Engineering Simulation to lead the way, says Mr Rafiq Somani, AVP – India and South Asia Pacific.
By Chandran Iyer
National Crime Records Bureau’s recent data shows that deaths by accidents on road had increased by almost 17 per cent in 2021 as compared to 2020. Around 1.55 lakh people died in road accidents in 2021 and that is up from 1.33 lakh in 2020. What’s more? Speeding accounted for more than half the deaths. 87,000 were victims of speeding.
The recent tragic demise of the former Tata Sons Chairman, Cyrus Mistry in a car crash has triggered a debate on the safety.. It is astounding that nearly 90 per cent of vehicles plying on roads are not equipped with six airbags. The norm is only for the front seats. This life-saving feature of 6 airbags is normally available only on high-end car models.
There is a huge gap between road safety protocols and practices in the country and Mr Mistry not wearing the seat belt while seated in the back seat of the car was also scrutinised. As per the Central Motor Vehicles Rule, it is mandatory to wear the seatbelts in the rear seats, but 7 out of 10 do not adhere to it in India.
The Future is Smart
Autonomous vehicles are poised to redefine the global automotive sector. Smart cars are the future. These smart cars will have advanced driver assistance systems steadily progressing towards autonomous driving. One of the important criteria for autonomous driving is safety, which is expected to be much higher than today’s scenario with human driving.
Automotive industry experts believe that the emergence of safe autonomous driving technology will completely reinvent the global automotive industry, replacing millions of privately owned cars with fleets of robot-taxis like today’s Uber and Ola.
While these are exciting predictions, the world’s engineers are tasked with the real, hands-on work of making this vision a reality in just a few short years as designing these complex products for the required level of safety and reliability is an engineering challenge without precedence.
The bar is high
The design challenges related to autonomous vehicles are unmatched in the history of mobility. The bar for safety and reliability has never been set higher. There are a lot of factors involved here including weather conditions like the fog, rain or even snow, the ability of smart cars to sense lanes, objects on roads, vehicles, people, animals and more! There could be cases of the fog or snow obscuring the “vision” of the cameras, radar and lidar systems.
Before they can be effectively launched on the roads, autonomous vehicles must be exhaustively tested and certified for safe operation. How can this demanding testing happen for such complex products while still meeting ambitious deadlines, all the while delivering a healthy profit margin?
This is where engineering simulation comes in. Engineering simulation is the answer, as it enables autonomous vehicles to be tested and verified in a risk-free, low-cost, time-efficient virtual environment, according to Mr Rafiq Somani, Area Vice President – India and South Asia Pacific, Ansys.
The Simulation Way
Only simulation combines a high degree of speed and cost effectiveness with an equally high degree of product confidence. . There are human lives at stake and Mr Rafiq Somani, Area Vice President – India and South Asia Pacific, Ansys elucidates how the Multiphysics software from ANSYS enables companies to replace years of physical testing with simulations that replicate most aspect of autonomous vehicle performance under thousands of operating scenarios — all in a risk-free virtual environment.
According to Mr Somani, simulation technology can go a long way in designing smart cars that can considerably reduce the rate of accidents. Each year, roughly 1.25 million people around the world die in traffic accidents and a vast majority of the deaths are the result of human errors. In addition to the loss of life, traffic accidents result in an annual economic cost of $277 billion. By eliminating human error, autonomous vehicle technology can solve these safety, economic and congestion problems. If we can replace flawed human driving with fail-safe autonomous driving while consolidating our transportation investments, it is inevitable for us to pursue full autonomy for cars.
Mr Somani gave us one example where simulation allows product developers to view what sensors can actually “see” under a variety of real-world weather conditions — instead of waiting months or years to conduct physical testing under every possible scenario. “By developing and testing critical components such as software, electronics and sensors in a risk-free virtual world, our customers are among the leaders in the global drive toward vehicle autonomy,” he added.
There are five critical engineering capabilities that support an accurate virtual road-testing exercise:
- Sensor design based on the real-world conditions they must perform in
- Semiconductor optimization that balances high performance with risks such as thermal build-up
- Reliable electronics designed to withstand actual operating environments
- Safety-critical embedded software development that integrates with machine learning and artificial intelligence components
- Functional safety analysis that minimizes the risks associated with component or system-level failure
As companies race to solve the remaining engineering challenges and launch innovative,
yet practical, autonomous vehicles, simulation is a competitive imperative.
As a leading provider of engineering simulation solutions, Ansys helps global companies across industries solve their most complex design challenges, and launch innovative products cost effectively. Ansys’ comprehensive solutions leverage High-Performance Computing (HPC) technology to enable customers to carry out larger, more detailed, and more accurate simulations using multiprocessor computers, according to Mr Somani.
Ansys also believes in improving the quality of life of people and are therefore working with lots of companies on reducing carbon footprints. Sustainability is becoming a very important initiative with Ansys and the company will keep adding technologies from that perspective where simulation can play important roles.
Reduce Prototypes
A go-to-market strategist, Mr Rafiq Somani is known for his best-in-class methodology and sales processes. He added that in the present-day scenario where the race for innovation is constantly on and competition is like never before, the traditional ways of product development is no longer sufficient. Simulation that used to be an occasional resource applied in the design of only the most complex engineering products has today become pervasive i.e., it’s a continuous simulation with all physics across the entire lifecycle, for all kinds of products. Simulation has become a standard component in product development today and is bridging the gap between design and reality.
“Simulation is a sort of superpower to any engineer who is designing high end products,” according to Mr Somani.
These can be anything from mobile phones, cars, aircrafts, rockets, missiles, submarine or any other product. Design engineers are curious to know how the product will behave in a real-life situation. Simulation helps to make the product right/work the first time itself as one cannot afford to make faulty products. They can simulate different kinds of scenarios to understand how the product will fare.Creating multiple prototypes are both time consuming and very expensive. The perfect prototype can take months if not years. Simulation can eliminate multiple prototyping.
The India Market
Mr Somani says that India is a big market for Ansys. With over 10,000 engineers and top global companies having their centres where futuristic products are being designed using simulation technology, India has in fact become the simulation capital for the world.
Advanced applications for simulation are making the dream of autonomous vehicles a reality. While it will be a few more years until our roads and skies are filled with self-driving cars in India, these companies are shaping the future with their important product development work. Whatever your industry or product focus, we hope you will be inspired by the high-impact simulations they are performing to solve the most challenging problems related to vehicle autonomy.
If you’ve ever seen a rocket launch, flown on an airplane, driven a car, used a computer, touched a mobile device, crossed a bridge, or put on wearable technology, chances are you’ve used a product where Ansys software played a critical role in its creation. Ansys is the global leader in engineering simulation. Through our strategy of Pervasive Engineering Simulation, we help the world’s most innovative companies deliver radically better products to their customers. By offering the best and broadest portfolio of engineering simulation software, we help them solve the most complex design challenges and create products limited only by imagination. Founded in 1970, Ansys is headquartered south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.