Editor’s Pick: Adding Images and CAD Files to Simulation

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division announces ODYSSEE A-Eye, new software that uses artificial intelligence to extend simulation to images, pictures, video and basic CAD datasets. The company says ODYSSEE A-Eye enhances CAE for industrial solutions by making a wide variety of new data sources available, and by making the use of this data available for those without CAE expertise. 

Hexagon says ODYSSEE A-Eye applies advanced pattern recognition, allowing imagery and CAD data to be analysed for machine learning. It creates like-for-like predictions based on posed problems. The company says this ability can be applied to any engineering-related problem, including design optimization, cost impact, or solving how long a product will take to produce.

The practical value of ODYSSEE A-Eye, the company says, is in its ability to use imagery to ask questions of a digital twin instead of setting boundary conditions, making simulation accessible for design and engineering work. 

Hexagon offers these sample applications to understand how ODYSSEE A-Eye can contribute to engineering workflow: 

How does a specific car wheel design behave when impacting obstacles such as curbs or debris? ODYSSEE A-Eye can be used to build a dataset from typical images, then apply nonlinear finite element analysis to understand the effect of various designs. 

How does a new aircraft wing perform? ODYSSEE A-Eye users can build a database of wing profiles, then predict lift and drag coefficients for each, taking advantage of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics definitions. 

How long will a machined part take to manufacture? A machinist or machine sales representative can use ODYSSEE A-Eye on existing imagery or STEP files to apply manufacturing process simulation to predict production time, predict dimensional tolerance, or to examine the strength of joinery. 

Hexagon says ODYSSEE A-Eye integrates with all Hexagon CAE solutions, and makes the power of advanced simulation available to design fields in areas where it has not been previously considered feasible. The company says a single engineering expert can use the software to specify a process that would benefit from ODYSSEE A-Eye, and then feed that information to the product design team to execute. 

“AI is an increasingly valuable tool within design and engineering, helping push virtual engineering to the next level,” says Roger Assaker, president of Hexagon’s Design and Engineering Software Business Unit. “The user-friendly design of ODYSSEE A-Eye makes it simple to integrate into modern engineering practices, democratizing a highly advanced process for use by non-experts, and producing the results in a very accessible format.”

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Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website. 

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