I’m probably being somewhat dense here, but why would I, ordinary retired bloke, no business or similar enterprise to run, want with an AI app?
steve
It's not so much an app as using AI software. This is news from today's Automotive News...
How a Subaru tech supplier is leveraging AI to slash development times
By:
Lois Hoyal
January 29, 2025 05:14 PM
Every automaker is looking to speed up development times for next-generation vehicles to try and match the speed of Chinese rivals, which are developing new cars in as little as 24 months, compared with as much as 60 months for several legacy car manufacturers.
To achieve that goal many of them are looking to harness the power of artificial intelligence.
Subaru is already making significant strides. With help from Switzerland-based Neural Concept’s 3D AI platform, the Japanese automaker slashed the analysis time for a die face shape design to two minutes from three hours. Tooling departments use the die face design to create a stamping die.
By accelerating analysis time, Subaru can consider a wider range of design options while shorting development periods. Time is of the essence as Subaru seeks to start mass production of its next-generation e-Boxer hybrid system and new battery-electric vehicles starting in 2028.
Another key benefit of Neural Concept’s simulation tools is helping customers anticipate potential problems that might occur at the manufacturing stage, CEO and founder Pierre Baque said..
Neural Concept uses 3D generative engineering, predictive analysis and AI workflows to cut end-to-end product development times by up to 75 percent and accelerate simulations by up to 10-fold, the company says.
“Engineering simulation with our tools can cut development times, for example, for a battery cooling system from two months down to one week,” Baque said.
Neural Concept’s technology predicts results through faster simulations, compressing the time people spend doing manual iterations and operations to help engineers work quickly and shortcut development times.
The system also allows engineers to work in a more collaborative way. “Work between people that could take several months can be compressed into one day,” Baque said.
Early emphasis on AI
Neural Concept has been using AI to transform the way engineers design and validate products since it was founded in 2018.
“We were really the first ones to start developing this core technology,” Baque said. In 2014, it was spun out from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, where Baque was completing his doctorate.
Quieting the slosh in fuel tanks
Another one of Neural Concept’s projects is with OPmobility. The tech company is helping the Tier 1 French supplier reduce the liquid sloshing noise inside the fuel tanks of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles when they accelerate or decelerate.
Simulating the sloshing noise previously required 12 hours per design. With Neural Concept’s 3D AI platform, OPmobility engineers can simulate and predict 3D acoustics pressure changes and fluid dynamics in seconds, rather than days. This speeds up design iterations, which helps OPmobility minimize the noise and ultimately get products to market faster.
To succeed in this new AI-dominated environment, you need the right people, not just the right products, Baque says. He said he is seeing a “very interesting trend” of a new generation of savvy, tech-aware engineers in the workplace.
The engineers come from a different background and understand the basics of AI, as well as simulation.
“These guys are often much more agile in the way they are able to work,” he said, “and they work much more like people work in tech companies.”