Excitement was in the air in Dallas as we collectively kicked off 3DEXPERIENCE World 2024. General sessions began with a welcome greeting from Gian Paolo Bassi, Senior Vice President of 3DEXPERIENCE Works, who drove onto the stage in a classic Shelby Cobra that retrofitted to be a fully electric car. GP reminded the crowd of 4,700 attendees from over 30 countries that 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of this event.
Michael Jackson, the VP of Research at CADENCE, joined SOLIDWORKS CEO Manish Kumar on stage to announce a partnership to provide an integrated electromechanical solution for SOLIDWORKS users. Michael shared with the audience that he believes this new integration will provide “electrical and mechanical engineers with an unparalleled collaboration experience” and will “accelerate end-to-end electromechanical systems development process, while optimizing designs across often conflicting technology and business requirements.”
Up next was Kevin Huang, cofounder and CEO of Gluxkind, a startup that developed an award-winning AI stroller to ensure that parents and their little ones can explore and navigate the world safely and comfortably. The stroller provides hands-free strolling and actually can rock the baby while strolling.
Our keynote, Dr. Lonnie Johnson, gave an inspiring talk on the evolution of technology. Johnson’s diverse career spans many decades and he has played a key role in innovations in myriad industries, having served in engineering and analyst positions at NASA and the U.S. Air Force where he worked with the world’s most advanced robots at the time.
Perhaps what Dr. Johnson is most well-known for inventing the Super Soaker, which changed the squirt gun game forever. He also holds over 100 patents.
Dr. Johnson then focused on more serious global issues, in particular the search for more renewable energy sources. As the world continues to see the effects of climate change, more research needs to be dedicated to technologies that support renewable energies, and batteries will play a key role in storing that energy.
He closed out by discussing the evolution of both technology and humans, and the role Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play in our future. He asks the question “How might our use of technology accelerate human evolution?” He also broached the topic of whether we will ever reengineer ourselves through use of things such as genetic engineering and bio-mechanical devices. He certainly left us all with a lot to think about.
Suchit Jain came to the stage to introduce CTO Thomas Silva of Endiatx, a company that is transforming healthcare with their remarkable PillBot™ the world’s first virtual endoscope.
With this miniaturized motorized submarine drone, patients can simply swallow the PillBot, which can then provide live footage from your stomach without anesthesia, sedation, recovery time.
“SOLIDWORKS enabled us to achieve a 90% reduction in size and communication between the electrical and mechanical engineers was greatly facilitated,” says Thomas.
The company is now developing PillBot 2, which will be even smaller. “No hospital, no drugs, no wait.”
Abhijit said his team’s use of MODSIM “saved us a year of development.” What’s next? It’s just the start of our journey. We want to focus on expanding to more cities and scale up to make our products more accessible.
Today’s keynote was Aneesa Muthana, CEO of Pioneer Services, to discuss the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), which she describes as “empowerment without dividing.”
She pointed out that success must be earned, not given, and pointed out that playing the victim fosters a toxic environment, one that brings the culture down and makes it very difficult to understand. Aneesa broke done DEI this way:
Diversity: hiring qualified people from varied backgrounds
Equity: Fair opportunities and compensation
Inclusion: making everyone feel like they belong
As Aneesa says, “DEI really just means treat people fairly. If your company’s values are not aligned with this, change them. If you can’t change them, it’s on you to find your Plan B.”
Suchit provided an update on a groundbreaking initiative we shared with you all last year, Fab-In-a-Box. This project, a collaborative effort with the Fab Foundation and MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, continues to push the boundaries of digital fabrication and education.
This low-cost, easy-to-use fab lab starter kit includes a laser cutter, vinyl cutter, and 3D printer—all on a custom, mobile cart. Best of all: it comes with xDesign browser-based parametric design software and the curriculum is provided! The kit teaches educators how to use it with their students. Stop by Fab Foundation’s booth to see the cart; build a balsa-wood glider; and learn more about this project.
Next up was two members of our User Advocacy team, Dan Wagner and Matthew Clegg, to announce the SWUGN award winners. This year’s winner of the Michelle Pillers Community Award was Adam Ebernickel. The winner of the Wayne Tiffany User Group Leader of the Year aware went to Prasad Adiga. A huge congratulations to Eric Beatty, SOLIDWORKS Champion of the Year. Congratulations to all the winners.
Mike Puckett, SOLIDWORKS Certification Director, and Dr. Robert Coker from NeuroLutions. The company has created the IpsiHand System, a groundbreaking technology using SOLIDWORKS, to help stroke survivors. Mike shared his own personal journey recovering from a stroke he had six months ago.
There are over 450K people in the U.S. who can’t use a hand, as a result of a stroke. The IpsiHand uses your healthy brain activity when thinking about movement to retrain a new part of our brain to control your disabled arm.
Jesse Sprague brought out today’s keynote speaker, Paddy Lowe, who has had a 32-year career with 12 championship winning teams and 10 Racecar of the Year Awards. He shared how he got his start in Formula One and how he’s tackled many of the design challenges over multi-decade career.
As a top engineer at Formula One, Paddy has spent decades measuring in milliseconds how to make Formula One cars go faster, but today his tagline is “600 million years in three minutes” as he focuses on discovering a way to put use of fossil fuels in the rear view.
His newest company, Zero Petroleum, a pioneer of synthetic fuels, will revolutioniz
If you missed the action at 3DEXPERIENCE World, watch the videos below to get caught up!
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