When we were told about simulation, a few years ago, we imagined with our children’s eyes, boarding a flight simulator or taking a seat at the controls of a spaceship reconstructed by NASA on sophisticated computer screens. Today simulation is synonymous with 3D and virtual or augmented reality and it has gradually invaded all areas of our life. It provides incredible experiences, such as surfing the waves without taking off your costume, visiting several apartments in a few minutes and without any physical movement, visualizing the inside of a human heart and how it works, but also designing and 3D printing all kinds of mechanical parts.
Everything has become simulable. Staff training is increasingly based on simulation and no longer just role play, variations in behavior and wear in extreme situations are imagined for each vehicle, architectural structure, health treatment, furniture, or even banal object of everyday consumption. We like to simulate to better anticipate the evolution, aging, failure of objects or places around us as well as to better control life.
What is the value of a simulation?
Before tackling hyper-complex subjects of which humans undoubtedly represent the extreme model, let us dwell on the question of the value of a simulation. It goes without saying that perfection is not of this world, the machine, however precise it may be, can only come very close to the starting model. However, the issue of precision is real. Thus in France we have a definite advantage thanks to the strong computing capacity of 9 of the 100 most powerful supercomputers in the world. Let’s be clear, the performance of a simulation is assessed in terms of its reliability.
In an industrial context, as we know, the precision of the simulation is a key which will save a lot of time and which varies as a project progresses. If at the start, we can consider calculations with a certain margin in order to choose between different options of materials or shapes, as soon as we are in a situation of producing a part or more broadly a complex object resulting from the assembly of different components, just like the precision of a watch mechanism, the simulation must drastically reduce calculation inaccuracies. The more precise the calculation, the more resources it consumes.
The software solutions developed by the main players in the simulation market are fortunately there to help SMEs and midcaps to stay, too, in the race for innovation. Indeed, it is increasingly crucial to reduce the Go To Market of an industrial product and in general of any innovation, at the risk of being copied or overtaken by a competitor.. Simulation creates value for the innovative company, by shortening its manufacturing times and the transition to the industrialization phase of a concept.
Simulation is a profession of the future!
One of the most remarkable uses of simulation is certainly training. In addition to the fact that we have always learned by reproducing the master’s gestures, the latter inspires us to become like him, his double, entirely in his image. However, we have entered the era of the virtual, of our digital doubles which intervene as well in games, or social conversations. Therefore, it is easy to imagine that we could learn everything in a simulation, with the help of a virtual master or guide.
While MOOCs have not replaced higher education or vocational training, they are a form of learning that is gradually opening up to all areas. But when it comes to technical training simulation requiring a realistic scenario, the contribution of 3D coupled with virtual reality is undeniable. How could we learn to repair an engine, to intervene on a submerged mechanical part, to operate on a patient, or even to pilot a complex machine, more quickly than through a good simulation? As you can imagine, the field of application is limitless.
The other side of this growth in jobs using simulation is the increase in job offers for all jobs related to mathematical modeling or computer development, and digital jobs in general. Thus, the growth in the number of offers was 30% between 2016 and 2017. It should be noted that more than a third of the offers are located in Ile de France. Research laboratories, such as the CNRS, are also called upon more often by SMEs which do not have sufficient human resources, in order to validate models and parameters that will be studied to save precious time on the industrial development of products. .
The simulation ecosystem is very open and works a lot in collaboration, between national and international actors. Macoumba N’Daye, Partner Success Manager Africa – Middle East – Western Europe for Dassault Systèmes, explains, “we are increasingly entering a collaborative world where everyone must be able to give their opinion. This is a real advantage for the designer who will imagine a first product and execute a ‘what if scenario’ and then contact someone more senior who will have, for his part, a vision geared towards optimization. . He will then go to marketing who would like to have more product options / a range, for example, then the director of the company which is driven by a different Time to Market and financial imperatives to be managed ”. Thus the simulation crosses the teams and the departments of the company as a whole.
Simulation at the service of humans
If there is one sector particularly concerned, it is that of life sciences. All healthcare industries, and primarily physicians themselves, are and will be strongly impacted by the positive effects of simulation. Today, it is possible to follow the journey of a molecule in the body of a human and to simulate all the reactions. By equipping cells inside the body with sensors, a large number of medical operations can be simulated and analyzed. When we know that the development time of a new drug easily exceeds 10 years, there is a major economic stake here.
Likewise for surgery where the right to make mistakes is difficult to admit, simulation makes it possible to improve gestures and prepare for an intervention by greatly reducing unforeseen incidents. “Today with the improvement in the speed of computers (in reference to Moore’s law which seems to be reaching its limit), we are getting closer to quantum. And precisely, we need to see on a smaller scale than the human dimension. It will soon be possible to make extremely fine meshes and to operate enormous amounts of variation on a parameter. One will then have an optimal degree of freedom in computation. The simulation will then come closer to reality, ”announces Macoumba N’Daye.
Other areas are able to improve our life in a relatively short time but also undoubtedly reduce our expenditure on non-renewable energy resources. Exploring the optimization of a vehicle’s components, improving the performance or resistance of assemblies requires a large number of tests that simulation allows at lower costs. The automotive, space and air industries are very large consumers of simulation. Testing an autonomous vehicle or a hydraulic motor is too long and too expensive for a design office or a team of engineers to do without simulation software. Saving lives and preserving our planet are therefore goals that can be reached more quickly. Humans will be able to thank the machines!
Can simulation develop our creativity?
The question may seem trivial. However, by dint of modeling everything, don’t we run the risk of making everything uniform, and falling back into the standardization of offers that 21st century consumers are avoiding? To simulate is to take the risk of a virtual life, unrelated to physical reality, denying the approximations and varieties of interpretation linked to our human brain, fully subject to our feelings and our emotions. The development of the gaming industry, which for several years now has become the main entertainment sector, shows that humans are getting caught up in the game of virtuality. He simulates his own life in fantasy universes, fights, wrestles, wins in playful or hostile environments, without putting himself in physical danger. But without the physical sensations, what does he really feel? How could he remain creative, free in a world of simulation?
“What I like about digital simulation is the choice, the multiplicity of scenarios. It is the phenomenon of serendipity that manifests itself here, and the almost infinite openness in the possibilities that will arise from the simulation, which fascinates me. This field of investigation will lead us to new solutions, new configurations, technological discoveries that we could not imagine because we could not test them ”reassures us Macoumba N’Daye. It is therefore understandable that the engineer and the researcher sometimes come together in models overflowing with parameters, which only powerful computers can tame. By dint of trying improbable combinations, the idea arises where we weren’t looking for it. The computer has no limit other than its computing power and it does not censor itself, as long as a human does not instill its cognitive biases in it. In the field of digital art, the exploration of distortion or visual formation left to the initiative of algorithms gives extraordinary results that our imagination does not envision.
As we get closer to the time when we can fake it all, the fear of having nothing more to discover takes hold of some people’s minds. However, it seems for others that everything can still be improved in significant proportions and that it is precisely through simulation that we will reach other horizons, that we will equip humans with new skills and knowledge. Simulation helps man to advance both in pure science and in its industrial applications. There is no doubt that it can also apply it to the preservation of its environment and the well-being of all.
