More than 200 attendees joined VI-grade and HBK’s Smart Prototypes Summit North America in Novi, Michigan, September 15–16, bringing together experts from General Motors, Stellantis, Rivian and other automotive companies to examine how simulation and physical testing can improve vehicle development.

Held at the Multimatic Vehicle Dynamics Center, the two-day event focused on a practical engineering challenge: making decisions earlier in development while ensuring virtual models accurately reflect how vehicles behave in the real world.

The first day featured demonstrations, customer presentations and a panel with experts from Multimatic, Astemo, Stellantis and GM. Topics included vehicle dynamics, noise, vibration and harshness, advanced driver assistance systems, and driver-in-the-loop simulation, which allows human drivers to evaluate a virtual vehicle. Day two extended the discussion into durability, reliability and physical testing through the HBK nCode and ReliaSoft User Group Meeting, with contributions from GM, Rivian, MGA Research, Bendix and Integral Concepts.

The summit’s evolution helps explain its focus. Previously known as the Zero Prototypes Summit, the series emphasized reducing reliance on physical prototypes through virtual development. Its 2024 edition attracted 300 people in person and a total audience of 1,200 including remote attendees. The first event under the Smart Prototypes name took place in Udine, Italy, in May 2026, drawing more than 320 in-person participants from over 100 companies, plus 1,500 online attendees, according to the organizers. (vi-grade.com, vi-grade.com)

The new name signals a broader emphasis on connecting simulation, measurement and physical validation throughout development.

“After years of advancing virtual testing with our ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits, the Smart Prototypes Summit 2026 reflects the next evolution,” Gabriele Ferrarotti, then identified as senior marketing director at VI-grade–HBK Virtual Test, said when announcing the format in October 2025. (vi-grade.com)

Combining The Virtual and Physical

HBK president Ben Bryson describes the objective on the summit website: “Our job is to bring virtual and physical together, to really create a closed-loop innovation environment.” (conference.vi-grade.com)

That approach has growing relevance as vehicle functions become more interconnected through software. BMW’s Neue Klasse architecture, for example, consolidates computing for infotainment, automated driving, driving dynamics and basic vehicle functions into four high-performance computers. Such architectures make the interaction between software, electronics and mechanical performance a central development concern. (bmwgroup.com)

The summit’s May program illustrated how engineering workflows are responding. Bridgestone and Volkswagen presented their work on jointly developing vehicles and tires virtually, while Synopsys and VI-grade outlined a development process linking early chip and software simulation with vehicle-level testing. The commercial objective is to identify integration problems sooner, when changes can be made before expensive physical builds. (conference.vi-grade.com)

Emerging Role of AI

AI is also entering these workflows. On September 17, HBK and VI-grade announced a partnership with MOVEdot to bring AI agents into simulation and physical testing. A MOVEdot presentation at the May summit described agents running simulations, evaluating setups and comparing simulated results with physical measurements. These applications put AI to work on the coordination and analysis surrounding engineering tests, with measured vehicle behaviour providing the basis for checking results. (vi-grade.com, conference.vi-grade.com)

Next Conferences in UK, Japan

The series next visits HORIBA MIRA in Nuneaton, United Kingdom, on October 21, with contributions from Nissan, Bentley and JLR. A November 25 event in Nagoya, Japan, will include Toyota, Mazda, Suzuki and TOYO TIRE, among others.

Both upcoming events are free to attend, subject to advance registration and availability. For manufacturers and suppliers, their central question is commercially significant: how to reduce development time and prototype costs while maintaining confidence that a vehicle will perform as intended.