Artificial Intelligence is Getting Real in Design

Every year it seems our Technology Outlook issue creeps up faster and faster—I feel like I just finished poring over results of the 2022 survey.

When you read our coverage of the annual survey in this issue, one data point will immediately jump out: artificial intelligence (AI) has gained a lot of ground and mindshare in the engineering space. Asked what technologies they thought would have the biggest impact on product development over the next five years, respondents overwhelmingly cited AI—65%, compared to 38% for simulation and 37% for additive manufacturing, the second- and third-ranked technologies.

During just the few months prior to my writing this column we saw some big announcements across multiple technology segments, with an emphasis on AI and machine learning. Ansys announced AI-enabled simulation products, after having previously released AI-based tech support capabilities. Altair has already released physicsAI, which uses the technology to train reduced-order models for rapid analysis during the early phases of design. Generative design products leverage varying degrees of algorithm-led design space exploration. In November, there were several announcements coming out of Formnext in Europe about AI-based software tools to help optimize 3D printing operations and improve quality control and monitoring. In some cases, the AI tools could quickly identify problems during a print and automatically make corrections on the machine.

At our recent Design & Simulation Summit, our keynote panel also focused on the use of AI for designing for additive manufacturing (DfAM) applications. It was a fascinating discussion, and one that probably could have gone on for another hour (in fact, we may reconvene those panelists for a future article or podcast).

The Summit, by the way, was a big success, with roughly 500 of you signing up for a half-day program that covered real-world digital twin implementations, simulation best practices, requirements writing tips and advice on choosing the right computing platform for your engineering workflows. If you missed it, all sessions are available on demand.

Heading into 2024, we plan to more tightly focus our additive manufacturing coverage on DfAM topics, and hope to present more software and hardware reviews to help our readers navigate the selection process when they upgrade their technology.

I would also like to give a shout-out to writer Tom Kevan, who will retire this year. Over the years, Tom has provided us with in-depth coverage of sensor technology, and digital twin/PLM/digital thread trends, and we will miss his contributions. I have worked with Tom on and off for several decades (we both toiled at the same supply chain technology magazine for a few years), and we here at DE wish him well.

Finally, I want to encourage our readers to send along any story ideas or feedback on our events and articles as we make plans for our coverage in 2024.