Toby Ingleton |
This article first appeared in the Summer 2017 issue of The Record.
Working with the human heart is far from a straightforward process. But rather than approaching this in the physical world, the Living Heart Project enables the creation of interactive ‘virtual hearts’ using SIMULIA applications from Dassault Systèmes. The project, is supported by a consortium of leading researchers, educators, medical device developers, regulatory agencies, and practicing cardiologists. It is focused on enabling the development and validation personalised digital human heart models to enhance real world medical treatment. Due to its success, the project is being expanded to enable the development of other human body systems models.
With these virtual 3D models, physicians and surgeons are able to analyse the health of their patient, and plan therapies and surgeries accordingly. Furthermore, these models can be used to educate and train the next generation of specialists.
This is one example of industry experts using simulation technology to gain a new level of insight and revolutionise the way they work. Dassault Systèmes’ SIMULIA applications are enabling designers and engineers, across different industry sectors, to create accurate and insightful multiphysics simulations combining structural, fluid, electromagnetics analysis technologies.
SIMULIA applications also provide mechanical system simulation capabilities that enable users to simulate components, subsystems, systems, and systems of systems to gain a new level of insight into their functional performance.
“We can help with conceptual design, virtual testing, design validation, and, perhaps most importantly, we provide the ability to accelerate innovation using our simulation technology,” says Sumanth Kumar, vice president of SIMULIA Growth at Dassault Systèmes. “Users can get a thorough understanding of what’s happening, begin to see the unseen, and rapidly test out various scenarios using virtual models to support innovation in their particular industry.”
The wide range of simulation and optimisation applications under the SIMULIA brand are being delivered to the market as part of Dassault Systèmes’ industry solution experiences based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. This ensures that companies are able to leverage simulation technology tailored to meet their specific industry requirements.
Kumar points to four key industries where SIMULIA applications are being harnessed – automotive; aerospace and defence; industrial equipment; and marine and offshore.
“We are very strong in these core industries,” he says. “Simulation is a known entity within these four sectors.”
Beyond those core industries, Kumar describes high tech electronics, life sciences and consumer packaged goods as ‘growth industries’. “These are industries where companies are just beginning to realise the value of simulation,” he says. “There are some early adopters, and we have some customers in these industries actively using simulation technology. More and more small and medium sized businesses are coming around to the idea, which can only be a good thing for us.”
Kumar acknowledges there are still some industries where work needs to be done, including civil engineering and architecture, energy and natural resources. “We have presence in these industries but we could have a lot more,” he says. “There’s huge potential for SIMULIA’s applications here, and we see them as crucial to our future.”
In order to broaden the use of its simulation capabilities and align with the digital expectations of the modern customer, SIMULIA apps are making the leap to the cloud.
“We’ve explored the cloud concept over the past few years and released our first usable software on the cloud earlier this year,” Kumar says. “Our customers have been asking about on-demand and flexible licensing models. We have been listening and Dassault Systèmes has made significant investments in architecting the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for the cloud and in managing our cloud operations. While, companies have been hesitant to have their data reside on somebody else’s computer, we are prepared to serve those companies looking to innovate on the cloud today.”
Dassault Systèmes has therefore created a cloud framework for companies interested in adopting its simulation technology, based around three key pillars – software-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service.
“Our SIMULIA applications, powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, will soon be available on the Microsoft Azure platform,” Kumar says. “From a simulation perspective, we are continuously delivering SIMULIA apps as part of Dassault Systèmes’ industry solution experiences which are available on-premise or on the cloud.”
Kumar believes that through this flexible approach, more companies across the sectors Dassault Systèmes serves will begin to embrace simulation technology and start to reimagine some of the ways in which they work.
“The world is no longer operating in silos,” he concludes. “Customers want to solve their specific industry challenge. We are mixing and matching all these technologies and delivering simulation technology and workflows within specific industry solution experiences that enable our customers to achieve sustainable innovation.”