Automotive industry demands high precision manufacturing with very strict regulations. Automotive manufacturers and suppliers have to spend significant time and budget when designing new parts, testing them for overall integration and performance. Similarly, preventive maintenance plays a vital role in the safety and reliability.

Engineers rely on Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) to design and simulate new parts and products.

From tires to wipers, engines to sensors, all new parts and products go through exhaustive examination and tests before getting certified for the automotive industry. Engineers use complex simulations to test their designs in many different conditions and come up with the optimal product design. These simulations require large compute resources and take long time to run. Moreover, engineers need to modify their designs based on the simulation results and re-run their simulations many times.

Digital disruption in the automotive industry is fueled by rapid technological innovation.

Digital transformation is shaping the automotive industry with completely new manufacturing principles. Digital factories will start built-to-order manufacturing and soon be fully integrated with their products on the road. IoT and big data already get digital information from most cars and drivers on the road, and according to PWC, all new vehicles produced will be digitally connected by 2022. Digital twins will simulate the entire vehicle including road conditions, driver habits, engine performance, wear and tear, and more.

Digital is also changing how and why we use vehicles.

Drivers are no longer using their cars to go from A to B. They make the time on the road part of their social life, connecting to the world in real time, requiring personalized services from in-vehicle information and entertainment systems. Autonomous and assisted driving will be taking over more than half of the market by 2025. For people who need just to go from A to B, car sharing and robo-taxis will do the job.

Digital disruption is pushing engineering world to go beyond the limits.

All these developments, legislative pressures, tighter safety regulations and market competition driven by changing customer behaviors push automotive companies to develop new technologies and services. In this competitive landscape, manufacturers are racing to put new products on the market.

As a result of this pressure, engineering teams are being forced to develop new designs and equipment. The workload surges from growing number of designs, simulations and tests, brings a demand for higher compute capacity.

New technology makes High Performance Computing (HPC) more affordable and accessible.

Developments in computing world can now pack a supercomputer power to more compact systems. Today’s dilemma is no longer the cost of hardware but the resources needed for systems support, software licenses, and maintenance which can be four times more expensive than hardware itself.

To engineers’ advantage HPC is benefiting from the power of the cloud technologies. Major cloud technology providers like Azure, AWS, HPE, Atos, and others, are heavily investing in better and cheaper compute resources.

In order to get HPC power from CAE software, Cloud Computing provides infrastructure with platform and software services that allow full performance when the jobs are scaled from single CPU to hundreds and thousands..

Cloud computing allows companies to take their extra simulation workload to cloud HPC. Companies can choose private or public cloud based on the requirements and benefits, from vast resources, securely, by bursting or running simulations in cloud. Moreover, on-demand cloud HPC puts all of this at the engineers’ fingertips for small to medium sized workloads.

Do you have a Cloud Strategy?

According to Forbes, 80% of enterprises are now following a cloud first policy. This means they are already working on private and hybrid cloud strategy and implementation. Technological advances providing better tools and real time access to smart systems around the world.

With affordability of cloud HPC, fast global accessibility, and intelligent software systems, most automotive companies have already started moving simulation workloads to the cloud. Whether it is private, public, or hybrid, cloud is the most efficient way to run simulations and keep up with the digital transformation.

To learn more about how UberCloud can help you with your digital transformation journey, contact us now.