Despite many countries being restricted by the pandemic at the beginning of the year, 2021 has managed to bring another year of massive technological innovation. From the acceleration of green hydrogen to the messenger RNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) that brings us the two most effective COVID vaccines information.), to more advanced computer models of language, we see it all.
While innovation continues to evolve, Ansys predicts that by 2022, simulation and artificial intelligence (AI) will become more powerful than ever. Leveraging growing trends in AI, such as AI engineering and generative AI, Ansys will help its customers become faster, more efficient, and more competitive. Here are some of our thoughts on the trends that will most impact simulation in 2022:
AI is every company's golden ticket
Simulations today are governed by the laws of physics. At Ansys, we use physics-based simulation to enable customers to "trial-run" hundreds of different product designs without the need for physical prototypes. However, for complex products, the simulation process can take thousands of hours. But with AI, you can speed up your simulations by a factor of 100, and it all boils down to engineering the training data with AI.
In terms of simulation, AI engineering involves feeding the simulation program with multiple use cases, resulting in different outputs. However, the amount of training data required for the simulation is so high that many engineers simply ignore it. The latest innovation from Ansys is a machine learning-based partial differential equation solver that allows this kind of training to be done using far less training data, while maintaining the same level of accuracy. This faster and more efficient way of running simulations will pave the way for product development in 2022.
In addition to AI engineering, simulations will also be influenced by generative AI. In traditional design, engineers use computer-aided design (CAD) tools to design products. It is then handed over to analysts who analyze how the product works. Both are repeated until the design is at its best, like how architects and structural engineers work together to create a building that is both beautiful and structurally sound.
Generative AI digitizes this process, but on a large scale. You come up with an idea and name the constraints, and the AI generates 10,000 possible designs. With the power of fast simulation, these designs can be generated quickly, and the computer will provide the three best designs, saving a lot of time and money. Like receiving suggestions after searching for a product on Amazon, generative AI will provide design suggestions that may not have been thought of at first. The resulting boost in creativity will become important in 2022 as companies look to keep up with changing market demands.
With the stars in hand, you will land on the clouds
Without the cloud, efficient collaboration is nearly impossible. With engineers often distributed across the globe, design updates are sent back and forth through complex email chains that inevitably only hinder creativity. Transferring your design software to the cloud allows engineers to work on a single design simultaneously. Design, simulation, and artificial intelligence can all be done in the cloud, allowing engineers to truly collaborate in real-time for more accurate and faster designs.
Many Ansys customers are hesitant to upgrade to cloud storage, and some of them are concerned about the security of their data. Using the legacy system puts your data securely in the hands of about 10 cyber experts across the company. On the cloud, your data is protected by thousands of security experts from leading organizations, making it arguably more secure. Fear of the unknown shouldn't stop you from staying away from the cloud. Whether your cloud is public, private, or hybrid, leverage Ansys tools to enable employees to work together.
In today’s industry, a perfect storm of activity is brewing that will boost the use of artificial intelligence in the year ahead. Historically, the cost of storing data has been so high that only a limited amount of training data is stored and used for AI, making it expensive and somewhat inaccurate. Thanks to the cloud, you can store vast amounts of data for almost nothing to better train your AI at less cost. Thanks to innovations such as simulation, we now have access to many types of data, and given the accessibility of open source data, the opportunities for development of artificial intelligence and simulation are enormous.
AI will make human designers more powerful. Technology allows us to expand our capabilities. Before using calculators, we had to rely on mental arithmetic and written equations. Before artificial intelligence, we had to rely on manual design through trial and error. Organizations using data-driven AI engineering and generative AI while collaborating on the cloud will pave the way for new levels of innovation in 2022.