changing the way engineers work
TRANSCRIPT
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Changing the Way Engineers Work:Smartphones, Tablets, The Cloud, and the Future of Engineering
Dr. David Knezevic,
Institute for Applied Computational Science,
Harvard University
November 28, 2012
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Todays Presenter
Dr. David Knezevic, Lecturer,Institute for Applied Computational
Science, Harvard University
Dr. David Knezevic is a Lecturer with the Institute for Applied
Computational Science at Harvard University. He holds a Ph.D. from
Oxford University (Rhodes scholar) and prior to his position at
Harvard, he was a post-doctoral associate in the Mechanical
Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. David has expertise in a range of areas related to
computational engineering, including applied mathematics, computer
science, software development, and supercomputing.
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About ASME
ASME is a not-for-profit membership organization that enables
collaboration, knowledge sharing, career enrichment, and skills
development across all engineering disciplines, toward a goal of
helping the global engineering community develop solutions tobenefit lives and livelihoods. Founded in 1880 by a small group
of leading industrialists, ASME has grown through the decades
to include more than 120,000 members in over 150 countries
worldwide
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Feedback
Type all questions in the box at the
bottom of your screen, and we will
answer as many as possible.
All questions will be answered via e-mail.
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CHANGING THE WAY
ENGINEERS WORKSmartphones, tablets, the cloud, and the future of engineering
Dr. David Knezevic
Harvard Lecturer (School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)
Co-founder of Akselos Inc.
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Inspiration for this Webinar
ASME articles on
smartphone and
tablet apps for
engineers were
very popular
Growing interest
in the role of
mobile technologyin engineering
workflows
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Contents
Role of Mobile Technology in Engineering
Overview of Apps for Mechanical Engineers
Cloud Computing and Engineering Software
Summary
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Role of Mobile Technology inEngineering
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My Interest in Mobile Computing
In 2010, Dr. Phuong Huynh and I developed an Android
app for performing 3D FEA calculations on a smartphone
Basic idea of the app:1. Generate datasets in an Offline phase using a supercomputer
2. Load datasets onto smartphone
3. Perform 3D FEA calculations via lightweight calculations on the
phone itself
Demonstrated cooperation between mobile devices and
supercomputers to perform engineering computations
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My Interest in Mobile Computing
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My Interest in Mobile Computing
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Mobile Technology
Computation is a fundamental toolin modern engineering:
simulation, design, analysis,
Mobile apps provide a new way to deliver computationaltools to engineers, with some compelling advantages:
1. Convenience.Apps are built for very specific tasks,
hence usually have targeted and simple user interface
2. In the field.New possibilities for detailed on sitecomputations
3. Price.Apps are often free or perhaps cost a few dollars
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Mobile Technology
Also, tablets/smartphones are now sufficiently powerful
that they can usurp some of the role of computers
Lets briefly consider two areas in which hardware inmobile devices now provide impressive capabilities:
1. Storage
2. CPU
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Mobile Technology: Storage
Smartphone/tablets now have >10GB of storagestore a
whole library of handbooks in your pocket!
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Mobile Technology: CPU
Modern smartphones/tablets are powerful computers
Smartphones can now achieve ~200 Mflops, similar to
high-end desktop workstation from ca. 2005
Mobile CPUs are improving rapidly (multiple cores etc)
Workstation ca. 2005Smartphone/tablet ca. 2012
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Mobile Technology: CPU
Perspective:Comparable (in terms of flops) to the fastest
supercomputer in the world from ca. 1980
Smartphones ca. 2012
Source: Wikipedia
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Limits of Mobile Technology
Of course its also important to keep limitations of mobile
technology in mind:
1.Limits of touch interfaces and small screens. May notbe well suited to intricate engineering tasks, e.g. CAD
2. Heavy-duty computation.Mobile CPUs still far behind
state-of-the-art workstations (or supercomputers!)
3. Connectivity.Many apps rely on internet connectivity,sometimes slow/unreliable (especially in remote areas)
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Overview of Apps for MechanicalEngineers
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Overview of Apps
There is an ever-increasing number of smartphone/tablet
apps for mechanical engineering
Broadly speaking, mechanical engineering apps on the
market today can be categorized into three groups
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Overview of Apps
1. Data Lookup
2. Engineering Calculations
3. Design
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Overview of Apps
1. Data Lookup
2. Engineering Calculations
3. Design
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Data Lookup Apps
Mechanical Reference Library
Reference for all things mechanical no need to drag
around those heavy textbooks
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Data Lookup Apps
Engineering Cookbook
Convenient reference for mechanical designers fingertip
access to frequently needed information
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Data Lookup Apps
iEngineer
The most comprehensive database of screw and bolt
information
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Data Lookup
CADENAS PARTsolutions
Enables industrial component manufacturers to deliver
their digital product catalogs, 3D CAD models, data sheets,
news, distributor locations
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Overview of Apps
1. Data Lookup
2. Engineering Calculations
3. Design
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Engineering Calculations
Engineering Unit Conversion
A comprehensive unit conversion tool specifically designed
for engineers, scientists and students.
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Engineering Calculations
Stress Concentration Factors Pro
Sometimes simple stress formulae are not enough...
[Makes it easy to calculate] a stress concentration factor.
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Engineering Calculations
Thermal Analysis Approximator
Computes heat transfer coefficient based on user inputs
provides a first order approximation [of heat transfer]
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Engineering Calculations
AndTruss2D
Linear static analysis of plane trusses with the Finite
Element Method
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Overview of Apps
1. Data Lookup
2. Engineering Calculations
3. Design
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Design
AutoCAD WS
View, edit, and share AutoCAD drawings... Annotate and
revise drawings in the office, in the field, or in a meeting
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Design
FingerCAD
Draw houses, bridges, plans of apartments, mechanical
components, geometrical figures
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Overview of Apps: Summary
There is a wide range of apps that can be very useful for
mechanical engineers at their desk or in the field
Apps are available on different platforms (examples listed
above are for iOS and/or Android)
Note that all of these apps perform rather lightweight
calculations: data look-up, formula evaluation, 2D CAD
Mobile devices are not suited to heavy duty engineering
computationsbut cloud computing may change this
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Cloud Computing and EngineeringSoftware
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Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is having a major influence on
engineering software (and software in general!)
Question: What is cloud computing?
Answer:
Cloud computing is the use of computing resources that
are delivered as a service over a network (Wikipedia)
This is not a new ideae.g. mainframe computers from
the 1970s employed a client-server model
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Cloud Computing
However, technological advances have meant that cloudcomputing is now very attractivein many contexts
Cloud providers give cheap, scalable access to vast
computational resources, no local IT maintenance needed
This also fits very well with mobile computing: use the
cloud for heavy duty data processing
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Cloud Computing + Mobile
User request
sent to cloud
Result sent
back to user
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Cloud Computing + Mobile
This computational model is the basis some very popular
apps today
For example, Apples Siri sends voice queries to a data
center to be processed, response is sent back to the user
With data center computing power and fast wireless
networks, this only takes a couple of seconds!
This shows that we can use mobile devices to
conveniently tap into the power of a huge data center
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Cloud Computing + Mobile
This same model has been put to good use in someengineering software products
For example, Vela Systems* developed popular mobile +cloud-based software for BIM and construction management
The relatively recent convergence of cloud comput ing andmobi le com put ing w i th leaps in BIM processes and
techno logies, such as Field BIM, are revo lut ioniz ing the way
pro jects are designed and d elivered and un lock ing newvalue in the industry.
Adam Omansky, A.M.ASCE CI, CSI, CDT, Vela Systems Co-Founder
* Now part ofAutodesk BIM 360
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Cloud Computing + Mobile
BIM data stored is centrally on the cloud and synced with
mobile devices, this leads to significant efficiency gains
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Cloud Computing + HPC
Another important application of the cloud is high-
performance computing(HPC)
Engineering calculations can be very computationally
intensive, e.g. 3D CFD or FEA
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Cloud Computing + HPC
These types of computations can require hours or even
days on desktop workstations
Or worse, may not even be possible on a desktop
computer due to huge memory requirements!
Therefore its natural to use the cloud to perform these
types of large-scale simulations
Such HPC services are available from CAE companies
(e.g. Altair, ANSYS, Dassault, NEi, ) or their partners
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Cloud Computing + HPC + Mobile
The next natural step is to allow access to cloud HPC
from mobile devices: democratization of HPC
For example, NEi offers a mobile app called NEi Stratus
that enables simpleFEA calculations via the cloud
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Cloud Computing + HPC + Mobile
NEi Stratus only allows simple geometries (block,
cylinder, tube, etc)
This is a natural constraint: It would be very difficult to
design complex 3D geometries with a touch interface!
Akselos Inc. is developing cloud HPC software for 3D
FEA that is well-suited to touch interfaces
Key idea: Component-based models
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Cloud Computing + HPC + Mobile
Connect parametrized simulation components together
to assemble 3D geometries, feasible with touch interface
Model reduction + cloud HPC gives simulation results for
large-scale 3D FEA in seconds
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Cloud Computing + HPC + Mobile
Demo video:Akselossprototype software for structural
analysis
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Summary
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Changing the Way Engineers Work
Mobile devices are ubiquitous, and are playing an ever-increasing role in mechanical engineering
Apps range from data lookup or lightweight calculations
to full enterprise solutions (Vela/Autodesk, Cadenas)
Cloud computing + mobile promises a new generation ofapps for heavy-duty computing: democratization of HPC!
Current trends seem likely to continue: Open up new possibilities for in the field computation
Usurp more of the role of established workflows at the desk
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Questions?
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Thank You for
Attending!