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Siemens revolutionises engineering simulation

Siemens Digital Industries Software has set the benchmark for innovation in the field of engineering simulation with the launch of two groundbreaking solutions – HEEDS AI Simulation Predictor software and Simcenter Reduced Order Modeling software. These tools empower engineers to tackle the most complex challenges manufacturers face, delivering predictive performance with speed, precision, and efficiency. Siemens’ HEEDS AI Simulation Predictor unlocks new possibilities for manufacturers by empowering engineering teams to harness the potential of advanced AI-driven predictive modeling. As a new addition to the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, it can revolutionise design space exploration. Key Advantages: Optimise products with precision: HEEDS AI Simulation Predictor harnesses state-of-the-art AI with built-in accuracy awareness helps organisations to fully leverage the digital twin to fine-tune and optimise their products with unprecedented precision. Faster, more innovative designs: By tapping into historical simulation studies and accumulated knowledge, engineering teams can swiftly craft high-performing, innovative designs, significantly reducing time-to-market. Addressing the AI drift challenge One of the most significant challenges in AI-powered simulation is AI drift, where models extrapolate inaccurately when faced with uncharted design spaces. To address this challenge, HEEDS AI Simulation Predictor introduces accuracy-aware AI. This new technology actively self-verifies predictions, aiding engineers to conduct simulations that are not only accurate but also reliable in the context of real-world industrial engineering applications. HEEDS AI Simulation Predictor significantly improves various components of the gas turbine, leading to highly optimised designs and accelerated design cycles. “Thermo-mechanical fatigue predictions have been effectively upgraded to process ~20,000 design members in only 24 hours, yielding a 20% improvement in component lifetime. This has allows to fully characterise the limits of existing design space which is required for high-efficiency turbine engines. The HEEDS AI Simulation Predictor technology has saved over 15,000 hours of computational time. Siemens also introduces Simcenter Reduced Order Modeling, […]

What is the future of work?

Just like the world at large, the world of work shifts and changes over time. The future of work refers to an informed perspective on what businesses and other organisations need to know about how work could shift (given digitisation and other trends), plus how workforces and workplaces can prepare for those changes, big and small. When you think of the future of work, what do you picture? Offices that look more or less like today’s? Factories full of robots? Or something else entirely? While no one can predict the future with absolute certainty, the world of work is changing, just as the world itself is. Looking ahead at how work will shift, along with trends affecting the workforce and workplaces, can help you prepare for what is next: One in sixteen workers may have to switch occupations by 2030. That is more than 100 million workers across the eight economies studied—and the pandemic accelerated expected workforce transitions. Job growth will be more concentrated in high-skill jobs (for example, in healthcare or science, technology, engineering, and math [STEM] fields), while middle- and low-skill jobs (such as food service, production work, or office support roles) will decline. A few job categories could see more growth than others. The rise of e-commerce created demand for warehouse workers; investments in the green economy could increase the need for wind turbine technicians; aging populations in many advanced economies will increase demand for nurses, home health aides, and hearing-aid technicians; and teachers and training instructors will also continue to find work over the coming decade. But other types of jobs may be at risk: for example, as grocery stores increasingly install self-checkout counters, there may be a need for fewer clerks, and robotics used to process routine paperwork may lessen demand for some office workers. The future of work was shifting […]

Asia-Pacific most receptive to smart manufacturing usage globally

Companies believe smart manufacturing is key to their business’ future success, The State of Smart Manufacturing Report reveals. Plex Systems, a Rockwell Automation company in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, has announced the results of its 7th annual study, “The State of Smart Manufacturing Report.” The research reveals that smart manufacturing adoption accelerated by 50% globally in 2021, and these new technologies are now solving the industry’s critical challenges. Asia-Pacific (APAC) organisations (93%) view smart manufacturing as “very” or “extremely” important to future success, compared to North America (NA) (84%) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) (75%). Reflecting their optimistic attitude towards smart manufacturing, most APAC companies reported a shorter timeframe – “within the next 7 to 11 months” – for adoption of smart manufacturing solutions, compared with NA and EMEA’s majority response of “within the next 1-2 years”. The global study surveyed more than 300 manufacturers in a variety of industries including automotive, aerospace, food and beverage, electronics, consumer goods, plastics and rubber, precision metal forming, and more. This year’s report, conducted in collaboration with Hanover Research, offers valuable insights into trends, challenges, and future plans for global manufacturers. The report aims to help manufacturers benchmark their technology strategy and incorporate smart manufacturing best practices to stay competitive and thrive. A scalable technology strategy makes it possible to incrementally adopt solutions and achieve value quickly. As manufacturers look to streamline processes and solve today’s challenges, they are placing significant value on using smart technology to address and improve actual business outcomes. The report’s findings show the pandemic both exposed and exacerbated pre-existing conditions in manufacturing. Skilled worker shortages, competition, and supply chain disruptions are the top three challenges being faced by Asia-Pacific companies because of the pandemic. With that in mind, nine in 10 APAC respondents (93%) believe smart […]

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be people powered

Companies at the forefront of the technology frontier are empowering their workers with digital technologies—and the skills they need to use them. For many members of the world’s workforces, change can sometimes be seen as a threat, particularly when it comes to technology. This is often coupled with fears that automation will replace people. But a look beyond the headlines shows that the reverse is proving to be true, with Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies driving productivity and growth across manufacturing and production at brownfield and greenfield sites. These technologies are creating more and different jobs that are transforming manufacturing and helping to build fulfilling, rewarding, and sustainable careers. What’s more, with 4IR technologies in the hands of a workforce empowered with the skills needed to use them, an organisation’s digital transformation journey can move from aspiration to reality. While there is a common perception that digitisation and automation are a threat to the world’s workers, companies at the forefront of the technology frontier have actually created jobs—different, new roles that are much more high tech than the roles of the past. And with the current labor mismatch being felt in many countries, the time is now to further engage workers for a digitally enabled future. This focus is backed by growing research proving that workforce engagement is key. Over the last several years, research with the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with McKinsey, surveyed thousands of manufacturing sites on their way to digitising operations and have identified about 90 leaders. These are the lighthouses—sites and supply chains chosen by an independent panel of experts for leadership in creating dramatic improvements with technology. Together they create the Global Lighthouse Network, committed to sharing what they’ve learned along the way. A common theme among these sites is their worker centricity—they are supporting the […]

Horizons of growth in a challenging world

Image: Karsten Würth on Unsplash. “Over the longer term, the only way for the world to propel itself out of the low growth environment is through cooperation.” -Mirek Dusek The world is currently mired in a low growth environment, with the latest IMF forecasts projecting 2.8% global growth in 2023 and 3.0% in 2024 – rates which are well below the average experienced over the past decade. This is in the context of other ongoing fragilities including stubborn inflation, a global debt crisis, geo-economic rivalry, geopolitical conflict and vulnerabilities in the financial sector, among others. Despite this sobering outlook, or perhaps because of it, it is so crucial not to lose sight of avenues to relaunch growth and put us on a firm trajectory to new competitiveness and resilience. In this respect, I would like to point to three horizons of growth, for short-, medium- and long-term revitalization of the global economy: Reopened Asian economies Among the regions hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Asia is emerging from a protracted period of muted economic activity and looks set to resume its role as the world’s growth engine. China’s economic opening up earlier this year has provided a much-needed boost to both the regional and global economy. The reopening of crucial Asian economies at large provides us with immediate growth markets which can serve to spur growth in the short-term, while also establishing a base from which to overcome the low growth environment moving forward. In comparison with other regions, Asia-Pacific is by far the brightest spot for economic growth at present, with the IMF’s latest estimates projecting the region to contribute 67.4% of all global growth in 2023, and with China alone contributing 34.9% of that total. The annual growth rate for the region is projected at 4.6% for 2023, representing […]

Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023

1. Flexible Batteries Standard rigid batteries may soon be a thing of the past as thin, flexible batteries – made of lightweight materials that can be twisted, bent and stretched – reach the market. This new generation of battery technology – expected to hit a market value of $240 million by 2027 – has applications across medical wearables, biomedical sensors, flexible displays and smart watches. 2. Generative Artificial Intelligence This year’s list would not be complete without mentioning generative AI – a new type of AI capable of generating new and original content by learning from large datasets that was catapulted into public dialogue at the end of 2022 with the public release of ChatGPT. Evolving rapidly, generative AI is set to disrupt multiple industries, with applications in education, research and beyond. 3.Sustainable Aviation Fuel With 2%-3% of annual global CO2 emissions coming from aviation, and no sign of long-haul electric flights, sustainable aviation fuel produced from biological (e.g. biomass) and non-biological (e.g. CO2) sources could be the answer to decarbonize the aviation industry in the short to medium term. 4. Designer Phages Phages are viruses that selectively infect specific types of bacteria. Equipped with increasingly sophisticated genetic engineering tools, scientists can now reprogramme phages to infect the bacteria of their choosing, allowing them to target one type of bacteria in a complex community of co-existing types of bacteria such as in plant, animal and human microbiomes. Though many of the near-term applications will be in research, there are signs these “designer” phages could eventually be used to treat microbiome-associated diseases or eliminate dangerous bacteria in food supply chains. 5. Metaverse for Mental Health Responding to the growing mental health crisis, product developers are starting to build shared virtual spaces to improve mental health. Video games are already being used to treat […]

AI helps the impossible become possible

When Sandvik Coromant engineers, Henrik Loikkanen and Jakob Pettersson, were tasked with creating an AI-generated, stainless steel synthesis of some of history’s most famous works of art, their metal cutting expertise was put to the ultimate test. In partnership with Sandvik Group, Sandvik Coromant has developed a statue for the history books. Made using AI modelling and cutting-edge manufacturing solutions, the sculpture combines the dynamic poses of Michelangelo’s work, the musculature craftmanship of Auguste Rodin, the somber tones of Käthe Kollwitz, Takamura Kotaro’s Japanese influence and Augusta Savage’s inspirational defiance to unite some of history’s most famous artists from a period spanning 500 years. Weighing 500 kilograms and standing at 150 cm tall, the Impossible Statue was officially inaugurated at Tekniska Museet, Sweden’s National Museum of Science and Technology, in April 2023. Producing a statue in such a way has never been done before. So how did Loikkanen, Pettersson and the team craft this blend of art and science, past and future? When AI meets art AI has been around for some time, with intelligent machines tasked with performing activities that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, language translation and problem-solving. Its concept dates back decades with the earliest program written in 1951 by Christopher Strachey, later director of the Programming Research Group at the University of Oxford. But the emergence of new, conversational AI programs such as Google’s Bard and ChatGPT open up even more applications of the technology. Today, the achievements of AI seem almost limitless — it can even create art. After establishing a 2D design that brought together the styles of the five artists, Sandvik began translating the model into a complete 3D image. Using depth estimators to build the 3D model, human pose-estimators to refine the body, videogame algorithms to […]

Detecting faults: A stitch in time for manufacturing?

By Alessandro Chimera TIBCO’s director of digitalisation strategy The way we use data to monitor and control manufacturing systems has changed. TIBCO’s director of digitalisation strategy, Alessandro Chimera, explains the shape of the anomaly economy guiding operational performance management in manufacturing. “A stitch in time saves nine” is a well-known and well-worn adage. It neatly encapsulates the reality that early remedial action to deal with a minor fault detected can avoid greater repair costs caused by damage down the track. Never has this saying rang truer than in today’s high speed, high volume, near real-time manufacturing processes, often described as Industry 4.0, where rapid production can make fault detection difficult. Without appropriate anomaly detection and rapid intervention, it would be easy for large volumes of a flawed product to be distributed before a problem is discovered, or for expensive manufacturing machinery to be seriously damaged. Detecting anomalies does not only increase production it can produce considerable savings: machine downtime and possible damage can be avoided along with product wastage and, most importantly, flawed products can be detected before they are delivered to customers. However, this is not an easy task, even with the availability of massive amounts of real-time data, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This data is likely to originate in multiple different formats from different systems and scattered across many different locations. For example, some valuable data might need to be gathered from products that have already been shipped that have exhibited abnormal behaviour or failed. To make this data usable for AI and ML techniques, it must first be harmonised and related to the components of the manufacturing process it represents so it can be meaningfully analysed. This requires the use of an autoencoder. It is not an easy concept to explain in-depth, but simply […]

Decarbonise while you Digitalise

Nathan Knight, Hitachi Vantara’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, makes the case for a coordinated approach to decarbonisation and digitalisation Imagine that manufacturers have a character on each shoulder, one with the word PROGRESS emblazoned across its chest, and the other, SUSTAINABILITY. When deciding where to invest precious resources like time, expertise and money, they can feel like two competing priorities. “Pick me,” says Progress. “More digital services, more automation, more cloud, more diversification, more data analytics, more!” The other voice pleads, “But what about me? You have to consider the planet, responsible resource management, diversification of your staff and your supply chain. You have to reduce your emissions.” Sustainability’s voice is getting louder and more insistent. In the pursuit of digitalisation in the name of progress and competitive edge, the two do not have to be at odds with one another. In fact digitalisation is a powerful tool that can help manufacturers achieve the critical sustainability goal of decarbonisation. Many Eyes on the Manufacturing Sector Australia strengthened emissions reduction targets with the goal of net zero by 2050. According to Grattan Institute, decarbonising Australian industry is an “industrial revolution against a deadline” and the scale and pace of change required is unprecedented. The think tank has called for government policy change, stricter emissions limits and a focus on decarbonising heavy manufacturing and mining, which reportedly produce a third of Australia’s carbon emissions. The heavy industry sector collaborated with decarbonisation experts to form the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI), which says that regional Australia’s industrial economy could cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% and become centres for multibillion-dollar investments in renewable energy. It would take an unprecedented transformation of the energy system, they say. Acknowledging that the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, data centre and other sectors […]

Industry 4.0 transforming manufacturing processes for increased efficiency

Frank Baldrighi, business development manager – ANZ, GETAC Thanks to digital transformation powered by artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and machine learning (ML), manufacturing processes are becoming smarter, more efficient, and safer. This transformation is often referred to as industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, and marks the beginning of a new era of digitalisation, data-driven decision-making, and smart automation. In the manufacturing industry, digitising certain crucial key performance indicators (KPIs) has long been a challenge. Among these persistent issues is the need to reduce downtime and enhance worker productivity. Industry 4.0 promises to change this for both process and discrete manufacturers. By leveraging data as its core resource, Industry 4.0 delivers a ‘smart’ factory that is not only efficient but also capable of self-correction and self-optimisation. Mobile devices on edge have a crucial role to play in this modern data-driven landscape. These devices serve as a central access point for all data-driven decision-making processes. Their sturdy build and portability also make them highly reliable tools on the plant floor of a smart factory. Here are some ways in which Industry 4.0, through edge devices, can deliver results: Improve worker productivity To enhance the productivity of workers, mobile devices can serve as a valuable tool for completing administrative tasks effectively. This includes clocking hour sheets and signing off on completed tasks, which can be easily accomplished through the convenience of a digital device compared to manual and paper-based processes that often lead to inaccuracies and lack real-time visibility into production processes. Through the use of a mobile device, workers can access the company’s manufacturing execution system (MES), which offers centralised information and real-time updates. This delivers a more collaborative approach to work, ensuring that every worker is on the same page and working towards common goals. And, the ability to […]

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