Special simulation - The new uses of simulation

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special feature magazine 2 - 2018 - not to be sold separately

HealtHcare, automotive, design, production

tHe new uses of simulation

CEA at the heart of innovation for extreme computing and Big Data CEA and Bull are co-designing exascale technologies

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Harnessing exascale computing and data processing will open unexplored perspectives for the numerical simulation of complex physical phenomena and industrial objects, by 2020 and beyond.

In order to tackle this challenge, CEA, in partnership with Atos, is co-designing technologies to: Reduce energy consumption Process and manage massive flows of data Increase performance, efficiency and modularity of supercomputer architectures Design fault-tolerant architectures 1 - At the scale of a billion of billions of operations per second (exaFlops) and memory bytes (exaBytes).

TERA 1000, developed in partnership with Atos/Bull according to CEA requirements and installed in 2016, is foreshadowing exascale supercomputers.

CEA boosts industrial innovation Located at CEA Bruyèresle-Châtel site, TGCC (CEA Very Large Computing Centre) hosts CCRT (Computing Centre for Research and Technology), a shared infrastructure optimized for HPC. CCRT partners receive 2 Pflops of computing power, as well as services and expertise supported by CEA HPC team skills – an essential asset for their numerical simulations.

Numerical simulation of combusion in an helicopter turbo-engine – TURBOMECA

Aero-acoustic numerical simulation on an automotive interior ventilation system – VALEO

CCRT partners ArianeGroup, Cerfacs, EDF, IFPEN, Ineris, IRSN, L’Oréal, Onera, SafranTech, SAFRAN Aero Boosters, SAFRAN Aircraft Engines, SAFRAN Helicopter Engines, SOLEIL, Technicatome, Thales, Thales Alenia Space, Valeo, CEA as well as FranceGénomique consortium (supported by French government PIA).

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To know more www-ccrt.cea.fr Contact christine.menache@cea.fr

Simulation of surface currents on an aircraft nose radome - THALES

simulation

Digital reconstruction of a neocortical microcircuit.

new Frontiers

Contents interview

Christian Saguez, president of Teratec

P. 4

new uSeS health

From stethoscopes to petaflops

P. 8

the Car industry

Simulation from the Design Stage

P. 12

Cloud

On-Demand Computing P. 14

produCtion

Factories switch to augmented reality P. 16 new TeChnOlOgy Computing Centers

europe is finally stepping up the pace

P. 22

teChnology

get ready for quantum computing P. 28

proCessors

Supercomputing is hooked on artificial intelligence P. 30

new PlayerS good praCtiCes

SMes are starting to use hPC

P. 34

start-ups

Taking medical training by storm

P. 38

design

hyper-realistic nvidia P. 40

portfolio

high Definition P. 42 industry story

water Bomb P. 46

Président, directeur de la publication Julien elmaleh Directrice générale déléguée isabelle andré Directeur du pôle industrie pierre-dominique lucas Directrice de la rédaction Christine Kerdellant Directrice adjointe de la rédaction anne debray rédacteur en chef édition guillaume dessaix Directeur artistique vincent Boiteux Coordinateur éditorial manuel moragues ont participé à ce numéro Claire nicolas et rebecca lecauchois (secrétariat de rédaction) ; sylvie louvet et isabelle Juin (maquette) « l’usine nouvelle » n° 3559 – Cahier 2 – 19 avril 2018 (commission paritaire n° 0722 t 81903) « industrie & technologies » n° 1010-1011 – Cahier 2 - Juin 2018 (commission paritaire n° 0622 t 81775) ne peut être vendu séparément une publication du groupe gisi, antony parc ii 10 place du général-de-gaulle - Bp 20156 - 92186 antony Cedex Impression imprimerie de Compiègne 60205 Compiègne Photo de couverture d.r.

simulation - sPeCial Feature magazine 2

T

here isn’t a single field without simulation,” says Christian Saguez, president of Teratec, in the interview opening this simulation special issue.

Ten or fifteen years ago, simulation was confined to a few fields such as the aeronautics and car industries.

Its frontiers have now extended to encompass virtually all human activities. Boosted by the huge increase in computing power, and by machine learning that has got artificial intelligence back on track, simulation is now even used to explore living organisms. It offers Manuel fascinating prospects for medicine. Although persoMoragues nalized medicine remains a distant goal, it is making editorial manager great strides forward: e.g. predicting the properties of drug candidates, creating digital twins of organs to test treatment, as well as personalizing and facilitating the use of medical devices such as stents.

Manufacturers are also finding new uses for simulation.

In addition to their traditional utilization, they now use simulation throughout the life cycle of a product, especially since pay-as-you-go options resulting from the switch to the cloud are promoting wider use of highperformance computing. SMEs, supported in France by the SiMSEO program, are seizing on simulation to move up the value chain and innovate better, while start-ups are making it Boosted by petaflops the driving force for their technology. and machine learning, Simulation coupled with virtual reality simulation is now even is also becoming an established tool in industry. Solutions are maturing used to explore living very quickly, and augmented-reality organisms. helmets, glasses, and other projectors are increasingly rolled out in industrial settings. These devices give operators the right information at the right time and in the right place.

France has taken note, and Brussels is becoming aware with its EuroHPC program, that high-performance computing is strategic technology, and that Europe must gain control of its hardware and software. Especially since, over and above the race towards exascale capacity, the announcement that Moore’s Law is ending could reshuffle the deck. Massively parallel computers and combining different types of microprocessor are only the beginning of this process. The burgeoning hybridization of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence heralds new technology. Finally, accelerated progress on quantum chips could greatly extend simulation’s frontiers, and much sooner than we could have imagined just two or three years ago. ❚❚ 3

simulation

IntervIew

“SImulatIon now affectS every Sector”

IntervIewed by Manuel MoragueS

Simulation has taken hold in many fields. what’s your analysis of this impressive development?

There isn’t a single field without simulation or, more generally, computing. Take the latest Olympic Games, for example: simulation was behind all the skis, shoes, clothing, etc. Likewise, simulation is becoming just as important in agriculture and the food industry as it is in the manufactu­ ring industry. It’s impressive. Personalized medicine also involves simulation. Our ability to integrate masses of data from sensors into simulation models means we can offer personalized therapies. Not to mention commerce and cities...When you think that ten years ago simulation only affected a few sectors such as the car and aircraft industries, it’s an amazing development.

How do you explain the more widespread use of simulation?

Data­based modeling is the major phenomenon causing simulation to spread. Previously, simulation was only used for purely physical phenomena, which were modeled with deterministic models. There was a very good reason for this: it’s virtually impossible to put very complex phenomena such as plant growth or organ behavior, which involve chance, into mathematical equations. But with machine learning, e.g. neural networks, we can build predictive models using data alone. As a result, we can model living organisms. It’s fantastic. Traditional physical modeling and data­based modeling are complementary. By coupling them, we can

“By coupling traditional modeling and data-based modeling, we can have a comprehensive approach for complex systems such as living organisms. It’s fantastic.”

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have a comprehensive approach for complex systems and try to optimize them.

Manufacturers have also changed how they use simulation.

To caricature, simulation was initially used in product design to validate experiments. Car manufacturers crashed real cars containing dummies and then simulated these crashes to check the results. Industrial manufacturers then switched to simulation for the entire design process of their products. Simulation is now used not just for design but throughout a product’s life cycle: how it works, is used, and even recycled. In civil engineering, simulation was used to design bridges. Simulation now monitors changes and ageing in bridges by feeding data collected throughout their life span into models. Simulation throughout the entire life cycle of a product is a fundamental development that explains its more widespread use. Predictive maintenance, which is developing very quickly, is a concrete example of this. are SMes taking up this tool?

They are becoming increasingly aware of simulation’s importance, especially since it is now used in new sectors and throughout the entire life cycle of products. It’s essential for SMEs to adopt this tool. In partnership with the French authorities, we launched the SiMSEO program at Teratec to help SMEs [see page 34]. We began by targeting the construction and public works sector, which has been amaz­ ingly successful. Around a hundred companies joined the program, which shows how much demand there is among SMEs. We’re going to continue with mechanical engineering and then other sectors. The authorities must take the bull by the horns: the concept works, now it has to be rolled out on a large scale. Today, computing power and software are available in the cloud via pay­as­you­go options, meaning that investment is no longer a barrier. now that the end of Moore’s law has been announced, will supercomputers continue to make progress?

By the year 2021–2022, we expect to have exaflop super­ computers, with the capacity to perform 1 billion, billion ope­ rations per second. This incredible level of computing power means we’ll be able to do many things. Although we can’t keep miniaturizing processors any more, we can increase their number. This is already the case since we’ve gone into massive parallelization, with computation distributed across numerous, increasingly diverse processors. This approach is adding graphics processors to conventional processors, while other specialized chips will improve performance. This

Pascal GuittEt

Christian Saguez, president of teractec, the European simulation and highperformance computing technopole, describes the importance of simulation and the transformations it is undergoing.

even extends to more futuristic technology such as quantum computing. But we should remember that hardware isn’t everything. Some 50% of past and future progress in compu­ ting power has and will continue to come from algorithmics.

It is algorithms that enable supercomputers to be used to the full, especially with massive parallelization.

the data economy plan – initiated by Arnaud Montebourg, and the artificial intelligence initiative. But we must not ease up our efforts. It’s absolutely essential to launch significant measures for training people to use this technology. This is crucial since we’re short of skills just when a new economy is developing around digital technology.

How is France positioning itself in terms of HPC? France has a very good position throughout the chain: components, users (major industrialists), computer architec­ ture, and algorithmics. All these skills must work together in a collaborative design approach to design and run the computers of the future. It’s a historic opportunity. We need to understand that having control of high­performance computing’s hardware and software is really a national sovereignty issue. Simulation now affects every sector and is becoming a key part of defense, industrial competitiveness, administration, the healthcare system, and the life of ordinary citizens. I think the authorities have integrated this issue, as proved by the supercomputers plan – which turned into

Has this sovereignty issue been properly understood at the european level?

Although Europe has been slightly slower to understand, it has realized what’s at stake and decisions are currently being made accordingly. We should rejoice in European initiatives such as ETP4HPC and EuroHPC [see page 22], in which France has and continues to play a driving role. To get back in the race, Europe will have to invest tens of billions of euros over the next few years. Although that seems like a lot, it’s not a huge sum compared to the cost of the Channel Tunnel, constructing an Airbus, or France’s nuclear plan.

Above all, it’s not a great deal compared to the key benefits of such investment. ❚❚

simulation - sPEcial FEatuRE maGazinE 2

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J. Mottern / Dassault systèMes

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siMulation

new uSeS In SIlIco Healthcare is banking heavily on

simulation. Medical devices, drugs, and organs are now analyzed in minute detail by computers, and healthcare’s sights are set on personalized medicine.

Augmented ReAlIty Far from limiting itself

to Pokémon Go, augmented reality is becoming an established tool in industry. Many manufacturers are adopting solutions that have quickly reached maturity.

PAy-AS-you-go By moving over to the cloud,

high-performance computing has become accessible to sMes; its investment barrier to entry no longer exists.

Special report coordinated by Manuel MoragueS

Dassault Systèmes’ Living Heart Project is creating 3D personalized heart models to speed up research on treating heart disease. siMulation - sPeCial Feature MaGazine 2

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simulation

BiovizJS, Bionext’s 3D molecular-visualization application, is speeding up development of new drugs.

From StethoScopeS to petaFlopS Healthcare is seizing on simulation. Boosted by technological progress and approval from health authorities, in-silico approaches are gaining ground in medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.

by Floriane leclerc

8

c

ould the future of medicine lie in computers?

In-silico approaches first appeared in the 1970s with the development of bioinformatics. This wide variety of research methods based on using complex calculations and computer models is enjoying a new boom. The pharmaceutical industry has been very interested in these methods since the 1980s to speed up the discovery of therapeutic molecules. But it is only recently that computer simulation has really gained ground in the world of healthcare. “We’ve noticed a rise in use over the past five years. This is first because we now have the technology to carry out more complex simulation. Secondly, it’s because health authorities now regard these methods as a new cornerstone complementing in-vitro and in-vivo approaches,” explained Thierry Marchal, industry director for healthcare at the simulation software vendor Ansys and secretary-general of Avicenna Alliance, a European Commission lobby group providing insight into simulation issues in the pharmaceutical and medical sectors. In Europe, product-evaluation dossiers submitted to the European Medicines Agency can now include in-silico simulations in their appendixes. In the

Bionext ; inria / H. raguet ; D.r.

health

simulation

USA, “Congress is explicitly encouraging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider the opportunity of in-silico tests to really speed up the development of drugs and medical devices,” said Marchal. The FDA has also provided medicaldevice manufacturers with a pilot program to help their tools and simulation methods obtain qualification.

projectS on all FrontS

Very Successful in the Pharmaceutical Industry

This favorable context is multiplying initiatives and broadening the scope of application. “In particular, simulation has found its way into hospitals,” said Marchal. Medical-device manufacturers, which were already using simulation software to design implants, are now offering surgeons decision-making solutions to optimize their insertion. The US giants Medtronic and Terumo provide doctors using their devices with Sim&Size software. This software for operating on patients at risk of ruptured aneurysms is produced by the Montpellierbased start-up Sim&Cure. “There’s an enormous amount of innovation in the field of medical devices. Our software makes medical devices more accessible and provides the best preparation for operations,” explained Mathieu Sanchez, co-founder of Sim&Cure. Once a patient’s arteries have been modeled using medical imagery, “surgeons can simulate inserting a digital replica of a stent to choose the best size and position for safe treatment.” In Rennes, the mathematics research institute and university hospital have joined forces with the prostheses manufacturer Proteor to design orthopedic corsets for treating adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. A 3D model of a patient’s torso is created to simulate the stresses on the medical device and manufacture a bespoke corset.

Simulation is also increasingly used in the pharmaceutical sector. Start-ups that launched in this sector about ten years ago, designing simulation software that quickly identifies potential drugs and predicts their safety via mass analysis of public and private scientific databases, are now enjoying great success. Lixoft, a spin-off from the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) launched in 2011, supplies its Monlix and Simulix solutions to the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) and Novartis. These solutions simulate what happens to molecules after the human body absorbs them.

The Strasbourg-based biotechnology company Bionext, which had already developed a bioinformatics platform, has now expanded its business. After acquiring the intangible assets of Rhenovia Pharma, which specialized in biosimulation of the central nervous system, Bionext set up TheraScape in 2016. The company intends to provide a second platform simulating how human cells respond to contact with

“health authorities now regard these methods as a new cornerstone complementing in-vitro and in-vivo approaches.” thierry marchal, secretary-general of avicenna alliance simulation - sPeCial Feature magazine 2

lIVIng heart

launched by Dassault systèmes (Ds) in 2014, the living Heart Project [photo] is modeling and simulating the human heart. it brings together 95 members (researchers, doctors, developers) throughout the world, whose objective is to develop safe, effective cardiovascular treatment and products.

Ds and the Food and Drug administration (FDa) have signed a five-year agreement on using these digital tools to speed up the approval process for medical devices such as pacemakers. this collaborative project is using the 3Dexperience cloud-based platform.

MOnC

the monC Project (oncology modeling) brings together researchers from inria, the Cnrs, and the institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux. its aim is to build digital tools based on partial differential equations and statistical methods to improve monitoring of cancer development. these models are largely based on each patient’s imaging data,

with the challenge being to eventually come up with personalized predictions. in particular, these models will be used during preclinical trials and in clinical contexts to improve assessments of treatment efficacy against diseases. this will spare patients complicated solutions that may prove ineffective.

huMan BraIn

With a 1.2 billion euro budget over ten years, the Human Brain Project is trying to better understand and numerically simulate brain function. this eu project launched in 2013 brings together scientists from 24 countries. it is based on six collaborative research platforms focusing on neuroinformatics, high-performance computing, medical informatics, neuromorphic computing, neurorobotics, and brain simulation. the project’s brainsimulation component should help understand synaptic transmission and the role of neurons on various scales (molecular, nervous, and regional).

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simulation

“We need to simulate how organs interact with one another” Dominique chapelle, INRIA’s research director and a heart-modeling expert how do you create a patient-specific model?

You need to use each patient’s data to adjust a generic model so that it reproduces his or her specific features. We don’t know much about each patient’s input parameters, such as the mechanical properties of their tissues, which are hard to measure. Therefore we have to solve the model’s equations

from the opposite direction.

In other words, we have to piece together the parameters to achieve our objective by using output measurements.

Does it help to collect health-related data via the Internet of things?

The more measurements you have, the more a digital avatar will resemble the real system. Some measurements, such as diet and habitat, are still too far removed from modeling’s scope to be integrated into equations.

Although this data is too scattered

molecules. In particular, it is focusing on G-protein-coupled receptors, which are the main transmitters of external information used by cells to modulate their functioning. These receptors are targeted by over 30% of drugs on the market.

Multidisciplinary Projects

Not to be outdone, some big pharmaceutical companies have developed an in-house bioinformatics division, and most are involved in ever more advanced multidisciplinary projects. The Living Heart Project was launched by the software designer Dassault Systèmes in 2014. It initially brought together researchers, medical-equipment developers, practicing cardiologists, and the FDA to develop and validate realistic digital models of the human heart to test cardiovascular devices on them. The project now also includes some big pharmaceutical laboratories. “Major companies such as Pfizer have joined us since we introduced a biological dimension to our model,” explained Jean Colombel, vicepresident of life sciences at Dassault Systèmes. “In addition to anatomical, mechanical, and hemodynamic aspects, the virtual heart has included cardiac electrophysiology since the end of 2017.” This progress enabled researchers at Stanford University, California to observe the effects of quinidine on the heart model’s electrical activity and reproduce the risks of arrhythmia linked to this drug.

“Surgeons can simulate inserting a digital replica of a stent to choose its best size and position.” mathieu Sanchez, co-founder of sim&Cure

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and diverse, big data may help to structure and exploit it.

Will virtual patients be ready any time soon?

Apart from personalizing models, we still need to improve coupling between the various mechanical, electrical, and biological phenomena at organ level.

We also need to simulate how organs interact with one another. Modeling the human body is currently quite compartmentalized, with everyone working on separate organs. ❚❚

towards Personalized avatars

The pharmaceutical sector’s main aim is currently to provide “each patient with the right dose of the right drug.” To achieve this, increasingly precise and personalized simulation is required. Launched a year ago with a budget of 1.5 million euros over three years, the European ITFoC (Information Technology: The Future of Cancer Treatment) project aims to achieve deep molecular characterization of both the tumor and the patient. Its objective is to gather the data needed to create specific avatars for in-silico prediction of tumor development and treatment effects. “Although significant progress has been made over the past ten years, enabling patients to be stratified according to various biomarkers, we are still a very long way from truly personalized treatment,” the project leaders admit in their preamble. Some research is already looking at the possibility of creating a digital twin of patients’ organs, or even of their entire body, using healthrelated and medical-imaging data.

Nevertheless, many obstacles remain to be overcome.

“Although we’ve got models and can already reproduce some mechanisms, we only partially understand how the human body functions. In cardiology, for example, it’s not just the heart that’s involved but also the veins, kidneys, and lungs that all closely interact with one another,” said Dominique Chapelle, INRIA’s research director and a key player in the Virtual Physiological Human initiative. This major international project launched in 2006 aims to model and simulate the entire human body in all its complexity. But although this holistic approach still applies, researchers now often focus on more targeted objectives directly linked to medical applications. For example, researchers at the Alexander Grothendieck Institute in Montpellier are trying to extend the boundaries of existing medical-imaging techniques. They hope to simulate blood flow using a combination of medical-

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healthcare, computing-power Guzzling Quickly processing huge amounts of health-related data to create and simulate models requires enormous computing power. to achieve this, the largest projects use supercomputers. one of the Human Brain Project’s platforms, for analysis and high-performance computing, brings together the biggest institution-based computers in europe’s four supercomputing centers (BsC, CsCs [photo], Cineca, and Jülich). these computers can perform quadrillions of operations per second and have quadrillionbyte storage capacity. almost

350,000 ordinary computers would be needed to compete against even one of them.

“But power isn’t everything.

We need to design specific algorithms that can tell such computers how to process these huge data sets,” said gilles mergoil, coordinator of the 3Dneurosecure digital platform. one of the goals of this project to develop molecules against new therapeutic targets identified in alzheimer’s disease is therefore to establish new computing codes suitable for supercomputers’ massive, multicore architecture. ❚❚

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imaging and fluid-mechanics techniques. As well as blood, which is already complicated to simulate, the scientists are trying to model fluid flow and its effects on veins. All this will improve understanding of microcirculation and optimize biomedical devices. The artificial surfaces of these devices can cause biochemical reactions in the blood, leading to clot formation and the risk of embolism. Healthcare now has simulation in its blood. ❚❚ simulation - sPeCial Feature magazine 2

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simulation

The Car IndusTry

Simulation from the DeSign Stage Renault is using simulation as a design tool to devise the human-machine interface of tomorrow’s cars.

By Julien Bergounhoux

h

ow will drivers react in partially autonomous cars? In order to find out and ensure these cars are as suitably designed as possible, Renault is investing 25 million euros in ROADS (Renault Optimization Autonomous Driving Simulator) a new driving simulator. The system built by Autonomous Vehicle Simulation, a joint venture between Renault and Oktalwill will be inaugurated at the Guyancourt technocenter (Yvelines) in 2019.

ROADS will be comprised of a 360° dome 15 meters in diameter, featuring an ultra-HD 3D image and fully equipped car passenger compartment, with eye- and head-tracking systems. All this will be mounted on a hexapod, a platform supported by six pistons to reproduce more realistic driving sensations. To practice accelerating, the hexapod will be placed on rails around thirty meters long. In addition to simple tests, Renault intends to use the simulator to design tomorrow’s cars. “We’re using the simulator to check human acceptance of these vehicles’ behavior: that drivers are not

Inside the Guyancourt technocenter, renault is simulating various driving scenarios to test its future autonomous cars.

frightened by the driving style; that they’re not frustrated at being overtaken by everyone, etc.,” explained Olivier Colmard, vice-president of numerical simulation at Renault. “For example, we’re looking at how to tell drivers they need to take back control and ensure they do not ignore the signal.”

Renault is turning its attention to the human-machine interface. In particular, it is reflecting on how to integrate augmented-reality technology, which may be better at catching drivers’ attention, into car passenger compartments.

5-10 Million scenarios

heRvé boutet

exhiBitS uSeD in Court Road accidents involving self-driving cars will lead to completely new legal disputes. “We’re already thinking through possible court action after the first accidents. We must be able to replay scenes to prove the system isn’t to blame. We’ll be able to establish if the world’s best driver could have avoided the accident had he or she been driving, or if it was an impossible situation,” explained olivier Colmard, vice-president of numerical simulation at Renault. to this end, cars will constantly record huge amounts of data about their status and environment so that Renault can numerically simulate replays of accident scenes. ❚❚ 12

Renault is using three simulation models to develop the human-machine interface: a situational model (driving scenarios), a car model, and a human model. “We need the car’s exact model, i.e. its complete digital twin. This comes directly from engineering. But we also need to test it and adjust its details, and in order to do that we need scenarios.

We’re working on tens of thousands of use cases, generating 5-10 million scenarios with tiny variations to study how the autonomous driving system reacts. Among other things, we’re varying the weather, traffic, and the reaction time of each car,” said Colmard. All this will help Renault prepare as well as possible for the first models’ market release, scheduled for 2022 or 2023. ❚❚

Invented in the 1800s. Optimized for today.

l h von Mises stress distribution d b h housing h Visualization off the in the off an induction motor by accounting for electromechanical effects.

In the 19th century, two scientists separately invented the AC induction motor. Today, it’s a common component in robotics.

How did we get here and how can modern-day engineers continue to improve the design?

The COMSOL MultiphysicsÂŽ software is used for simulating designs, devices, and processes in all fields of engineering, manufacturing, and scientific research. See how you can apply it to robotics design. comsol.blog/induction-motor

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simulation

three Key proviDers AmAzon

The MosT original

this us e-commerce giant offers a bidding system to run unused instances on amazon Web services. Customers can therefore decide to consume computing power only if the price of a core is less than a threshold value.

miCrosoft

The Precursor

this redmond-based company’s azure Batch solution offers simplified processing by batches, with billing by the hour according to the

Cloud

on-DemanD computing it’s no longer necessary to be a big group with your own supercomputer. Pay-asyou-go offers are making high-performance computing more accessible.

B. torres / BloomBerg via getty images

by Floriane leclerc

t

he idea of making high-performance computing (HPC) available on a pay-as-you-go basis has taken hold at the main cloud computing providers over the past few years. Hitherto limited to a handful of major industrial and financial groups with their own infrastructures, HPC is now within reach of small- and medium-sized companies, giving them a competitive edge.

“On-demand HPC also gives additional computing capacity for a limited period to any big industrial groups trying to step up activity,” said Arnaud Bertrand, head of big data and 14

infrastructures requested. microsoft also has a hybrid offer and promises 99.9% availability for processing operations.

iBm

The MosT sPecialized

Big Blue’s cloud-based offer, called softlayer [photo: iBm’s data center in Dallas, texas], allows users to choose servers with nviDia tesla graphics cards (for scientific computing) or nviDia griD servers (for graphics simulation).

HPC at Atos. This French group launched onto the cloud HPC market in 2010, focusing especially on hybrid offers.

Beyond shared cloud infrastructures, its Bull Extreme Factory range features offers including local deployment of infrastructure – either on-site or in a secure data center. Payment is either monthly or on a pay-as-you-go basis, as appropriate.

Akka Technologies opted for this formula a year ago. This engineering and technology consultancy group already had 1,024 cores of computing power and provides computing services for Airbus, Safran, and Renault. Nevertheless, the company rented another 240 cores for two months on a private cloud – for confidentiality reasons. “This enabled us to outsource and increase our computing capacity by 20% to deal with a peak in business, all with turnkey solutions,” explained Benjamin Gautier, Akka’s computing contact.

ready-to-use Portal

Atos has integrated standard market applications into a ready-to-use portal for easier use. For even more efficiency, Atos also provides infrastructures differentiated according to the type of computing to be carried out. Everything is installed by a team of experts. A study by the specialist consultancy Intersect360 Research in October 2017 found that although interest in public cloud-computing models for HPC is currently increasing all the time, they still only represent a small share of the market. “What’s really holding back cloud-based HPC is retrieval of results,” said Gautier.

“At Akka, output computing can generate up to 400 GB of data an hour. This is very heavy to download using internetbased networks alone.” Hence the benefit of hybrid offers, where part of the infrastructure is local. ❚❚

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15

ESI software and services enable your digital transformation

simulation

Safran has invested in augmented-reality devices to speed up production of its LEAP engines.

Factories switch to augMented reality taking advantage of embedded computers and the rise of Factory 4.0, more and more manufacturers are incorporating augmented reality into production processes.

By PhiliPPe PasseBon, with Manuel Moragues

16

t

he transfer from Pokémon Go to factories happened quickly. Far from limiting itself to video games, augmented reality is now becoming an established tool in industry. In 2017, more and more proofs-of-concept, pilots, and commissioning of solutions based on this technology were carried out by manufacturers. Safran launched a partnership with the start-up Diota to reduce installation errors on aircraft electrical-wiring harnesses. Naval Group (ex-DCNS) tested augmented reality for installing pipework on its ships. And Renault Trucks uses it for engine quality control in its Lyon factory. These applications on every front are guided by an illuminating principle: to have the right real-time information in real-life situations. Augmented reality provides this by overlaying the real world with superimposed digital contextual information and displaying everything on a tablet screen, smartphone, or smart glasses, or even video-projecting it directly onto the relevant object. Developed over the past ten years or so and tested in industrial settings for the past four or five years, progress made on augmented reality’s software and associated hardware is now extending its use.

éric Drouin / saFran aircraFt EnginEs ; sunna DEsign ; Bosch

Production

simulation

sunna design is supporting its operators

Bosch rexroth’s connected glasses

When sunna Design was looking to industrially produce its solar street lights, it opted for a scalable connected production line on wheels, with augmented reality playing a full part. “assembly work is still a very manual task.

We wanted to see how we could industrialize the process while also keeping our labor force,” explained laura Pargade, the start-up’s spokeswoman. at the company’s Blanquefort factory (gironde), “all operators have had help

Bosch rexroth has been using connected glasses for quality control at its Vénissieux site (rhône) since 2015. the device was the result of recommendations made by a cross-disciplinary working group studying the site’s digital transformation. operators are assisted by connected glasses to check the 11 control points of joysticks for heavy equipment manufactured in this factory. the glasses ensure the check-list is fully traceable, with photos and

MAny APPLicAtionS

from augmented reality to tell them which action they must perform and if they have done the task correctly” since July 2016. cameras scrutinizing their finger movements guide the operators. as a result, production capacity has increased, while training time has been reduced by 80% and difficult working conditions by 70%. sunna Design generated a 2.3 million euro turnover in 2015 and has invested 1.2 million euros in its factory.

Augmented reality provides fast, in situ access to data, especially to industrial equipment’s history and documentation. Although the most mature applications in industrial settings are for training, maintenance, and quality control, it would be a pity to limit this technology to these uses alone.

For example, it can also help operators become more efficient on complex assembly and installation work, as at Safran and Naval Group. It was Safran’s many electrical-wiring harnesses, measuring up to 80 meters in aerocraft and Naval Group’s thousands of kilometers of pipework crisscrossing warships that led these two manufacturers to seek assistance from virtual technology. “For assembly work, augmented reality is consistent with the trend towards flexibility in factories, such as having multi-model production lines,” said Nicolas Chantrenne, chief technology officer at Segula Technologies. Augmented reality also reduces errors since every task carried out is saved to the hardware. This information can be coupled to data saved by whatever tool, for example a screw-wrench, is being used for a task. Augmented reality can even help make jobs appear more attractive. Another simulation - sPEcial FEaturE magazinE 2

report generation. “We do not augment reality, we’re just slightly ahead of it. the comparison work is done by users,” said éric Payan, digitalization and marketing manager at Bosch rexroth France.

Developed in-house within three months, the device has reduced administrative tasks by 80% and halved time spent on quality control. last but not least, the technology has enhanced the work of operators using this high-tech equipment.

advantage is that manufacturers can gradually extend augmented reality’s applications. Siemans in partnership with the start-up Daqri began using augmented reality to train its technicians in assembling combustion chambers for gas turbines. The novices trained like this assembled their first combustion chamber in less than an hour, compared to a day previously. Encouraged by their success, Siemens now wants to explore how augmented reality could help with gas turbine maintenance.

WidE rAngE of SuPPLiErS

French companies produce many augmented reality solutions on the market, with a few suppliers even specializing in industrial applications. Several of these suppliers are start-ups: Diota (a spin-off from the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Commission [CEA]), Robocortex (a spin-off from the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation [INRIA]), Allucyne, etc.

Others are subsidiaries of specialist software groups such as Diginext (a subsidiary of the 3D documentation specialist CS Communication & Systèmes), while others are SMEs, 17

simulation

such as Theoris. Finally, some are engineering firms, such as Schneider Electric and Actemium. The understanding of industry and business these companies share is obviously an important factor in choosing between all these solutions.

In particular, their knowledge enables them to provide tailor-made use scenarios, such as chaining tasks to draw up maintenance and training procedures. Diota is often cited for its high-performance technology. If this start-up has its sights set on the international arena, that’s because it established a partnership with Segula Technologies to create content adapted to manufacturers’ needs. In terms of technical performance, “no one software program really stands out from the others,” said Grégory Maubon, co-founder of RA’pro, an association for promoting augmented reality whose website lists solution providers.

divErSE HArdWArE

In addition to software, there is the choice of hardware to consider. Alongside rugged tablets, including many types ideal for augmented-reality solutions, there are augmented- Microsoft’s HoloLens glasses map and project holograms onto the environment. reality helmets and glasses. The great advantage of these systems is that they free up users’ hands. Although some experts believe these systems are not yet entirely ready for every industrial use, progress made on this equipment is encouraging more and more companies to take the plunge.

Renault Trucks, Naval Group, and Ford (for design) have augmented reality in the opted for Microsoft’s HoloLens glasses, while Siemens has applications. this software chosen Daqri smart helmets (designed with Intel). Here Pokémon go video game is based recognizes its environment too, the hardware can be changed. For example, Safran on a smartphone’s gPs data, from a previously saved built-in compass, and began by testing Diota’s solution on tablets before moun3D model, enabling, for example, accelerometers. this level ting it on HoloLens glasses. Standard video projectors also scenarios to be created for task provide a hands-free solution. In all of accuracy is completely chaining. secondly, real-time cases, it is essential to check that the inadequate for industrial environment mapping enables augmented reality chosen device has the necessary enerapplications. markers can be new data to be added and 3D makes operators gy autonomy and computing power. used to accurately locate a given mock-ups created, which is more efficient on Manufacturers must also make sure object and superimpose what hololens glasses do. complex assembly that augmented reality can be used information at the right place.

Finally, gPs-free geolocation in the desired location. Poor lighting, But the best solution is obviously goes beyond environment and installation an excessively smooth environment image recognition combined recognition since it work. it also helps with poorly distinguished shapes, and with three technology provides information on reduce errors. limited connectivity can be crippling. blocks. First, edge-based tracking the distance between users

how to locate Virtual reality compared to the real world

D.r.

Moving toWArdS induStry 4.0

Augmented reality is one of Industry 4.0’s technology building blocks. Nevertheless, companies must ensure it works with other digital technology they have installed. Software vendors such as PTC and Capgemini integrate augmentedreality blocks directly into their manufacturing IT systems.

For compatibility, augmented-reality software solutions and hardware are subject to a war of standards. In particular, this is because augmented reality on production lines is still in its infancy and technology in this field is changing quickly.

This lack of maturity can encourage manufacturers to wait before going ahead. It is worth remembering that the first prototypes, which appeared about ten years ago, were largely disappointing.

Nevertheless, things have changed. “Algorithms, computing power, and display capacity have distinctly improved,” 18

forms the basis of current

and their environment. ❚❚

observed Patrick Sayd, head of CEA LIST’s Lab Vision, on Nano-INNOV’s site in Palaiseau (Essonne). “However, both small and large French companies are still hesitant about this technology, which obviously gives a lower return on investment than automation. Our neighbors in Germany are more pragmatic,” he added. While augmented-reality technology already offers a lot, pushing ahead without further delay will build up valuable feedback on how operators are getting to grips with this technology and how it is being integrated into companies’ systems. All this will ensure the best possible preparation for the future. There is no doubt that augmented reality will ultimately be found everywhere in factories. ❚❚

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HPCBIGDATA SIMULATION Industry. Leading industrial groups, SMEs and start-ups develop business

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www.teratec.eu

19

google

20

simulation

new technology EuropE Faced with the usa’s domination

of processors, the euroHPC initiative aims to ensure european sovereignty by giving europe exaflop computing capacity.

ArtificiAl intElligEncE new supercomputer

architecture is being developed in response to the convergence of simulation with machine learning.

QuAntum computing the preferred

application for the first quantum chips will be simulation. although research in this field is making great strides forward, we still need to train programmers.

Special report coordinated by Manuel MoragueS

Google has designed machine-learning chips called TPUs, which are accessible on a rental basis via its cloud servers. simulation - sPeCial FeatuRe magazine 2

21

simulation

installed in the Barcelona supercomputing Center (BsC) in spain, marenostrum is currently europe’s most powerful supercomputer.

EuropE is FinAlly stEpping up thE pACE Driven by a strategy of competitiveness and sovereignty, Europe is about to invest 1 billion euros to increase its computing power, the key to simulation.

By AlAin ClApAud

22

In mid-January, the European Commission unveiled its plans to get back into the global race for high◗ flops Floating-point performance computing, for which operations per second Brussels will be earmarking a budget ◗ teraflop 1 trillion flops of 1 billion euros. Called EuroHPC ◗ petaflop 1 quadrillion (high-performance computing), this flops joint initiative is intended to design ◗ exaflop 1 quintillion flops and roll out a European supercomputer infrastructure. A research and innovation program on technologies and equipment, as well as applications and software related to supercomputing will accompany it. HPC is regarded as a strategic field for manufacturers’ competitiveness. “We want to provide Europe’s researchers and companies with world-class HPC capacity by 2020. This will enable them to develop technology such as artificial intelligence, and design tomorrow’s everyday applications in fields such as healthcare, security, and engineering,” said Andrus Ansip, European Commission vice-president for the digital single market.According to experts, the investment announced units for measuring Computer power

lucia mElEr

Computing Centers

VOTRE DISPOSITIF COMPLET D’ACCÈS AUX ANALYSES ET DONNÉES EXCLUSIVES DES MARCHÉS DE L’INDUSTRIE

simulation

a GloBal racE The major HPC powers

Cumulative power, in teraflops

China

299000

USA

250000

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matches the USA’s and Japan’s efforts to reach the symbolic exascale mark, the scale referring to computers with exaflop (1 quintillion operations per second) capacity. The working documents mention 560 million euros to develop technology, 300 million for infrastructures, and 195 million for simulation’s uses. It was high time the EU released these funds since Europe is critically short of computing power. In particular, this is penalizing industry, which increasingly uses supercomputers since they can process huge masses of data and run the most complex models.

The European network of big supercomputers run by PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), an association set up in 2010 that has 25 member countries, can no longer cope with demand from researchers, universities, and manufacturers. “The demand for computing power made to PRACE and, in France, GENCI (French public facility for high-performance computing) is 2-3 times higher than we can provide,” said Stéphane Requena, director of innovation and technology at GENCI and a member of PRACE’s board of directors. Although GENCI doubles its installed power every two years, this increased offer remains insufficient. simulation - sPEcial FEaturE maGazinE 2

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simulation

supercomputers throughout Europe was insufficient and there was not enough investment in developing hardware technology.

The European IT industry had declined too much for Europe to develop new supercomputers alone. Although Atos (ex-Bull), Europe’s last major supercomputer manufacturer, remains, this company is more of a technology integrator than a hardware producer. As a result, almost every component in Europe’s supercomputers: processors, accelerator chips, memories, interconnection networks, etc., is designed and manufactured abroad. Europe is virtually dependent on the USA.

a Question of Competitiveness

the Chinese sunway taihulight supercomputer led the top500 in 2017.

China is leading the way

D.r. ; Eu

in 2015, the obama administration blacklisted four chinese research centers. this slowed down china’s nuclear research program by preventing intel from equipping chinese supercomputers with its Xeon processors. unintentionally, this significantly boosted china’s program for developing high-performance computing technology. this program has now produced the world’s most powerful supercomputer, running on 100% chinese-made

processors. Puzzled as Western experts may be by this supercomputer’s real performance, china’s leap forwards is nevertheless very real. the collateral effect of the american embargo was just as real: it sent shock waves through Europe’s high-performance computing stakeholders, whose programs are currently totally dependent on us chips. ❚❚

PRACE’s infrastructures cannot absorb the growing need for simulation among its traditional users (aeronautics, car industry, pure research) and new stakeholders. Demand for simulation is increasing in the energy, healthcare, construction, and agriculture sectors, while certain manufacturers such as Valeo, L’Oréal, and IFP Énergies Nouvelles (French research and training center in energy, transport, and the environment) have joined forces to buy expensive supercomputers.

Another alarming sign is that European computing has been left far behind by the continent’s main economic rivals.

Europe has just 50 of the world’s biggest computers. “It’s a tough race and the EU currently lags behind. We haven’t got any supercomputers in the world’s top ten,” said Ansip in midJanuary. The previous strategy driven especially by the PRACE program was unable to reverse the trend. The sprinkling of 24

Europe has decided to react to regain its sovereignty. Horizon 2020, Europe’s major R&D program launched in 2014, had already shifted things up a gear by targeting exascale capacity. The EuroHPC initiative goes much further and aims for Europe to have two exaflop supercomputers, including at least one based on European technology. “HPC has become a strategic sector for the economy. Europe has a duty to completely control the technology on this chain or else become totally dependent on its competitors,” said Christian Saguez, president of Teratec. Although France realized this a few years ago, it could not undertake the race for computing power on its own. European countries are now sticking together and having a change of heart. The EuroHPC initiative funds research that will produce tangible results and marketable products, with public-private partnerships (PPPs) being the preferred means to achieve this. “PPPs are a formula for light partnership between the European Community, which provides public funding, and the private sector (associations, research stakeholders, and manufacturers),” explained JeanPhilippe Nominé, digital project manager at the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Commission (CEA), in charge of European projects. “We established this form of dialogue back in 2014, and the 2017 mid-term project review showed that PPPs are effective instruments.”

The project for European-made, energy-efficient microprocessors, used in high-performance computing as well as for artificial intelligence and big data, is one of these PPPs. It will receive 80 million euros of funding in 2018, and then 40 million. This project is preparing for the arrival of the first pre-exascale and exascale computers early in the next decade.

Hosted by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the consortium developing these processors is led by Atos. It has 23 members, including the car manufacturer BMW, the Italian firm E4 Computer Engineering, the processorarchitecture specialist SemiDynamics, and Kalray. Kalray, a French start-up raised almost 24 million euros last summer to develop massively parallel microprocessor architecture,

“We’re aiming for Europe to be ranked in the world’s top 3 for high-performance computing by 2020.”

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission

simulation

“public-private partnerships are a real advance” Agnès Boudot, head of the high-performance computing program at Atos what does europe’s highperformance computing represent for atos?

Europe is the main market for our HPC business.

We have a major presence in France, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.

We’re also present throughout the world, from Brazil to Africa.

How far have you got with the european mont-Blanc project, which is testing arm as

an alternative to intel chips?

The Mont-Blanc 2020 Project is underway.

Prototypes have already been tested and we’ll be delivering a BullSequana X1000 at the end of the first half of 2018. This will feature compute blades based on ARM processors.

We plan to market these blades quickly.

partner on this HPC market and current demand is essentially for Intel architecture. ARM is a potential future solution, but assessing an exaflop supercomputer is a complex process. We’ll be observing how the market welcomes this ARM compute blade over the next few months.

will the future exaflop supercomputer wanted by europe run on these arm chips?

It’s too early to say. Intel remains our preferred

atos is leading the consortium designing europe’s future processor. what do you think of europe’s choice of a publicprivate partnership?

This formula, which joins

together research organizations with high computing standards, computer manufacturers such as Atos, and industrialists with major simulation requirements, maintains focus on real industrial applications.

From this perspective, it’s a real advance.

Furthermore, it helps pool resources and infrastructures. ❚❚ interviewed By a. C.

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25 5

simulation

Kalray is developing massively parallel microprocessor architecture, which increases computation capacity.

which increases computation capacity while preserving low energy consumption. Benoît Dupont de Dinechin, Kalray’s technical director, described the company’s European strategy: “The European Commission wants Europe to become independent in computing technology, just as European defense must ensure its sovereignty on electronic components. But the Commission believes traditional HPC is not economically

P. JayEt

softbank’s takeover of British firm ArM confuses the issue the energy efficiency of arm chips in our smartphones makes them a plausible line of research for running tomorrow’s supercomputers. in particular, this avenue is being pursued

by Japan for its future Post-K exaflop computer announced for 2020. it was also Europe’s preferred line of research, but the acquisition of the British firm arm by the Japanese company softBank has muddied the waters 26

of supercomputer geopolitics. although arm’s head office was in cambridge (uK), it also had a design office in sophia antipolis (France), where a third of its critical designs are made. the company is not expected to eventually relocate its r&D outside of Europe. nevertheless, Europe will become a customer like any other and the future European processor could use another architecture to arm’s. ❚❚

viable and that this research must open up to a mass market, namely autonomous cars.” Europe is not aiming to create specialized chips with the sole objective of achieving exaflop capacity. It wants to build processors that can supplant the x86 architecture designed in the late 1970s, advocated by Intel and AMD, technology, which with the exception of mobile terminals is still omnipresent on all IT markets. Europe therefore wants applications going much further than highperformance computing. The eagerly awaited European chip could equip the most powerful computers, such as the ‘brain’ of future autonomous cars.

overturning us domination

With major funding and a strong PPP strategy, Europe’s high-performance computing plan intends to put Europe back in a good position in this crucial race for manufacturers.

Overturning the domination of North-American component suppliers in supercomputers may seem very ambitious when Europe’s IT industry is on its knees. Nevertheless, China has shown that such emancipation is possible. And it is especially desirable since “the race for exascale capacity is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Nominé. “This is important since it’s forcing Europe to go to the limits of its technology and push back these boundaries. If Europe succeeds, it will control relatively generic technology that is useful in many sectors.” Success will be measured in terms of a European-made, pre-exascale supercomputer by the early 2020s. ❚❚

AT THE HEART OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

HPCBIGDATA SIMULATION

Unlocking the Future

Teratec rallies key players from Industry and Research Resea towards… →

ensuring full proficiency in numerical technologies to benefit organisations and the Corporate world, bene →

advancing French and European research across Industry while bonding users and suppliers, Indu →

spreading technologies throughout economic and social frameworks from SMEs and midcaps to large corporations.

INDUSTRIAL USERS TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION Contact & Information Jean-Pascal Jégu jean-pascal.jegu@teratec.fr • Tel. +33 (0)9 70 65 02 10 Campus Teratec 2 rue de la Piquetterie - 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel - France

www.teratec.eu

27

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t

he world of quantum computing is wild with excitement. After IBM announced it had built a 50-quibit (quantum bit) processor in November 2017, Intel caused a sensation by unveiling its 49-qubit chip at the CES in Las Vegas in January 2018. And if Google’s roadmap is to be believed, the company should soon be equaling or even surpassing these achievements. As Bernard Ourghanlian – chief technology and security officer at Microsoft France – repeats endlessly: “We’re aiming to bring out processors containing hundreds of qubits very shortly.” This astonishing acceleration of progress on quantum hardware has put developing the legendary universal quantum computers back on track.

These computers will be able to carry out the most complex computations at lightning speed, and take no time at all to crack the RSA encryption keeping the internet secure.

Even without waiting for this Holy Grail, simulation is soon expected to achieve quantum performance.

Simulation is the very origin of quantum computing. In 1982, the Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman had the idea of using quantum systems to simulate...quantum systems. Far from going round in circles, this involves going beyond the complexity of quantum mechanics that governs matter at microscopic level. Simulating a large system consisting of many atoms – i.e. calculating approximate solutions to the equations describing it since an exact analytical solution does not exist – has become impossible with quantum physics. This is because the quantity of data to be stored and the number of operations to be carried out are quickly beyond the scope of a classic computer. It therefore seemed to Feynman that the solution would be to use a computer obeying the laws of quantum physics.

The cryostat of IBM’s 50-qubit quantum processor in its Zurich laboratory.

Technology

Get Ready foR Quantum ComputinG Progress on quantum chips should benefit the simulation of matter. now we just need to learn quantum programming.

By manuel moRaGues

28

d.r.

Simulating Molecules

Almost forty years later, this idea is still relevant. “We regard quantum computing as the way nature calculates,” said Ourghanlian. “It’s the natural approach for simulating molecules.” The behavior of matter is quantum computing’s ideal area of intervention. “Chemistry is expected to be the first killer application,” said Panagiotis Barkoutsos, a researcher specializing in quantum simulation at IBM’s Zurich laboratory. What is at stake here is nothing less than the invention of materials and drugs, as well as catalysts for unprecedented, more energy-efficient chemical reactions, etc.

Although progress on quantum chips could put these prospects within our reach, “the problem is how to best program these devices. The stakes are high, if we get this wrong we will end up having experiments that nobody can use instead of technology that can change the world,” wrote the CEOs of Rigetti Forest – a quantum-computing start-up – in Nature last fall. They also called for “quantum and classical programmers to collaborate more.” Quantum programming platforms and languages have been emerging over the past two years [see opposite]. It is now essential to try them out, train ourselves in quantum programming, and hence get the most of the next-generation quantum chips. Are you ready to join this very exciting field? ❚❚

simulation

fouR solutions to leaRn Quantum pRoGRamminG IBM Q experIence

AToS QlM

MIcroSofT

rIgeTTI foreST

The pioneer

The home Teacher

The inTegraTor

The hybrid

5, 16, and soon perhaps 50 qubits in the cloud

30-40 simulated, speeded up, on-premises qubits

Visual Studio and simulated qubits

iBm’s Q Experience platform was launched in 2016. it provides free, cloud-based access to two 5-qubit chips and one 16-qubit chip. over 70,000 users have run more than 2 million experiments on it. tutorials, activities, and a tool (Composer) for constructing quantum circuits help users learn a little about it before creating and running programs in iBm’s openQasm language or via the sdK QisKit in Python.

atos has been marketing its Quantum learning machine (Qlm) – a mini-supercomputer emulating 30-40 qubits – since 2017. Costing around 1 million euros for 40 qubits, the Qlm enables quantum programs to be run on-premises and very quickly, according to atos. the company’s language (aQasm) and an sdK in Python are provided. atos wants to allow the use of other languages and all quantum gates that will be developed.

microsoft has been offering a quantum development kit since the end of 2017. as well as documentation and libraries, this kit includes a language (Q#) that integrates into the Visual studio programming environment, a 30-qubit simulator running on a recent PC, and a trace simulator tool to estimate beforehand the qubit resources required for a program. While waiting for the real qubits promised by microsoft, 40 simulated qubits are also accessible in the cloud.

classical and quantum computing; simulated and real qubits

this ambitious start-up in Berkeley launched its Forest cloud computing platform last summer. it provides free access to 26 simulated qubits and, for partners, 30 simulated qubits and the company’s 8-qubit chip. rigetti Forest advocates hybridizing quantum and classical processors, while the language provided (Quil, together with a Python library called pyQuil) is based on memory architecture divided between quantum and classical circuits.

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Design of a complete numerical workflow Computational Simulation Optimization : ·Parametric ·Topologic

MCOOL : Optimal cooling system design MOLDTHERM : Cooling time estimation for injected part HYDROMOLD : Hydraulic dimensioning of the tool

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FINANCING YOUR DIGITAL SERVICES SIMSEO is a French national program providing support to small- and medium-sized companies in the use of digital simulation.

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info@ct-ipc.com - Tél : +33 (0)4 74 81 92 60 29

simulation

Processors

Supercomputing iS Hooked on ArtificiAl intelligence simulation in high-performance computers is becoming more closely linked to big data and artificial intelligence. this convergence is forcing computer architecture to be redesigned.

By AlAin clApAud

30

Waymo uses simulation to train its autonomous cars. In 2016, they covered over 1.6 billion kilometers on virtual roads.

relationships, patterns and anomalies, this technology enables people to cope with the increase in data. “High-performance computing needs AI since large measuring instruments and simulation models now generate such masses of data that human beings can no longer process it manually,” said Requena. “AI is a solution helping them carry out data relevance analysis. It’s another aspect of the growing convergence between high-performance computing and AI.”

More Powerful AI

This convergence already extends beyond analysis tools alone since data from sensors can now be coupled with calculated data. Christian Saguez, president of the Teratec association and CEO of the start-up CybeleTech, has expertise in this field. “In precision agriculture, we’re combining simulation and machine learning to calculate crop growth as accurately as possible,” he explained. “We use our digital models to simulate plant growth, while the greenhouse environment is modeled using measured data rather than algorithms.” This very promising approach can be applied to

david walter banks /rea ;guillaume beguin

S

ince being launched, Waymo’s fleet of autonomous cars (ex-Google cars) has covered over 6 million kilometers, reported the company, a subsidiary of Alphabet, in its 2017 annual report. In other words, the equivalent of three hundred years’ worth of driving for an average American. This is next to nothing compared to the 1.6 billion kilometers covered via simulation in 2016. The advantage of the virtual roads on which autonomous-driving algorithms are tested and improved is that any accidents are painless and do not hit the headlines.

Running machine-learning algorithms in a virtual environment means they can be trained several orders of magnitude faster. But this requires a lot of computing power. A study

by NVIDIA showed that such training generates hundreds of petabytes (i.e. hundreds of billions of megabytes) of data.

High-performance computing infrastructures are therefore increasingly designed to ensure neural networks learn faster.

Modern supercomputers’ massively parallel architecture and very fast internal interconnections makes them especially well-suited to artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

“Increasing the power of deep-learning algorithms involves using thousands of parallel computing nodes,” said Stéphane Requena, director of innovation and technology at GENCI, France’s public facility for high-performance computing. “This requirement is leading AI experts to establish ever closer links with computing’s traditional players.”

Although data scientists have their eye on scientists’ supercomputers to run their models faster, they are also very interested in machine learning and big data. By identifying

simulation

“We’re optimizing the Ai frameworks for our Xeon processors” JeAn-lAurent pHilippe, technical sales specialist for high-performance computing architecture and solutions at Intel “Supercomputer users want more performance in quite different fields, with simulation and modeling coming top of the list.

Visualizing computation results already requires other types of calculations, and artificial intelligence (AI) is on the way to achieving this. These uses emerged from the interest some researchers have in machine learning to analyze their results, and also from AI experts’ interest in highperformance computing given the capacity of these computers. Most data

other complex environments, which running machineare difficult to model in their totality. learning algorithms But combining high-performance in a virtual computing and AI means modifying environment supercomputers since AI algorithms means they can be have very specific technical requirements. Whereas simulation models trained several require very precise floating-point orders of calculations, neural networks need magnitude faster. much less precision but huge numbers of very high-speed interconnected compute cores. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are especially suitable and have a very good performance/ electricity consumption ratio. Increasingly powerful AI means modern computers have more graphics processing units.

The Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) recently announced it had built Tsubame 3.0, an AI supercomputer.

Its hybrid architecture features 540 compute nodes, each with two Intel Xeon E5 processors and four NVIDIA Tesla P100 GPUs, i.e. 2,160 GPUs in total. This supercomputer has simulation - sPeCial Feature magazine 2

centers currently run on Intel. Their users need to run many different applications, including AI. To cope with this, we’re optimizing how our processors work. For several months now, we’ve been working on the frameworks [ed. note: software development infrastructures] to ensure they get the best out of Intel Xeon processors’ performance. We’ve obtained significant results. For companies that will only do deep learning on their computers, we’ve launched the NNP (neural network processor) family. This family is the result of acquiring Nervana Systems and is currently being tested at Facebook.” ❚❚

an estimated capacity of 12.2 petaflops (i.e. 12.2 quadrillion floating-point operations per second) in double-precision mode and 47.2 petaflops in ‘half-precision’, i.e. for AI applications.

A new wave of processors designed for AI is coming onto the market. IBM supplied the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with its TrueNorth neurosynaptic chip for machinelearning data analysis. This chip resulted from a DARPA (the USA’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency specializing in disruptive innovation) program. It uses a network of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses, while consuming just 2.5 watts of electricity. Intelis acquired the start-up Nervana to possess comparable technology, while Google is now on its second-generation TPU (tensor processing unit) chip for AI. TPUs were designed for a specialized computer containing 64 of these chips and with 11.5 petaflops of power.

A machine-translation model that previously required a day’s learning on a computer with 64 of the most powerful GPUs now needs just half a day’s work using 8 TPUs. AI is redefining the supercomputers of the future. ❚❚ 31

NéNuphar

32

simulatioN

new playerS SMES simulation is becoming more widely

used and smEs would be well advised to take up this tool. the simsEo program offers them help and financial support.

NVIDIA this computer graphics specialist has

achieved a breakthrough in industrial simulation with its hyper-realistic virtual-reality application for collaborative work.

StArt-UpS the expansion of simulation and

its applications owes a great deal to start-ups such as Virtualisurg and simforhealth, which are banking on virtual reality to train surgeons.

Special report coordinated by Manuel MoragueS

The start-up NĂŠnuphar avoided expensive prototypes by using simulation to validate its concept for verticalaxis wind turbines, which are expected to appear in 2021. simulatioN - spECial FEaturE maGaziNE 2

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simulation

Good Practices

sMes are starting to Use HPC thanks to a network of experts and bespoke software offers, smEs are taking up simulation and high-performance computing.

By Marine Protais

a

lthough numerical simulation provides many benefits – saving time, optimizing design, developing new services, etc. – it is hard for SMEs to take up this tool. And yet supercomputing is becoming cheaper, software vendors are providing more and more offers for start-ups and SMEs, and support facilities are increasing. It would be a pity for them to miss out on numerical simulation. seek suPPort Although simulation has become cheaper in recent years, it still represents a major investment for small companies, not just in financial terms but also of time and skills. It is therefore better, indeed essential, to turn to a specialized facility when starting out. The best way to find your way among the various support facilities, laboratories, universities, computing centers, etc., is to contact the SiMSEO program’s project managers. Backed by Bpifrance, SiMSEO is run by Teractec (European technopole for simulation and high-performance computing) and GENCI (France’s public facility for high-performance computing), in partnership with IRT SystemX and seven regional platforms. Its role is to raise awareness among SMEs and support them. “After discussing their projects with them, we direct SMEs towards the appropriate facility. A second meeting is then organized with an expert to draw up a quote,” explained Élise Quentel, the SiMSEO program’s project manager. Companies can receive a subsidy of 50%, up to a ceiling limit of 10,000 euros, for investing in software. The support lasts three months to a year, depending on the type of project.

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danielson engineering, maker of car-engine prototypes, has diversified its business through simulation.

2

identify the added Value To be cost-effective, simulation must be more than a design-checking tool and should represent a real opportunity.

Before adopting simulation, Danielson Engineering, which produces car-engine prototypes, thought long and hard. “We needed a return on investment after a year,” said Rui Da Silva, head of the company’s computational design department.

“Simulation must be a profit center.” Simulation has enabled this SME in Magny-Cours (Nièvre) to make design proposals and hence improve its positioning on the value chain.

Danielson Engineering now provides a simulation service in its own right. “When manufacturers turn to us, they know it will be easier to subsequently entrust us with producing their prototypes,” said Da Silva.

Simulation is also a good way for small companies to move towards disruptive innovation without bankrupting themselves on physical prototypes. Nenuphar, a start-up

D.R.

1

simulation

Choosing open-source software to avoid excessive investment, some smEs are turning to nonpaying, open-source software.

For example, nenuphar, a company that designs floating wind turbines, uses openFoam. “the drawback is that there isn’t any technical support and more training is required to get the hang of the software,” explained Frédéric silvert, nenuphar’s technical director and co-founder. However, there are software-user communities online and it’s quite easy to find a solution to your problem. the advantage is that it’s easy to develop a new feature.

With paid software, you have to ask the vendor for a specific

development, which is very expensive.” nevertheless, open-source software is not suitable for every need. anywaves, which manufactures drone antennas, has chosen to invest in a commercial software program. “it’s reassuring for our customers to know that we’re using the same solutions as they are. What’s more, i haven’t identified any sufficiently robust open-source software for electromagnetic simulation,” said nicolas Capet, the company’s founder. ❚❚

that designs floating vertical-axis wind turbines as opposed to the currently existing floating horizontal-axis wind turbines, has experience of simulation. “It’s very expensive to make prototypes and if one of them breaks, the company will be finished,” explained Frédéric Silvert, its co-founder.

The time and money saved thanks to simulation have more than compensated the initial investment.

program before buying it,” explained Marie Fontaines, CEO of this family business in Morancé (Rhône). It is not always necessary to invest in very specialized software. “For example, the simulation features of design software such as CATIA may be enough to validate a component’s design. On the other hand, if you have a more complex product such as a connected watch, which requires electromagnetic simulation, you’ll need more sophisticated software,” said David Da Silva, director of simulation at Keonys, an integrator and distributor of software solutions for Dassault Systèmes.

Nevertheless, there are preferential tariffs for SMEs. Many vendors now offer 3-month licenses, which avoid paying out excessive sums and committing for a year. Some of them are even going so far as to slash their prices. “One of the main reasons we chose Ansys software was because this vendor offers a start-up pack, giving us a year’s access to all the software’s features at a lower price. This offer can be renewed twice,” said Baptiste Manhaval of Uwinloc, a company specializing in connected labels for industry and logistics. This pack is accessible to companies less than five years’ old and with turnover below 5 million euros.

3

4

choose the riGht software Software licenses remain expensive for SMEs since they cost tens of thousands of euros a year. It is therefore essential to choose the right solution. The hydraulic seals manufacturer Techné received help from the Entreprise & Numérique (ENE) association in Lyon. “We compared various software programs. The ENE provided us with its license so that we could test Dassault Systèmes’ Abaqus

simulation - sPECial FEatuRE maGazinE 2

find skills “It’s hard for SMEs to find computational engineers and this market reality must be incorporated,” said Da Silva at Danielson Engineering. To deal with this problem, the company established a partnership seven years ago with the French Institute of Automotive and Transport Engineering (ISAT) in Nevers. As a result, it has been able to recruit specialist computational engineers and host four PhD students.

35

simulation

Companies also need to take software training into consideration. Although vendors offer various 1- or 2-day training courses, they are not enough to master the tools. “It takes six months to become more or less autonomous on a software program and 3-5 years to be a real expert,” said Da Silva. “In addition to this training, you need to provide for specific job training. In our case, this was training on a precise simulation technique for elastomer seals,” added Franck Desbats, Techné’s technical director.

5

take your time “You won’t get precise results right from the beginning,” said David Da Silva, director of simulation at Keonys.

The software settings often need to be adjusted and companies sometimes even have to characterize their materials, as was the case for Techné. “We asked a laboratory to establish the behavioral laws of our elastomers,” explained Desbats. Elastomers have more complex properties than other materials

“simulation has enabled us to make design proposals and hence improve our positioning on the value chain.” rui Da silva, head of Danielson Engineering’s computational design department

such as metals. “We then began with simple applications, such as simulating circular seals, to see how the material reacted to pressure. We checked that the digital version was behaving in the same way as the real version by using tension and compression testing machines.” According to Desbats, it takes about three months to specify a material. But this preparation time is soon made up. Using simulation, it takes three days to a week to optimize a product’s design (depending on its complexity) at Techné compared to 1.5-2 months using physical prototypes. ❚❚

oreCa is Using simulation to Win races

By using simulation to optimize its racing cars’ aerodynamics, oRECa, an smE in the Var, is improving their performance and targeting new markets.

CRéDit PHotoP. saiVEt / Vision sPoRt / PanoRamiC ; D.R.

a

few seconds makes a huge difference in motor sports. “Ten cars can be classified within the same second,” said Jean-Philippe Pelaprat, head of the fluid dynamics numerical-simulation team at ORECA. The company, which designs and manufactures racing cars, is based in Signes and employs 200 people. ORECA owes its 350 wins in part to numerical simulation, which it has been using since 2009.

This technology enables ORECA to optimize the design of its racing cars. “Aerodynamics represents 42% of a car’s potential performance gains. After the engine, it’s the second biggest factor contributing to performance,” said Patrice Notin, the racing team’s commercial development project manager. ORECA used to carry out tests in wind tunnels. “This was very expensive and we emerged from them with many questions and hardly any answers. It wasn’t a very good return on investment,” Notin explained.

Switching to simulation required a large budget since it takes a lot of computing power to simulate a vehicle: five 128-GB RAM workstations, a cluster of 224 cores, a license for Ansys’ Fluent software, and the recruitment of four engineers. But it has

36

the oreca 07 achieved a place on the winner’s podium at the 2017 six hours of Bahrain.

yielded results. The ORECA 07, which came in second overall at the 2017 Twenty-Four Hours of Le Mans, was developed solely with computers in sixteen months, without any validation experiments. The design optimizations obtained from 700 simulations have reportedly helped gain almost 1.7 seconds per lap, according to ORECA.

Numerical simulation is giving the company a chance to position itself on new markets.

In particular, ORECA is working with Astom on cooling systems for tramways, and with the yacht manufacturer MacFarlane on boat stabilization. ORECA has no intention of stopping there and hopes its aerodynamics expertise will help it expand in the USA. ❚❚ m. P.

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simulation

StArt-UpS

TakINg MedIcal TraININg

by STorM start-ups Virtualisurg and simforHealth have set out to conquer the medical world with their virtual-reality simulation modules for training.

by JulIeN bergouNhoux

MedicActiV provides virtual clinical cases to train healthcare professionals.

“In five years’ time, there will be no more discussion about this since virtual training will be in every hospital.”

Nicolas Mignan, CEo of Virtualisurg

38

But VirtualiSurg is not the only company taking an interest in medical training. It is also the core business of the Bordeaux-based company SimforHealth, a subsidiary of the e-health start-up Interaction Healthcare. SimforHealth’s MedicActiV platform provides modules simulating consultations, operations, and medical techniques. The result of collaboration with around fifty partners, including medical faculties, hospitals, and training bodies, 30,000 healthcare professionals worldwide have received training using the platform. Its specific feature is that training centers can create their own simulation modules. Users who develop a module are paid when another user views it.

International Development Focus

It is proving to be a winning formula. “We have demand from abroad. Stanford University in the USA was the first to have confidence in us. We’re now also present in four Chinese hospitals and have just rolled out our solution at a research center in Toronto (Canada),” said a delighted Jérôme Leleu, CEO of Interaction Healthcare. For the past year, MedicActiV has provided a dozen virtual-reality modules, which Leleu plans to make a development focus.

This technology is expected to become increasingly prominent in medical training, although it will not replace traditional training. “In five years’ time, there will be no more discussion about this since virtual training will be in every hospital,” said Mignan. “But we’d like it to come from a French company, to promote France’s expertise in this field.” If French companies do not seize this opportunity, others will do so. ❚❚

D.R., simfoRHEaltH

W

hatever prompted Nicolas Mignan, former director-general of services at Paris Descartes University Medical School, to establish his start-up VirtualiSurg in May 2017? Quite simply, the enormous added value of simulation and virtual reality in medical training. The technology puts students in real-life situations, even for rare, hard-toreproduce, and dangerous cases. The Paris-based start-up is developing virtual-reality simulations of surgical operations for training purposes. The software is designed to train interns and also bring experts up to scratch on new equipment and operating techniques.

VirtualiSurg has developed an initial prototype, released in September, simulating a sleeve gastrectomy scenario, i.e. partial ablation of the stomach. “This is one of four surgical techniques for obesity, which has become a global health problem. Although this new technique is used increasingly, it is not yet sufficiently mastered. It is also prone to the serious risks of fistulas and hemorrhages. A number of incidents have occurred throughout the world due to a lack of training, which led us to start with this technique,” explained Mignan.

Once this first module has been finalized using feedback from obesity specialists, VirtualiSurg will be turning its attention to other types of surgery, such as orthopedics and neurosurgery.

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simulation

Design

Hyper-realistic NViDia the computer-graphics specialist has developed an application that enables designers and engineers to collaborate in a very realistic virtual-reality environment.

by JUlieN bergoUNHoUx

N

VIDIA, a computer-graphics specialist that made a name for itself in the video games sector, is now moving into the field of industrial simulation.

The Californian company unveiled an impressive virtual-reality application for industrial designers in May 2017 at the GPU Technology Conference, an annual event held in San Jose California. Known as Project Holodeck in reference to the TV series Star Trek, the application allows for four people to simultaneously review a car design in a virtual environment. Early, free access to a version of the application has been available since October 2017.

Using digital tools for design reviews is nothing new. The Renault and PSA Groups have been using them for years, as have many other manufacturers. But NVIDIA’s unrivalled expertise in computer graphics makes all the difference.

Project Holodeck is photorealistic and prides itself on simulating real-world physics on 3D mock-ups. In practice, this means the application can display a complete model of a vehicle without reducing the number of polygons forming the 3D model’s mesh.

nvidia ; d.R.

Up to 70 Million Polygons

The first demonstrations of Holodeck were performed on two cars: a Koenigsegg Regera, the Swedish supercar that sells for 1.9 million dollars, and more recently, a McLaren 720S. The Koenigsegg Regera’s 3D mock-up contained thousands of individual parts, totaling no less than 50 million polygons; in other words an extremely precise mesh of the 3D model.

The application can display up to 70 million polygons. The mock-up was unprecedented, especially since it was depicted with very high-quality textures and in a HD environment. The environment can be modified on the fly, while the light levels and weather conditions can be changed in real-time according to various scenarios (night, day, rain, etc.). The idea is to assess how a vehicle is affected by changes to its environment.

40

Holodeck allows four participants, represented as robots, to check product design.

To this end, the software uses a modified version of the 3D game engine Unreal Engine 4 designed by Epic Games, as well as NVIDIA’s GameWorks, VRWorks, and DesignWorks technology. The company also uses occlusion algorithms, which reduce the graphical load (by not calculating the parts of a scenario that cannot be seen) and, obviously, a powerful computer equipped with NVIDIA’s professional Quadro graphics cards. The result is a real-time rendering in which four participants, depicted as expressionless robots, can interact with one another quite naturally and see one another’s actions.

Users can get But that’s not all. The 3D mock-up is a complete model rather than an into the vehicle and empty shell. Users can therefore get sit inside it since into the vehicle and sit inside it since all the parts every part, from the seats to the engine are modeled and and dashboard, is perfectly textured. perfectly textured.

The ‘physical simulation’ mentioned

simulation

“car manufacturers are enthusiastic” DaViD WeiNsteiN, director of professional virtual reality at NVIDIA several virtual-reality tools for collaborative design work already exist, such as TechViz and MiddleVR. How can you outdo them?

We’re trying to build the best platform possible. We haven’t yet started on this project since we’re coveting a market.

All the stakeholders in this sector, including those you’ve mentioned, use our products. We expect them to continue doing so. What’s more, they will retain their expertise in their respective fields.

Good for them if their products are the most competitive for certain specific markets.

by NVIDIA refers to the fact that users’ hands do not pass through the objects. Users can therefore hold the steering wheel or run their hand over the curves of the bodywork. The vehicle can also be moved, turned on all its axes, enlarged, and reduced. In addition, the scenario can be annotated using a 3D virtual pen. By changing the scale, users can admire the mock-ups’ astonishing level of detail, from the dashboard controls to the tiniest engine screw.

exploded View of the Mock-Up

The software’s most impressive tool displays a perfectly accurate cross-sectional view of every part of the vehicle. The tool appears as a ‘bubble’ following users’ hand movements pointing to the vehicle’s various parts. It enables users to see an engine as they’ve never seen it before, with an astounding level of complexity. Since each part is classified according the material it is made of, users can choose to display only parts made of metal, rubber, or PVC. The highlight is an exploded simulation - sPECial FEatuRE maGazinE 2

How do you plan to win over manufacturers that have already developed their own solutions, such as Ford?

I can assure you that most manufacturers are enthusiastic, including Ford.

You don’t ordinarily market applications, are you going to put all your resources into Holodeck to establish it on the market?

NVIDIA has made a transition.

We now sell platforms.

We employ more programmers than hardware engineers.

The platform includes hardware, drivers, software-development kits, software libraries, and applications.

Holodeck is an example of our knowhow for applications. ❚❚

view of the mock-up, when the vehicle dismantles to form a cloud of parts before reassembling a few moments later.

Despite these feats of technology, NVIDIA’s application still requires a few improvements, especially to make it easier to use. “Early access is not for the tender-hearted,” acknowledged David Weinstein, director of professional virtual reality at NVIDIA. “We need to re-texture all the materials, export the model, put it online, etc. The process has not yet been simplified. But this is an engineering issue and we have some excellent engineers. It will be resolved for the 1.0 version of the product. For the time being, we want to highlight the aspects that are really difficult to control, such as the photorealistic models and the very realistic environmental physics.” NVIDIA has no intention of limiting the Holodeck Project to cars and is already working with other companies, including NASA to demonstrate a Mars rover, and an architectural firm. The 1.0 version is due to be released by autumn. ❚❚ 41

a. noyman / city science group mit meDia lab ; stanforD university / nmbl ; epfl ; a. guittet ; lmf:cnrs photothèque

simulation

Portfolio

hIGh DEfINItION Developments in virtual reality and augmented reality have improved simulation.

Journey to the heart of the images.

BY MANUEL MORAGUES AND JEAN-LOUIS SALQUE

42

simulation

icare software simulating a boat for the aroundthe-world Volvo ocean race.

Visualization of a viscous flow through a porous medium.

individualized heart simulations by researchers at the EPfl aim to help in diagnosis.

Using augmented reality to visualize flows in the city of Andorra and test urban scenarios.

openSim and Simbody software are used to develop models of musculoskeletal structures. simulation - special feature magazine 2

43

simulation

renault trucks has equiped its operators with Hololens helmets for quality control on its engine-assembly operations.

torvalD klaveness ; g. bonnefont / ip3 ; epfl ; aria technologies ; renault trucks ; inria / nano-D ; vth proDuciones sl ; inria / c. lebeDinsky

Digital reconstruction of a neocortical microcircuit.

the world’s first operation performed using augmented-reality glasses, at Montpellier University Hospital in 2017.

44

simulation

renault trucks has equipped its operators with Hololens helmets for quality control on its engineassembly operations.

the Norwegian shipping company torvald Klaveness uses simulation to measure the energy efficiency of its cargos.

SAMSoN, iNriA’s software platform for computational nanoscience, can visualize complex objects such as this biomolecule.

the Soldamatic simulator uses augmented reality for welding training programs.

Visualization of urban pollution, seen here at Place de l’Étoile in Paris, is one of simulation’s environmental applications. simulation - special feature magazine 2

45

IN FINE

Industry Story

Water Bomb

MARCEL MOCHET / AFP

France validated its simulation program in January 1996.

46

“Three,two,one...TRT!”Shroudedinheavysilence,a largecircledarkenedthePacificOcean’sturquoisewaters before turning them white. This was Fangataufa Atollon27January1996.Xouthos,thesixthandlast nuclear test, was the most powerful in this series. It had to validate that the nuclear warhead of missiles fornewsubmarineswasworkingcorrectlyand,above all,completethedevelopmentofFrance’slaboratorybased simulation program.

Fifty-seven years earlier, a letter signed jointly by Albert Einstein and sent to President Roosevelt revealed that the Nazis were able to purify uranium-235 and hence have their own atomic bomb.

The US president then started the Manhattan Project, whose objective was to produce an atomic bomb before the enemy. Virtually unlimited funds, Europe’s most eminent researchers, as well as Canadian and US scientists were made available.

Robert Oppenheimer was put in charge of research on fast neutrons, while the Hungarian-American John von Neumann dedicated himself to calculating

the best height at which the explosion would have maximum impact. This often boorish, fervent antiCommunist and lover of good food and attractive women was nevertheless a mathematician and physicist whose contribution to various fields, such as quantum mechanics, set theory, and functional analysis, was outstanding. His research was aided by the ENIAC, the first programmable, completely electronic computer that could calculate up to 100,000 elementary additions per second. This was revolutionary and Neumann made good use of these 30 tons of artificial intelligence to create the very first simulated models. In this way, he and his team successfully simulated the nuclear detonation process.

Francedismantleditsnucleartestingcenterin1996 and replaced it with modeling. This aims to replicate as accurately as possible how nuclear weapons work and carry out laboratory-based data validation.

Simulation now plays a key role and has become a program in its own right. ❚❚ GUILLAUME DESSAIX

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