ENME Webcast Archives

LEADERS IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LECTURE SERIES - SPRING 2007

Virtual Engineering: Playing the Real Games

Lecturer: Kenneth Mark Bryden - Interim Chair, Mechanical Engineering Department, Iowa State University

Original Air Date: Friday, March 30th at 9:45am

Abstract: Surprise! While you were playing video games you weren?t wasting your time?you were developing the essential skills you will need to solve engineering problems. Today video games provide many of the basic pieces needed in engineering decision making. Video games integrate graphics, various physics based models, level of detail, and real-time user interaction to create a problem solving environment that is both engaging and realistic. This enables users to quickly gain familiarity with the problem space and use their problem solving skills directly in the search for a solution. Virtual engineering starts with the video game paradigm to build the engineering tools of the future. The goal of virtual engineering is to create interactive, visually compelling environments that enable engineers to explore and quickly understand various engineering options.

While these virtual engineering environments need to appear simple to the user, the creation of these decision-making environments is currently very challenging. Modeling and simulation tools (e.g. CFD, FEA, CAD) provide the foundation for virtual engineering but need to be integrated together in a way that enable virtual design, troubleshooting, manufacturing, and a variety of other engineering tasks to be performed in real-time. In addition methodologies need to be developed that address a variety of issues including analysis time, complexity management, error control, and user interaction. A first step towards addressing these issues is the development of engineering objects that integrate a set of physics based models together to create an object-centered ?working? virtual component or system. These virtual components and systems can then be integrated together to create virtual products. These virtualized products can be inspected and understood by a broad range of decision makers including the engineer, the marketing executive, the consumer, and any other decision maker before a physical product is ever realized. The creation of engineering objects to support a virtual product is a significant paradigm shift in how engineering is done. This talk will discuss the next steps in creating this integrated decision making environment and will examine the building blocks that are currently being developed.

Dr. Bryden is sponsored by Professor Ashwani Gupta of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. This seminar is jointly sponsored by the TFES and M&M Divisions.