There is a technology used by seemingly unrelated corporations such as Hyundai Motor and the world's top 10 automakers, aircraft corporations including Boeing and Airbus, furniture giant IKEA, and 8 of the world's top 10 shoe manufacturers. It is the France-based software corporation Dassault Systèmes' 3D-based "Virtual Twin" technology.
A virtual twin is a technology that creates a virtual model identical to reality, making a "twin" of a real-world object in virtual space to run simulations, predict outcomes in advance, and optimize products and services. Corporations can design and simulate products or environments in virtual space—such as factory construction or automobile crash tests—that are expensive in expense and hard to build quickly in the real world, allowing them to offset shortcomings and resolve problems in advance.
On the 14th, at a media tour held at its "3DEXPERIENCE Executive Center (3DEC)" in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Dassault Systèmes said, "Dassault Systèmes' artificial intelligence (AI)-based virtual twin technology is being used widely across 12 major industries, including aerospace, automobiles, life sciences, and manufacturing," adding, "In Korea, we are supporting digital transformation (DX) across manufacturing, including product development and production processes, in collaboration with about 20,000 corporations." Following France, Germany, the United States, China, and India, 3DEC, the sixth to open worldwide, is an exhibition and experience space where visitors can indirectly experience Dassault Systèmes' innovative technologies.
That day, Dassault Systèmes introduced cases of applying virtual twin technology in the auto industry and, for the first time, unveiled a demonstration using Apple's Mixed Reality (MR) device Vision Pro.
Typically, to test new-vehicle safety, it costs about 200 million won in expense to build a prototype of a specific vehicle model and run a single crash test, and it usually has to be done more than 100 times per model. Kim Hyun-jin, a partner at Dassault Systèmes, said, "Corporations aim to minimize the time required to build prototypes and the expense and effort of scrapping vehicles crumpled in crash tests," adding, "By creating a precise twin in a virtual environment with virtual twin technology and conducting crash tests, we can drastically reduce expense and simulate crash tests by scenario."
Recently, by combining AI with virtual twins, it has become possible to complete optimal structures and shapes quickly and efficiently across product design, simulation, manufacturing, production, and operations. A Dassault Systèmes official said, "By analyzing vast amounts of data, we maximize the efficiency of production processes and supply chains, and by repeating simulations, the system learns on its own, enabling evolution into a smarter and more trustworthy manufacturing environment," adding, "The fusion of AI and virtual twins enables manufacturing innovation that is smarter, faster, safer, and more sustainable."
In the subsequent "sense computing" demonstration, the company introduced how to directly explore virtual twins in an immersive 3D environment using Apple Vision Pro. Earlier, Dassault Systèmes joined hands with Apple to integrate Apple Vision Pro into its 3DEXPERIENCE platform, which operates based on virtual twins. It also unveiled the Vision Pro–exclusive "3D Live" app. 3D Live renders design models at a 1:1 scale, providing an environment where users can review them at a distance similar to real products.
In the demonstration that day, scenes unfolding in front of a Dassault Systèmes official wearing Vision Pro were shown on a large screen. The screen displayed virtual models of automobile design drawings or a factory interior, and the demonstrator changed product layouts or applied specific functions to factory operations with just hand gestures. The company said multiple people can also work simultaneously in the same virtual environment remotely, which would help inter-team collaboration.
A Dassault Systèmes official said, "Collaboration with Vision Pro is a case of full-fledged adoption of spatial computing in industrial manufacturing design," adding, "When you wear Apple Vision Pro, the real and virtual worlds connect seamlessly, and you can freely explore the surrounding space with only your eyes, hands, and voice." The official emphasized that personal information can also be protected safely based on Optic ID.
Throughout November, Dassault Systèmes is also running an "AI for Manufacturing Industries" awareness campaign at the K-POP Square media in COEX, Samseong-dong, Seoul. The video captures the process in which vehicle design that begins in a virtual environment leads to the actual manufacturing process and culminates in a finished car.
The campaign is an extension of an event previously held at Piccadilly Circus in the United Kingdom and aims to broadly publicize Dassault Systèmes' virtual twin technology to the general public.
Jeong Un-seong, CEO of Dassault Systèmes Korea, said, "Our goal is to more widely inform the public that Dassault Systèmes is a core corporation leading global technological innovation and to approach them more familiarly," adding, "Through AI simulation and the virtual twin experience, we will continue to play a leading role in setting the direction of the future manufacturing industry."