Next-generation smart products will require a next-generation engineering process. Each cycle of new product development will inevitably be more complex. Products will continue to evolve from purely mechanical devices into a combination of mechanical parts, electronics, with a growing number of controllers, and software they will become mechatronic. Traditional mechanical engineering processes will need to evolve, as they do not support the optimization of such mechatronic systems.
New, more robust, engineering platforms should enable verification without the fabrication of several prototypes. If we want to leap frog the competition in time and cost savings, we need to re-design the end-to-end development process. By re-defining traditional test engineering, the 1D system and 3D performance simulation approach, integrating and taking this new framework of Model-Based Systems Engineering as the starting point, we will realize quantum leaps.
The evolution towards integrating platforms of modularized subsystems and components is already going on. The need to frontload and calibrate controls and software to balance upfront conflicting attributes for simultaneous mechanical, thermal, electronic and controls development is, to some extent, yesterday’s news. Tomorrow’s solution is the new model-based-framework. But more important, they should also strive for an holistic open innovation approach with extended interfaces for the full supply-chain and, preferably, the whole eco-system. The way manufacturers and their suppliers work together will fundamentally change too. The sharing of engineering data requires a new respect for intellectual property and a new approach to warranty and in-service issues.
