Industry Summary Articles

Rita Stange’s Connect Press Article:

In 2016 there was a lot of buzz around internet of things (IoT), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), along with some big acquisitions of analysis/simulation companies from the computer-aided design (CAD) software vendors.

PTC introduced its AR solution Vuforia Studio Enterprise, a set of tools for authoring and publishing AR experiences. The company also expanded its IoT platform to include real time edge computing capabilities.

VR also made a come back into the CAD world, since the Second Life days. At Autodesk University there was at least half a dozen VR companies flaunting headsets and software for both manufacturing and architecture, engineering, and construction professionals. Jeff Kowalski, chief technology officer (CTO) spoke of several converging trends at the opening keynote, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative design and VR. Beyond technology Kowalski stressed the importance of the workforce and how companies should not only be embracing in new technology, but also new talent.

On the other hand, Siemens PLM Software had their sights on expanding their analysis and simulation portfolios. Siemens acquired CD-adapco at the beginning of 2016 and Mentor Graphics at the end of the year.

Similarly, Dassault Systemes also picked up a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) company called Next Limit Dynamics last December. In addition, the company announced that 3DEXPERIENCE platform users have access to the HTC Vive VR system. Other key areas of focus for Dassault were on helping its customers realize the value of the cloud and IoT.

Read the interview featuring Carl Smith, manager, Professional Services Manufacturing Solutions, IMAGINiT Solutions; Tony Glockler, co-founder, SolidProfessor; and Stanley Przybylinski, vice president of research, CIMdata. (Requires logon; free to sign up.)