Hankook Tire to develop AI-based tire pattern generation models

Hankook & Company Co., the holding company of South Korea’s largest tire maker Hankook Tire & Technology Co., said on Friday that it signed a contract with AI software company MakinaRocks to develop an "AI model for tire pattern design generation."

This collaboration project builds on an idea selected as the grand prize winner in July's internal competition, which focused on utilizing insights from generative AI for tire products and design.

The project aims to develop pattern designs that maintain tire products' target performance while satisfying designers' aesthetic preferences.

To achieve this, Hankook & Company Group will create an environment where AI can learn tire pattern designs. This includes defining tire pattern performance and design, standardizing and quantifying pattern images, and developing technologies to collect external data.

The company plans to establish a "pattern integrated database" to enable staff across research and development (R&D), design, and marketing to easily and conveniently access information during product development.

MakinaRocks will use the data from Hankook & Company Group to develop a generative AI model for pattern design, leveraging both generative AI and composite AI. Composite AI combines various AI models, allowing for more complex and sophisticated tasks than a single model.

Hankook & Company Group expects that once the AI model development is complete, it will be able to reduce the time required for pattern design development by up to 50% compared to existing processes.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com