There was a time when software companies delivered products with a list of features and tools—the more, the better. The problem with that approach for Dassault Systèmes (DS) is that the company evolved from a CAD provider famous for its CATIA 3-D design software into a comprehensive provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions. It has progressed from Digital Mock Up (DMU) to diversifying into manufacturing simulations (DELMIA), virtual simulations (SIMULIA), and other software for visualizing, simulating, and managing product development.
Each of these solutions now needs to talk to each other in an integrated way to deliver real value to specific industry segments, such as automotive or aerospace. Since PLM tools now enhance, even encourage, greater collaboration between functional groups—think design working with manufacturing—each must contribute to a specific, sometimes nebulous "solution." What to call it?
Enter the 3DExperience platform that provides a single product view within an integrated environment for collaboration. For those familiar with the separate brands of DS, it combines 3-D modeling, simulation, data management, and social media collaboration. This 3DExperience evolved from the V6 platform that emphasized accessing a single data model by the company’s different software tools. DS tailors specific experiences to the needs of industry segments, emphasizing a customer-centric view.

Automotive 3DExperience and AUTOSAR and ISO 26262    

One of the first of these industry specific 3DExperiences DS labels "Smart, Safe, & Connected.” It aimed it squarely at the problems of the automotive world. “Our customers told us quite frankly that they need help fulfilling the Automotive Open System Architecture (AUTOSAR) standard and the new ISO 26262 Electric/Electronic functional safety standard,” said Paul Silver, Global Transportation Program Manager, DS. Current and future customers wanted an automated means of proving their systems are both AUTOSAR and ISO 26262 compliant, according to him. ISO 26262, a functional safety standard, requires complete process documentation, analysis, and verification, a task ripe for automation. Since ISO 26262 involves traceability and liability issues, it is a compelling priority.
Why do they emphasize software and electronic systems in their Smart, Safe & Connected Car? “Electronics and software currently represent over 80% of vehicle innovation, with much of that focused on active or passive safety, entertainment, and performance,” stated Mike Lalande, Global Transportation Consultant, Dassault Systèmes. “There is three times as much code as in the Mercedes Benz S-Class as in the F-22 fighter.” Such preponderance in software has unfortunately led to many warranty issues as well as cost and expense in developing, testing, and validating.
Other priorities that were added to Smart, Safe & Connected, according to Lalande, include:
• Electrical engineering (systems and 3-D harness design)
• Electrical and electronic architecture definition
• Passive and active safety, especially Active Driver Assistance Simulations
He notes the passive and active safety functionality features SIMULIA CAE capabilities to simulate such things as restraints and outcomes as well as crash and crush zones. “Our electrical and electronic architecture offerings are based on our success with the BMW AIDA project,” said Lalande.

The future includes more 3DExperiences

Look for more 3DExperiences in the future—Smart, Safe, & Connected is the first of five to be released, according to Silver. Intended to be scalable solutions, DS intends to offer such packages of features that customers can choose only what they need. “Think of an experience such as Smart, Safe, & Connected as bundled solution options that can combine a software product, a service, and [industry-specific] content all in one,” explained Silver.
 For more information on ISO 26262 see: http://video.sae.org/11216.