By Keith Perrin, Dr. Kambiz Kayvansash and Dr. Guillaume Boisot, Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, the convergence of physical and digital realms is no longer a distant vision—it’s a reality unfolding before our eyes. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE). As we stand at the precipice of this transformation, let’s explore the implications and possibilities in this future.

Current practices in CAE stand at the forefront of this convergence, because high-quality physics-based simulations can accurately represent the tangible world of physical prototypes with the limitless possibilities of digital simulations. The cloud democratizes access to simulation, enabling engineers and designers to harness immense computational power and without the constraints of on-premises infrastructure and to aggregate and process real-world data when needed.

Digital twins, the offspring of this union, bridge...