#digital twins

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Digital twin confirms nanotubes can detect cracks in aircraft wing mid-flight

Skoltech researchers have created a digital twin of a polymer composite material with a 2D sensor and successfully used it for structural integrity testing. The new technology can be used to manufacture various large structures, such as aircraft wings, wind turbine blades, and bridge spans, which are currently made of polymer composites. The layer of carbon nanotubes that the team inserted between the fiber-reinforced layers of the composite is so thin that adding a 2D sensor does not affect the thickness or overall design of an aircraft skin or other part. Defects in aircraft parts can be detected based on the changes in the electrical conductivity of the layer, and measurements can even be made during flight. This approach, called electrical impedance tomography, is a more efficient and less expensive alternative to fiber-optic sensors.

Read more.

[aurosoulart]

my AWE competition performance about the environmental benefits if digital twins is up on YouTube!!!!!

you can watch our part of it here (it starts with Javier, Figmin XR's founder, talking about why he created the app in the first place)

also, here's me giving the judges virtual sparklers & glowsticks, and the smiles on their faces :)

[jcmarchi]

Engineering and matters of the heart

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/engineering-and-matters-of-the-heart/

Engineering and matters of the heart

Before she had even earned her bachelor’s degree, MIT professor and biomedical engineer Ellen Roche was gaining research experience in the medical device industry. In her third year at the National University of Ireland at Galway, Roche participated in a biomedical engineering program in which students worked at companies developing new devices for patient care.

“I worked on cardiovascular implants during my placement and loved it,” says Roche, an associate professor at MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) and Department of Mechanical Engineering. “For me, early experience in the medical device industry was very influential because it showed me the elaborate process of what happens from the time a technology is designed at the bench, as it is developed into a meticulously tested and reliable device that will actually be implanted in a human.”

In graduate school, a similar program led Roche first to Mednova Ltd. in Galway and then to its sister company, Abbott Vascular in California, initially for a six-month stay. Roche enjoyed the work so much that she ended up staying three and a half years. While at Mednova and Abbott, she worked on a carotid artery filter designed to prevent stroke during the procedure when a stent is implanted. She also investigated coating parts of the stents with drugs that prevent arteries from becoming occluded.

Roche, who earned tenure at MIT in July 2023, directs the Therapeutic Technology Design and Development Lab, which incorporates soft robotics, advanced fabrication methods, and computational analysis tools to develop novel devices that help to heal the heart, lungs, and other tissues. Some of the devices her team designs are intended for implantation into patients, such as a soft robotic ventilator, while others, such as a 3D-printed replica of a patient’s heart, enable research and testing of other therapies.

She encourages her students to find ways to collaborate and be flexible — and to get some kind of industry experience while still in school. She says she tells them, “Be open to accepting good opportunities as they arise, work with like-minded people, and work hard at what you are doing, but readapt when you need to.”

“There’s so much that’s very hard to even imagine until you spend some time in industry, including regulatory submissions, quality control, clinical studies, manufacturing considerations, sterilization, reliability, packaging, labeling, distribution, and sales. It really is a concerted effort of many teams with many skills to get a device to first-in-human studies,” Roche says. “Having said that, it’s one of the most rewarding.”

Born in Galway, the daughter of a civil engineer father and a mother who was a radiographer, Roche always loved math, science, and building things, and was drawn to medicine as well. She says she chose biomedical engineering because of its interdisciplinary nature and its potential for impacting society.

Roche says her mother had a “huge influence” on her career choices.

“She brought me to the hospital to meet with people using various medical devices, and introduced me to one of my mentors in industry,” she says. “She had taught herself, as the local girls’ school she attended did not teach advanced (or honors) math.”

After working at Abbott, Roche says she found she wanted to expand her studies and learn new technologies that could be applied to medical devices. She returned to school, enrolling in a bioengineering master’s program at Trinity College in Dublin. While earning her degree, she also worked at Medtronic, where she helped develop a replacement valve for the aorta that was brought all the way from conception to clinical application in humans, a process she says she was fortunate to experience firsthand.

She also studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland before being awarded at Fulbright Scholarship to pursue her PhD.

“Receiving the Fulbright Science and Technology award solidified my plans to pursue graduate study in the U.S.,” she says. She chose as PhD advisors David Mooney, a professor of bioengineering, and Conor Walsh, a professor of engineering and applied sciences, at Harvard University. “They were (and still are) amazingly supportive of my personal and professional development,” she says.

Roche has worked on a number of medical devices, including the soft, implantable ventilator; a mechanism that prevents the buildup of scar tissue; and the robotic heart, created by using 3D printing. For the robotic heart, Roche and her team start with an MRI scan of a patient’s heart and, using a soft material, print a replica of the heart, matching the anatomy, including any defects. With such a realistic model, the researchers can then apply different treatments, such as prosthetic valves or other implantable devices, in order to test them and learn more about the biomechanics that are involved.

“We can look at various devices and tune the heart, depending on what we’re trying to test,” Roche said in the “Curiosity Unbounded” podcast with MIT President Sally Kornbluth.

The 3D-printed heart, and other medical simulators Roche has worked on, greatly facilitate and improve the testing of patient interventions — and may one day also be used as implantable devices in humans.

“You can envision the people who are at end-stage heart failure, who are waiting for a transplant and on these long lists, could actually have a printed, entirely synthetic, beating heart,” Roche told Kornbluth.

Roche’s work has garnered many awards, including a National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2019, and boosts to her entrepreneurship. Her medical device startup, Spheric Bio, which is developing a minimally invasive heart implant aimed at preventing strokes, won the Faculty Founders Initiative Grand Prize in 2022 and the Lab Central Ignite Golden Ticket, which supports startup founders from traditionally underrepresented groups in biotechnology.

Meanwhile, in a dual faculty appointment in mechanical and medical engineering, Roche won the Thomas McMahon Mentoring Award in 2020, which each year goes to a person who “through the warmth of their personality, inspires and nurtures [Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology] students in their scientific and personal growth.” She also received the Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award in 2023, in recognition of exceptional teaching, research, and service.

The current research advances that excite Roche most, she says, include treatments and devices that can be customized to be patient-specific, such as in silico trials and digital twins where computational approaches can facilitate the investigation various interventions and prediction of their outcomes.

Roche’s expanding research on physical biorobotic simulators and computational models has attracted interest from industry and clinical teams. She was recently approached by a local hospital to build models for training heart surgeons on how to select which pump or ventricular assist device to use depending on a patient’s particular case. The models allow the surgeons to explore the efficacy of the assist devices at work.

Roche has three young daughters, whom she often brings to work, where “they love the environment, the students, and the lab,” she says.

Somehow, she also finds time to do triathlons, travel, and sample some of the local brews of New England. She’s currently planning to participate in a triathlon with her two PhD co-advisors, Mooney and Walsh. Luckily, she says she does her best thinking while running, biking, or swimming — or late at night.

Active and successful in so many realms, Roche provides seemingly simple advice to her students who want to have an impact on the world: “Find a way to combine what you love, what you are good at, and what will help others.”

[paintedcrows]

They do this every year...

Happy 25th to Dipdop and Lebam!! and Happy 17th to Hatsune Miku!! 🎉🎉

(comic continued: The M&M stands for...)

[jellyskink]

Only Alex Hirsch himself could convince me that, once Mabel finds out about Ford's metal plate, she WON'T stick fun magnets to his head

[thecollectibles]

Art by Alex Twin

[flight0fthecrows]

holds them gently

[mushoki]

The World is Theirs !! 🌲🌈🌟🩵

(Click image for better quality)

[windwenn]

Been re-watching gravity falls for the summer

[doctorsiren]

Day 20 of Sirentober / Doctober

Hands / Journal

You can tell who never made a deal

Available as a print on my Etsy Shop

[websyn]

Transform with SAP Industry 4.0 Solutions for Smart Factories

SAP Industry 4.0 Solutions revolutionise modern manufacturing by seamlessly integrating advanced technologies like AI, big data, cloud computing, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). These solutions empower intelligent factories to operate autonomously, optimise processes, and foster collaboration across departments, ensuring agility and continuous improvement.

With intelligent products, predictive asset management, and inspired employees, SAP Industry 4.0 Solutions enable businesses to deliver exceptional customer experiences, minimise downtime, and enhance productivity. From digital twins and autonomous robotics to cybersecurity, these solutions redefine manufacturing excellence.

At Web Synergies, we harness SAP's transformative power to help organisations embrace Industry 4.0 confidently, driving innovation, sustainability, and a competitive edge in an evolving industry landscape.

[mkcecollege]

The integration of data science and engineering is revolutionizing industries, enabling smarter decision-making, process optimization, and predictive capabilities. At M.Kumaraswamy College of Engineering (MKCE), students are equipped to harness data science to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. By combining theoretical knowledge with practical applications, MKCE prepares students to optimize processes in manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, energy, and urban planning. The curriculum includes courses on machine learning, big data analytics, and programming, alongside hands-on projects and internships. MKCE’s focus on industry collaborations ensures students stay ahead of emerging trends like AI, IoT, and digital twins. This interdisciplinary approach empowers students to lead in data-driven industries and shape the future of engineering.

To Know More : https://mkce.ac.in/blog/data-science-and-engineering-driving-innovation-across-industries/

[mayaaverse]

Discover how Mayaaverse is transforming site visits with immersive virtual previews, driving real-world savings and efficiency. Redefine how you explore spaces with cutting-edge technology that bridges the digital and physical worlds. Dive into the future of site inspections today!

Read More:- Virtual Previews, Real-World Savings: Transforming Site Visits with MayaaVerse

[jcmarchi]

Will the Convergence of Agentic AI and Spatial Computing Empower Human Agency in the AI Revolution?

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/will-the-convergence-of-agentic-ai-and-spatial-computing-empower-human-agency-in-the-ai-revolution/

Will the Convergence of Agentic AI and Spatial Computing Empower Human Agency in the AI Revolution?

As the ebbs and flows of the AI race continue to dominate the attention of business leaders, investors and the media, among the most exciting emerging innovations positioning to redefine the way we interact with digital systems and our physical environment are Agentic AI and Spatial Computing. Both highlighted in Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2025, it’s the convergence of these two technologies as they mature that, to me, brings a distinct potential to unlock capabilities across multiple industries that will have meaningful impact both to organizational leaders and their workforce.

Digital Brains in Physical Domains

Even in an environment experiencing consistent paradigm-shifting breakthroughs, Agentic AI feels like a big one, equipped with the ability to autonomously plan and execute actions to complete complex tasks assigned by a user. The technology moves beyond simple query-and-response models, creating AI “agents” capable of making complex decisions and taking action without constant human oversight. It’s a significant evolution being led by the likes of Nvidia and Microsoft.

Spatial Computing, on the other hand, blurs the lines between our physical and digital realities. Powering technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR), Spatial Computing enables us to engage with digital content in the context of our real physical surroundings.

When we put these two concepts together, there’s some potential magic.

Empowering, Rather Than Replacing Human Agency

A legitimate concern that the rise of AI has brought with it, is its potential impact on the type of human agency that has driven industry forward for as long as it has existed. Understandably, the imminent arrival of Agentic AI only adds fuel to this fire, designed to comprehend and engage with complex commercial and operational scenarios in a way that no technology has ever done before – but, when combined with Spatial Computing, I think that we have a very compelling case for enhancing human capabilities rather than diminishing them.

The synergy of automation and physical immersion, i.e. the convergence of Agentic AI and Spatial Computing, could and should in my opinion be used to deliver a fresh type of human-machine interaction that empowers human agency in ways that we are only just beginning to foresee. How does this look in practice?

Transforming Processes Through Intelligent Immersion

In healthcare, Agentic AI could power virtual assistants that guide surgeons through complex procedures, with Spatial Computing providing real-time, three-dimensional visualizations of patient data. The result? Enhanced precision, reduced errors, and improved outcomes for patients. In this particular use case, the discretion of the AI “agent” acts as an assistant, theoretically handling much of the qualitative and quantitative process behind a procedure such as safety checklisting and streamlining communication, whilst the human agency (the surgeon) is able to operate more efficiently and effectively.

In the realm of logistics and supply chain management, Agentic AI could be used to orchestrate complex operations with minimal human intervention. These agents could have the capability to predict demand, optimize routes, and manage inventory in real-time. When coupled with Spatial Computing, warehouse workers equipped with AR glasses could theoretically see AI-generated instructions overlaid on their environment, guiding them to the most efficient picking routes. Meanwhile, autonomous robots, directed by Agentic and Spatial AI, navigate the space to collaborate with the human workers around them.

The potential applications extend to creative industries as well. Imagine architectural firms where Agentic AI acts as a tireless design partner, generating and iterating on concepts based on specified parameters. Spatial Computing then allows architects to step into these AI-generated designs, experiencing and modifying them in immersive 3D environments.

In manufacturing, Agentic AI could optimize production processes, while Spatial Computing enables workers to interact with  digital twins of machinery, enhancing maintenance and reducing downtime.

This collaboration of human creativity and AI capability comes with the potential to be an unlock for businesses augmenting and accelerating the process of system design and implementation and pushing the boundaries of innovation.

Embracing the Future

The convergence of Agentic AI and Spatial Computing represents more than just technological advancement. It comes with the potential to shift how we perceive and interact with the digital world in the workplace. For those willing to embrace the opportunities it offers, there will undoubtedly be rewards and rather than a technology that comes with an obvious intent to displace or replace human workers, this has far more potential to empower them.

[rtrevisan]

Uso da Inteligência Artificial na arquitetura e engenharia [GA]

A capacidade transformadora da Inteligência Artificial (IA) no campo da Arquitetura, Engenharia, Construção e Operação (AECO) decorre de intensas evoluções recentes em dois vetores: a evolução de hardware e o desenvolvimento de novas arquiteturas e capacidades de IA. A Nvidia, por exemplo, acaba de lançar o Blackwell, uma nova Unidade de Processamento Gráfico (GPU) que quintuplica o desempenho na…

[idea-explorer]