At the second day of Realize LIVE, the flagship event that brings together the Siemens Digital Industries Software community, attendees were promised that this is the place “Where digital transformation gets real. Fast.“ and the second day’s general session again focused on how embracing complexity can deliver a real competitive advantage.
Joe Bohman, Executive Vice President for PLM Products at Siemens Digital Industries Software, took up the challenge of demonstrating how Siemens is revolutionizing product development with our comprehensive digital twin technology that spans multiple domains, previously disconnected processes and takes advantage of the power of AI to deliver true innovation.
Joe Bohman tackles the subject of complexity as a competitive advantage, brings the crowd up to date on Siemens’ latest innovations and provides a glimpse into future plans.
Bohman’s session covered topics that ranged from the application of AI to explore massively complex design scenarios where 1,000s of product variations can be generated, simulated and optimized, to the breaking down of data silos and fostering cross-discipline collaboration, allowing customers such as Vuhl Automotive to increase their efficiency by 30% across their entire organization. He also explained how Siemens is addressing the critical gap in existing AI technologies by working to develop an industrial AI foundation model specifically designed for engineering and manufacturing.
"ChatGPT knows the language of the internet,” said Bohman. “It knows text, image, audio, video and code. It doesn't know the language of engineering and manufacturing, talking about systems, mechanical, electrical, simulation, manufacturing and bill of materials. What we're doing at Siemens is we have some unique advantages; what we're doing is we're creating our own industrial foundation model. We're taking 150 petabytes of our own product data, our 10,000 AI patents and hundreds of data scientists to bring it all together to build an industrial foundation model that speaks the language of engineering and manufacturing. We think this can transform how AI can be applied to complex engineering challenges, potentially revolutionizing product development and manufacturing processes.”
The power of digital transformation at Northrop Grumman
Bohman was followed by Adam Shepherd, NG Fellow at Northrop Grumman, who told the assembled crowd the story of digital transformation at Northrop Grumman, focusing on how it can revolutionize complex engineering processes - making them more efficient, responsive and collaborative.
Adam Shepherd, NG Fellow at Northrop Grumman, paints a picture of a company that sees technology not just as a tool, but as a means of solving complex challenges and creating meaningful progress.
Shepherd explored the critical importance of breaking down traditional engineering silos, demonstrating how digital tools can dramatically accelerate innovation. He also highlighted the company's remarkable achievements in transforming design and manufacturing through integrated technologies, including a stunning reduction in engineering rework from 20% to less than 1% and achieving first flight in just 27 months for the Model 437 demonstrator platform.
Throughout his presentation, Shepherd emphasized Northrop Grumman's commitment to pushing technological boundaries, particularly through their strategic partnership with Siemens, and advanced digital engineering approaches – which has been extended for a further three years. He painted a picture of a company that sees technology not just as a tool, but as a means of solving complex challenges and creating meaningful progress.
"Our approach is about more than efficiency. It's about reimagining the engineering process through analytical, precision, data-driven decision-making. We're reducing risk, accelerating development, and enabling robust collaboration across multiple layers of security and expertise. We're empowering our workforce to shape the science that provides our customers with confidence in their system modernization strategies,” said Shepherd. “Siemens tools and collaborative solutions are not just enablers - they are a catalyst that empowers us to deliver rapid, affordable, and future-focused solutions to our customers."
Solution Center brings tother experts, partners and the community
A central part of the Realize LIVE experience is the Solution Center, where attendees can take part in informal briefings in the knowledge theatres, engage with Siemens’ experts, experience live demonstrations and discover the wealth of solutions available from the 40+ partners.
The Solution Center is the perfection location for users to experience live demonstrations and meet with experts.
Showcasing customer innovation
One of the most popular areas of the Solution Center is the customer showcase, which features Siemens customers’ innovative products and shares them and their story wit our community. This year, we’re joined by the teams from Arc Boat Company, BAC Automotive, Northrop Grumman, Spinnova, Stoneridge and Workhorse who are showing how they are adopting the power of digital transformation and the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio to compete and succeed.
Bringing the next generation of designers and engineers to Realize LIVE
Students hard at work at this year’s Sustainability Design Hack.
In addition to this week’s general sessions, learning tracks and peer to peer networking, the Future Workforce team is also running a 48-hour Sustainability Design Hack during which teams from the University of Cincinnati, Michigan State, Perdue University, Lehigh University, Wayne State and York University are teaming up to solve a real-world sustainability challenge in consumer electronics – created by Sony – while gaining hands-on experience with Designcenter NX and the latest in immersive design.
Stay tuned for the winners tomorrow.
