The Yokohama Rubber Company announced that it began applying a proprietary rubber compound design system that utilizes AI-based compound generation technology. Yokohama says the new system was developed with the cooperation of Hamagomu Aicom, a Yokohama Rubber subsidiary specializing in information system development. Yokohama Rubber says it expects this new system will enable it the ability to speed up product development and develop higher-performance products.
The new system is the latest development promoting the use of Yokohama Rubber’s HAICoLab (Humans and AI ColLaborate) AI utilization concept. Yokohama says HAICoLab’s AI has learned tens of thousands of rubber compounds and can generate candidate compounds that combine more than 100 types of compounding agents. The new system compares the predicted physical property values of the generated candidate compounds with the targeted physical property values and proposes the compounds that meet the targeted values.
Yokohama Rubber established HAICoLab in 2020 as a new concept aimed at fostering digital innovations by facilitating collaborative efforts that merge human inspiration and creativity with the enormous data processing capability of AI. Under the HAICoLab concept, Yokohama Rubber is using AI to develop innovative products and services as well as processes. Through such efforts, the Yokohama Rubber Group says it will contribute to the realization of “Society 5.0”, a future society that will enhance people’s experiences and take advantage of innovative technologies such as AI and IoT, as advocated by the Japanese government’s Cabinet Office.
