Designing the Future

Computer-aided design changed the way engineers and designers turn ideas into renderings. Like most paradigm shifting technologies, the full implications of CAD weren’t initially understood by design engineers or the coders that created the software, but the results have been undeniable. Better designs, faster to market. Today, the combination of vastly more powerful, affordable hardware plus cloud connectivity with technologies like AutoCAD has freed engineers and designers from the office workstation and made the design process something done anywhere, anytime. Autodesk vice president Rob Maguire is an expert and former coder himself with deep roots in CAD software development. He speaks with engineering.com’s Jim Anderton about AutoCAD, the cloud, and the future of engineering design.Learn more about how to create precise 2D and 3D drawings.

On this episode of Designing the Future, we speak with Dania El Hassan, Autodesk Product Management Lead for AutoCAD desktop products. Dania takes us through how design software is evolving to provide a more connected, more automated experience for designers. We discuss the growing role of web and mobile platforms, the advantages of personalized software insights, the impact of COVID on design software, the future of the file, and much more.Learn more about AutoCAD 2022, the connected design experience.

Advances in affordable computational capability changed engineering fundamentally with the advent of CAD/CAM. It has changed civil engineering too, in disciplines as diverse as materials, site and structure design, and building performance.Today, it’s even more complex as the Internet of Things promises to connect everything, everywhere, feeding vast amounts of data into engineering management and design systems. Key to managing this dataflow is the digital twin. Digital twin not only facilitates the simulation of complex designs and construction tasks virtually, it allows engineering professionals to feed building performance data into virtual systems, giving unprecedented modelling power to create higher performance, lower cost, safer buildings and systems.Jim Anderton speaks with Bob Bray, Senior Director and General Manager, Autodesk Tandem, who outlines how the digital twin will revolutionize multiple aspects of the architecture and engineering sectors.Autodesk Tandem Digital Twin Platform Launches for AEC. Learn more here.

Cloud computing, the Industrial Internet of Things and advanced automation promise to fundamentally change the way manufacturing operates in the next ten years. Multiple software platforms will give way to unified, integrated systems that operate from the front office to the loading dock. But how?Dassault Systèmes’ Vincent Frerebeau talks about this issue and the future of manufacturing.Learn more about the 3DEXPERIENCE on the Cloud.

The engineering of complex systems needs advanced design tools to succeed on time and on budget. Simulation is a cornerstone, but simulation by itself is not enough. Maya HTT vice president of innovation and industrial AI, Remi Duquette describes how design software power users can ensure that clean data results in robust and successful designs with AI-enhanced simulation.Click here to watch the latest in video.

Ian Campbell is the founder and CEO of OnScale, a cloud-based platform for simulation. Ian has a B.S in mechanical engineering from Middle Tennessee State University as well as an MSAE in aerospace engineering and an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Before OnScale, Ian founded and led NextInput, a startup that developed 3D Touch and ForceTouch sensors.On this episode of Designing the Future, Ian explains his vision for cloud simulation and why he believes legacy simulation providers will need to catch up or fall behind. He discusses the role of AI in cloud simulation, his company’s view of digital twins, why the cloud is key for democratization, design for 5G, how OnScale was influenced by cloud-CAD platform Onshape, and more.Click here to watch the latest in video.

Energy is everything. It underpins all aspects of modern life yet the basic technologies of generation and distribution haven’t changed in decades. The proliferation of low cost, high reliability sensor technology, along with easy connectivity with the Industrial Internet of Things has made it possible for everything from downhole tooling and oil rig to massive hydroelectric projects to report large amounts of information about real-time performance.Properly managing this data will be the key to increasing generation and distribution efficiency for the energy sector, including fast developing green technologies such as solar photovoltaic and wind generation. John Nixon brings three decades of industry experience to the conversation and delivers interesting insights into the key technologies that will power the future.Click here to watch the latest in video.

Nand Kochhar is the Vice President of Automotive and Transportation Industry at Siemens Digital Industries Software. A veteran of the automotive industry, Kochhar spent much of his career as a Chief Engineer at Ford before joining Siemens in early 2020.On this episode of Designing the Future, Nand describes the current state of autonomous vehicles and what it will take to reach full Level 5 autonomy. He explores why the trucking industry is leading the AV charge, the role of 5G and smart cities for AVs, AV safety and cybersecurity, how AV developers choose between different sensors and strategies, the importance of simulation for training autonomous vehicles, and why the Trolley Problem is so difficult to solve.Click here to watch the latest in video.

Software has changed the way airplanes are flown, navigated and maintained. But what about the way they’re developed?Dale Tutt, Vice President, Aerospace & Defense Industry for Siemens Digital Industries Software has managed important aerospace programs for decades, and he sees new, tech driven solutions that are drastically shortening airframe and powerplant development timelines and lowering costs. In this episode, Tutt explains how dynamic technologies such as digital twin, iterative design, advanced simulation and 3D printing let the aerospace industry expand the performance envelope while minimizing program risk.Click here to watch the latest in video.

In this decade, 5G has become the hottest technology since the telephone. 5G promises to change connectivity from business-to-business, or person-to-person and connect every individual and device in our lives, from the clothes we wear to the cars we drive, and generate unimaginable amounts of usable data in the process.Siemens industry veteran Fram Akiki is a noted expert in 5G and is watching the evolution of this technology from the inside. He notes that there are technical limitations to the rollout of 5G, but they are surmountable and cost-effective. Can 5G make the Internet of Things as ubiquitous as the World Wide Web itself? In this conversation with engineering.com’s Jim Anderton, Akiki lays out the future.Click here to watch the latest in video.