Tire Ground Contact Simulation for Transient Vehicle Behavior

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods fail to accurately simulate the behavior of a vehicle with mounted tires during travel due to the lack of precise measurement and reflection of tire ground contact characteristics, such as grip force distribution and shear stress, which are crucial for predicting the vehicle's behavior.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle action simulation system that includes a rotary drum with a stress measuring portion to measure grip and shear stresses, a processing portion to calculate tire ground contact characteristics, and a vehicle behavior simulation portion to predict the vehicle's behavior based on these characteristics, along with a tire angle control and position control mechanism to replicate actual vehicle conditions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If real vehicle tests are conducted to collect action data, then the quality and realism of training data is improved, but the time consumption and development cost increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of training dataVSAvoidtime consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a virtual copy of the vehicle and its operating environment through 3D modeling. This virtual model replicates the physical vehicle's characteristics and allows data collection in a simulated setting, eliminating the need for extensive real-world testing while maintaining data quality for training autonomous driving algorithms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary 3D modeling and scene construction before actual data collection needs arise. By pre-building virtual environments and vehicle models, the system can rapidly generate training data without requiring time-consuming real vehicle deployments and tests.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If real vehicle tests are conducted to collect action data, then the quality and realism of training data is improved, but the development cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of training dataVSAvoiddevelopment cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a virtual copy of the vehicle and its operating environment through 3D modeling. This virtual model replicates the physical vehicle's characteristics and allows data collection in a simulated setting, eliminating the need for extensive real-world testing while maintaining data quality for training autonomous driving algorithms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses computationally efficient rendering techniques and optimized simulation methods that reduce the need for expensive hardware resources. The virtual environment can be rapidly instantiated and disposed of, replacing costly physical test setups with more economical digital alternatives.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Measurement precision

If 3D models with high detail are created for vehicle simulation, then the visual quality and realism are improved, but the rendering time and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisual qualityVSAvoidrendering time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different levels of model detail to different parts of the scene based on their importance. Critical areas such as the vehicle body and key components use high-detail models, while background elements and less important areas use lower-detail representations, optimizing the balance between visual quality and rendering performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent renders only the necessary portions of the scene at high detail levels rather than entire scenes. By selectively applying high-quality rendering only where needed for training data accuracy, the system reduces overall computational burden and rendering time while maintaining sufficient visual quality for the intended application.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3896423B1Vehicle action simulation method and vehicle action simulation system
Publication Date: 2026.05.20 BRIDGESTONE CORP
  • EP3896423B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3896423B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3896423B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

In a vehicle action simulation method according to the present invention, a behavior of an actual vehicle during travel is predicted, and an attitude of a tire and a rotational speed of a rotary drum are changed to reproduce a transient change in a tire attitude that occurs during the travel of the actual vehicle on the tire while the predicted behavior of the actual vehicle during travel is reflected, stress applied to the tire in contact with the rotary drum of a tire ground contact characteristic measuring portion is measured, tire ground contact characteristics are calculated, the behavior of the actual vehicle during travel is predicted while vehicle characteristics predicted from the tire ground contact characteristics are reflected, and the prediction, the reproduction, the measurement of stress, and the calculation are performed in parallel.