterns, maintenance history and the time since its last servicing.

When moulds are treated as identical, these variations are overlooked. By managing each mould separately rather than as part of a uniform group, process optimisation can be achieved more precisely, resulting in improved efficiency and performance.

“Strong optimisation results have also been observed in extrusion, where start-up phases of new process orders typically generate scrap as the first few metres of material are discarded before reaching a steady state. By adjusting process parameters more precisely, the time required to reach this steady state can be reduced, thereby lowering start-up waste,” noted Barjaud.

Braincube’s optimisation approach works similarly to navigation apps such as Waze or Google Maps, which continuously adjust routes based on real-time traffic conditions to reach a destination faster.

In the same way, Braincube dynamically updates manufacturing parameter recommendations as process conditions change. Similar to navigation applications such as Waze or Google Maps, the system continuously adjusts the optimal ‘route’ for the process as new conditions emerge.

The approach also applies to extrusion processes, where significant material waste often occurs during machine ramp-up. By helping operators set the correct parameters from the first seconds of operation, the company reduces the amount of material that must be scrapped at start-up.

INTO MANUFACTURING

Braincube works with tyre plant engineering teams to define ideal performance targets such as acceptable tyre uniformity ranges. It analyses production data to identify the actuators and operating conditions that drive optimal results and provides real-time insights to operators so processes can be adjusted to keep tyres within the desired ‘super zone’ of uniformity.

In mixing, its system addresses inefficiencies during product changeovers. Since the first batch after a changeover starts under different conditions such as temperature, roll distance and machine state, it separates the recipe for the first batch from subsequent batches, ensuring consistent viscosity and composition while reducing the higher scrap rate typically seen in the first batch.

For curing, Braincube performs real-time optimisation by adjusting parameters such as steam injection, temperature and curing duration based on the specific mould and its operating conditions. It also helps extend mould lifetime by identifying moulds that can safely operate beyond the usual maintenance threshold of around 3,000 tyres, potentially extending their life by 20–50 percent.

Overall, waste reduction comes from replacing fixed production standards with dynamic optimisation, where the system continuously analyses real-time conditions and recommends adjustments to recipes and operating parameters, improving efficiency while lowering scrap and environmental impact.

“In one case with a top-five global tyre manufacturer that deployed Braincube across its factories, we observed waste reduction of around 70 percent during the extrusion start-up phase. This level of improvement can significantly reduce both material losses and production costs,” noted Barjaud.

MACHINE NEEDS MAN

Braincube approaches root-cause analysis by identifying the drivers of success rather than only analysing defects. Instead of focusing solely on scrap and deviations, the system studies past production data to determine the conditions under which the best tyres were produced.

By analysing the highest-performance production runs including machines, operators, raw materials and process conditions, it identifies the key factors behind superior performance and recommends settings that help replicate those results consistently.

Installing Braincube mainly involves resolving material traceability across the plant. During a six-to-twelve-week integration phase, the system connects to existing data sources and reconstructs where each product was at specific times in the factory.

Once this mapping is completed, Braincube can continuously process data and perform automated optimisation. Plants with strong traceability systems integrate more easily, while others may require certain assumptions during setup.

“Our solution’s recommendations typically achieve more than 90 percent accuracy, but the system is designed to assist operators rather than automatically enforce actions. Operators receive recommendations but remain fully in control of whether to apply them. If a recommendation is rejected, the system immediately recalculates a new suggestion based on the updated operating conditions,” explained Barjaud.

He added, “This human oversight is important because some real-world conditions may not be captured in the dataset. For example, a lower operating temperature may have produced good results in the past because a machine door was open, affecting process conditions. If that factor was not recorded by sensors, the system may initially recommend the same temperature again even though the door is now closed. In such cases, operators can reject the suggestion, ensuring that AI insights are balanced with practical judgment.”

Barjaud contended that operator expertise remains essential when using AI systems. While the system provides data-driven recommendations, experienced operators play a critical role in deciding whether to apply them.

Their deep understanding of the process ensures that AI insights are used appropriately, making the combination of human expertise and AI analysis key to achieving the best production results.

IMPLEMENTATION AND SAFETY

The company also partners with machine manufacturers through white-label agreements, allowing them to offer Braincube-powered optimisation services alongside their equipment. This enables customers to benefit not only from the machinery itself but also from continuous performance optimisation.

In the tyre industry, Braincube currently focuses on mixing, extrusion and curing and still sees major opportunities to expand optimisation in these processes. Even when analysing a specific stage such as curing or tyre uniformity, the system incorporates data from upstream operations like building and other production steps to understand the factors affecting final performance.

The emphasis on optimisation ultimately centres on the final KPI, since this reflects what customers pay for, which is finished tyre quality and uniformity. By integrating data from across the entire plant including upstream processes and raw materials, Braincube helps manufacturers consistently meet required product performance standards.

Also, many tyre makers have more than one manufacturing unit. Integrating Braincube’s solution across each one requires a simple collaborative excursive involving the French company’s team and a ‘Champion’.

“Most companies appoint a champion or a dedicated engineer responsible for replicating successes across plants. This person ensures that the best practices identified in one plant are standardised and implemented across other facilities,” explained Barjaud.

He added that companies usually deploy Braincube as a technical solution while also establishing a human organisational structure to drive replication and standardisation. The combination of technology and internal leadership ensures that improvements are scaled across multiple plants.

Besides, data security is a top priority for Braincube, especially because industrial manufacturing data is highly sensitive. The system complies with major cybersecurity standards such as ISO 27001 and SOC 2, and in its 18 years of operation, it has never experienced a data breach.

The company regularly conducts external penetration tests, maintains a dedicated cybersecurity team and operates under the supervision of a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) responsible for vulnerability management and system protection.

Regarding concerns about job replacement, Barjaud reported little resistance from engineers or operators. “Industrial environments have evolved through successive technological stages, from manual decisions to PLCs, closed-loop control, advanced process control and now AI. In this context, AI is generally viewed as the next step in improving efficiency, helping people make better decisions rather than replacing them,” he noted.

MARKET VIEW

Braincube operates globally with a full operational office in Europe but also has offices in United States and Brazil, which has supported the Latin American market for about 15 years.

From Europe, the company manages both European and Asian markets and works with several software distribution partners worldwide including in Thailand, India, Poland, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, UK and Italy, collaborating with firms such as Ematica to deliver and integrate its solutions.

In Asia, particularly in India and Southeast Asia, Braincube mainly relies on local partners rather than establishing its own offices. These partners, often industrial software distributors already working with automation systems, MES platforms and data historians such as AVEVA, handle integration and customer engagement.

The company is also engaging with new tyre manufacturers in Asia, typically through those partners who add Braincube’s AI-driven optimisation to their existing portfolios of PLC, SCADA and MES solutions.

Concluding the interaction, Barjaud pointed out that one of the biggest challenges for AI providers in the tyre industry is balancing multiple objectives such as throughput, energy consumption, material usage and product quality. n