Five reasons why you NEED to attend Realize Live Europe

By Stephen Ferguson

One of the best things about Realize Live Europe is that it happens only once a year. This is good news for many reasons, including that my liver can’t take much more’ socializing’ in any given twelve-month period. Mostly though, it provides a good way of observing the state of the simulation market; and the extent to which the things that we were talking about as “bleeding edge” at the previous conferences are not only finding leverage, often becoming “the norm” in industrial usage.

In this blog, I am going to explore five essential industry themes that are represented in the Realize Live Europe Agenda and that you simply can’t afford to miss.

1. Mature Digital Twins

It’s been 5 years since the technology industry first started seriously talking about the “Digital Twin”. The words first appeared on the Gartner Hype Cycle in 2017, with an expected time to maturity of five to ten years. It’s not surprising then that real-life examples of functioning Digital Twins are starting to emerge at Realize Live 2022.

For me, the most promising incarnation of the Digital Twin concept is in the form of the Executable Digital Twinhttps://event.sw.siemens.com/realize-live-europe/agenda/session/848316, a reduced model that is embedded into a product. The xDT is simple enough to operate in real-time, using edge computing, but is still accurate enough to represent the physics of the real object. Two of the presentations that I’m most looking forward to are “Executable digital twin: How engineering models make operations smarter” and “AI and the executable digital twin”.

2. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Our customers are starting to use AI and ML to improve the quality and quantity of their simulation experiences, amplify an individual engineer’s knowledge, increase the amount of learning provided through simulation and test, and transfer that accumulated knowledge between projects. At Realize Live Europe we have presentations on “accelerating design using AI and machine learning”, and “using AI to bring the digital twin into the real world”.

3. Into the Metaverse

It wouldn’t be a proper technology conference if we didn’t dive deep into “the Metaverse”. In case you haven’t heard of it (and most of us hadn’t until a few months ago) the Metaverse is “is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection”. Now, in the simulation game, most of us have had our heads buried in virtual representations of engineering products for years, but the ability to explore our simulations and the data that they provide is a relatively new prospect. Find out how Siemens is bringing simulation and test into the metaverse at Realize Live Europe 2022.

4. Digital Healthcare

In the past couple of years, a simple virus (that can be fully described in just 7.5kb of data) brought the world to its knees. The fact that we are able to attend Realize Live in person, rather than via video conference is a testament to the role that engineering simulation played in scaling up vaccine production to produce 11.6 billion doses. At Realize Live Europe we have a presentation on “In Silico Clinical Trials” which explores how simulation is being used to speed up the development and licensing of medical devices. We also explore how simulation is playing a critical role in cold-chain logistics required to make sure that vaccines and (and other temperature critical medical equipment) reach patients without spoiling.

5. Cross-Pollination

From demonstrating that critical data systems are robust enough to withstand earthquakes. To ensuring that the data systems on the Perseverence Rover aren’t exposed to too much Martian Wind. To cutting down the fuel costs of a fleet of seismic survey vessels patrolling the world’s oceans. To making sure that ice accretion doesn’t disrupt overhead electrification systems.

It is likely that none of these simulations is directly relevant to your day to day role (unless you are a Martian Earthquake expert) but I can guarantee that you learn more from listening to and meeting with people from a wide range of industrial backgrounds than from just hanging with your own crew.