Flowing into the Future

Iowa State researchers are working on technology to let engineers design and analyze in real time surrounded by three-dimensional virtual reality. The goal for virtual engineering is for the engineer to better focus on solving the problem at hand, without spending undue amounts of time gathering information, modelling the information, and then analyzing it. The virtual engineering system would integrate computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis modelling and simulation technologies so engineers would feel as though they’re walking through a system, like a power plant, testing as they go. According to experts, the challenge of building a complete virtual engineering environment comes while coupling software packages as well as in the limitations of visualization and computing hardware prevalent currently. Howard Crabb, one of the founding fathers of computer-aided design technology, predicts that virtual engineering will become cost-effective within the decade. He’s the author of The Virtual Engineer, a book that defines how companies can use the powerful supercomputing capabilities available today to streamline business practices.