Keynotes

Why CAD Geometry is Not CAE Geometry

Abstract

Commercial CAD tools have matured at an impressive rate over the last 30 years. Today they provide the de facto industry solution for the creation of sophisticated, highly realistic, parametric geometry, capturing ever increasing levels of detail and complexity. However, for engineers and analysts performing advanced simulation, CAD geometry is frequently quoted as the single biggest bottleneck in their workflow, accounting for hours and days of time lost performing manual clean-up and simplification. The result of this work, a CAE geometry model, drives the most sensitive stage of many simulations, mesh generation.

ITI, through their CADfix product, have been tackling the issues of re-using CAD geometry for simulation for over 40 years, starting in the days before CAD, when hand-made mesh was the "geometry". In this talk I will attempt to give an overview of some of the most pressing geometry issues affecting the simulation industry, explaining their source and illustrating the nature of their negative impact on producing an acceptable CAE geometry. I will also share some highlights of the progress ITI is making in deploying novel techniques, such as the 3D medial axis transform, to unlock some of the key CAE geometry challenges.

Brief Biography

Mark Gammon is the technical director at ITI Ltd, based outside Cambridge UK, and product manager for the ITI advanced geometry processing tool, CADfix. After graduating with a degree in engineering science from Durham University he was first employed as an aerodynamicist in the UK military aerospace industry. During his time at BAE Systems he was fortunate enough to be involved in the transition from mainframe computing to the first 3D enabled desktop computers. After experiencing first-hand the game-changing potential that 3D digital modelling offered engineers, he moved into the commercial software business with ITI, where he has worked in the field of advanced geometry processing for the last 25 years.

Consolidating, Modelling and Learning Point Clouds

Abstract

Point cloud, a given set of discrete points in a coordinate system, can naturally capture and express any object in the real world with various scales and rich attributes. We could thus calculate and restore the entire real world from point clouds, so one may say "everything is a point cloud or point clouds are everywhere:-)" In this talk, I will first review a serial of our research work done on point clouds over the past decade, highlighting in-depth some representation and reconstruction methods for unorganized point clouds, and then provide a perspective on future point cloud learning.

Brief Biography

Hui Huang is a distinguished professor and founding director of the Visual Computing Research Center at Shenzhen University, China. She received her PhD in Applied Math from the University of British Columbia in 2008 and another PhD in Computational Math from Wuhan University in 2006. Her research interests are in Computer Graphics and Scientific Computing, focusing on Point-based Modeling, Geometric Analysis, 3D Acquisition and Creation. She has published more than 60 papers in prestigious international journals and conferences, including 31 SIGGRAPH/TOG papers. She is currently an Associate Editor-in-Chief of The Visual Computer and is on the editorial board of Computer & Graphics and Frontiers of Computer Science. She has served on the program committees of major computer graphics conferences including SIGGRAPH ASIA, EG, EG-STARS, GMP, SGP, PG, 3DV, CGI, SMI, GI, CVM and CAD/Graphics, etc. She has been invited to be CHINAGRAPH 2018 Program Vice-Chair, in addition to SIGGRAPH ASIA 2017 Technical Briefs and Posters Co-Chair, SIGGRAPH ASIA 2016 Workshops Chair and SIGGRAPH ASIA 2014 Community Liaison Chair. She received National Excellent Young Scientist and GD Technological Innovation Leading Talent award in 2015. For more detail, please visit her homepage.

Mechanics-Based Design for Computational Fabrication

Abstract

Advancements in rapid prototyping technology are closing the gap between what we can simulate with computers and what we can build, as it is now possible to create shapes of astounding complexity with relative ease. Despite innovations in hardware, however, barriers still exist for novices to engage in the design phase. 3D modeling software has remained largely unaware of the fundamental laws that govern how materials and structures behave in the real world. As such, creating customized products that perform a specific function depends on extensive expert knowledge. In this talk I will present recent work that aims to enable intuitive control of mechanical and dynamic properties thanks to novel techniques in constrained optimization, numerical methods, and geometry processing.

Brief Biography

Emily Whiting is an Assistant Professor and the founding director of the Shape Lab in Computer Science at Boston University. Her work aims to bridge the gap between geometric modeling, engineering mechanics and design. Her research explores topics in digital fabrication, architectural geometry, and computer aided design. She has a PhD from MIT (2012), MS in Design & Computation from MIT (2006), and BASc in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto (2004). Previously Emily was an Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College and a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at ETH Zurich. She has interned in R&D at Lucasfilm Industrial Light & Magic and at the National Research Council of Canada. Her work has been featured in numerous media sources including TEDx, PBS NOVA, MIT Technology Review, and Make magazine.