The organisers of the inaugural 2026 Smart Prototypes Summit (SPS2026) report that the event, held from May 19-22 at the VI-grade SimCenter in Udine, Italy, was a success. The Smart Prototypes Summit is a development of VI-grade’s popular Zero Prototypes Summit events.
The theme of the event was ‘Beyond Zero: Welcome to the Smart Era’, reflecting the industry’s transition from isolated simulation workflows toward fully integrated smart testing ecosystems that combine virtual simulation, physical testing, AI-supported engineering, and connected data intelligence.
The summit welcomed more than 320 in-person attendees from over 100 global companies across the automotive, motorsport, commercial vehicle, tyre and technology sectors, with an additional 1,500 attendees following the live-stream of the event online. 40 keynote and technical presentations were made across the four days of the summit, spanning six dedicated technology tracks, 25 live technology demonstrations, user group sessions, networking events, and conference sessions.
You can watch the official event recap video HERE.
A recurring theme throughout the summit was the growing convergence of virtual and physical testing into connected engineering workflows – something that is already being deployed in real-world development programmes.
Presentations and live demonstrations showcased how the industry is moving beyond experimentation toward scalable, intelligent execution environments capable of accelerating development while improving correlation, efficiency, and engineering insight.
“The question is no longer whether to simulate or physically test,” said Guido Bairati, VP of sales at HBK and managing director of VI-grade. “The real challenge today is how to intelligently combine both worlds. Smart Testing is the answer to that challenge, and SPS2026 demonstrated that this vision is already becoming reality.”
Tanneke Reinders, executive VP, simulation and validation at HBK, added: “The first Smart Prototypes Summit showed how simulation, validation, AI, and data intelligence are converging into one connected engineering ecosystem. By connecting the physical and virtual worlds, we can help customers accelerate development cycles and bring products to market faster.”
Post-event proceedings, including presentation PDFs, and selected video recordings, are continuously being released on the official SPS2026 website.
An official photo gallery from the event is also available.
Attendees and online participants can also access the recordings of all seven livestream sessions, including the official Smart Testing launch presentation by Tanneke Reinders and Guido Bairati, together with all customer keynote and technical presentations delivered throughout the Summit. Registration-based access to the livestream recordings remains available online.
