GM halves car development time using AI and simulation

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 21:32 · Archive

General Motors says artificial intelligence and simulation tools have cut vehicle development from four to five years to around two years.

General Motors claims artificial intelligence and simulation tools have cut vehicle development time in half, from the industry standard of four to five years to around two years. The company presented the approach at its GM Forward event in New York, with chief product officer Sterling Anderson describing the traditional process as a relay race where designers handed sketches to engineers, who then handed blueprints to manufacturing. This sequential process with iterations typically took four to five years, he said.

GM has developed its own machine learning tool trained on decades of in-house data that produces aerodynamic simulation results 'remarkably similar' to conventional computational fluid dynamics in about 60 seconds, compared with the 60 hours that method normally requires. Executive director of virtual integration Jason Fischer said the company can now compress around 100 days of test data into a single day and calibrate multiple systems in a driver-in-the-loop simulator before a prototype is built.

GM applied the approach to battery development for new lithium manganese-rich cells, completing screening that would normally require over 60,000 lab hours in just 256 hours. The battery moved from first pack concept to formal program approval in less than a month. The company says new V8 engines for the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado were also developed in around a third of the usual time.

How it is being reported

• GM says AI is halving the time it takes to develop a new carGeneral Motors claims machine learning and simulation are cutting vehicle development to around two years – and it has a Corvette ZR1 top-speed story to prove it.The West Australian · 22 Oct, 21:04
• GM says AI is halving the time it takes to develop a new carGeneral Motors claims machine learning and simulation are cutting vehicle development to around two years – and it has a Corvette ZR1 top-speed story to prove it.Perth Now · 22 Oct, 21:04

In this story: General Motors · Sterling Anderson · Jason Fischer · Chevrolet · New York

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