Latest news with #simulation
National Post
6 days ago
- Business
- National Post
FANUC Introduces Enhanced, Next-Gen ROBOGUIDE Robot Simulation Software
Article content The future of robot simulation is here, with the most advanced iteration of offline robot programming and simulation—FANUC's ROBOGUIDE V10—featuring more performance and significantly improved user experience. Article content ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — Rebuilt and redesigned, FANUC announces the release of ROBOGUIDE Version 10, the latest and most advanced iteration of its industry-leading offline robot programming and simulation software. Designed to enhance efficiency, visualization, and user experience, ROBOGUIDE continues to be the go-to solution for companies seeking to streamline automation design and implementation. Article content ROBOGUIDE allows users to create, program and simulate robotic work cells in 3D without the need for physical prototypes, reducing costs and improving accuracy in automation planning. With the launch of this next-generation software, FANUC is introducing several powerful upgrades, including: Article content New Virtual Reality Capabilities – Users can now experience work cells in a fully immersive environment, improving line of sight and spatial awareness like never before. This enables engineers and operators to interact with automation designs in a more intuitive and insightful way with virtual reality playback and walk through. High-Performance 64-Bit Architecture – ROBOGUIDE is now a 64-bit application, delivering higher performance, increased content capacity, and improved processing power for complex automation systems. Modernized User Interface – Featuring a ribbon-style toolbar, floating and docking windows, and improved graphics, ROBOGUIDE V10 makes navigation more intuitive and efficient. Using a new drag-and-drop tool, users can quickly locate and define robots with ease. Enhanced Support for Native CAD Import – Simplifying integration and design processes, ROBOGUIDE now supports the import of many more native CAD formats, making it easier than ever to import, adjust, and optimize automation layouts. Article content 'With the release of our enhanced ROBOGUIDE V10, we're delivering a smarter, more powerful simulation tool that meets the evolving needs of the automation industry,' said Eric Potter, general manager, Robot Application Segment, at FANUC America. 'Across nearly every industry, this immersive simulation software allows manufacturers to effectively visualize work cell effectiveness before actual installation, without the physical need or expense of a prototype setup.' Article content ROBOGUIDE V10 is now available to users alongside the previous version, sharing a single license and ensuring that FANUC customers can take advantage of the latest advancements in robotic simulation. To see, ROBOGUIDE V10's enhancements—including enhanced graphics, a modern interface, drag-and-drop robot addition, and virtual reality support — watch the ROBOGUIDE V10 New Features video. Article content Learn more on ROBOGUIDE and other topics on FANUC America's Tech Transfer website which offers technical tutorial videos on the many functions of FANUC robots and cobots for students, customers, integrators and industry partners. Get engineer-guided tips, video tutorials, and answers to common questions for programming and setup of robots and cobots. Article content *Free registration is required to watch Tech Transfer videos Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Terrifying simulation reveals exactly what a nuclear bomb would do to your body - even if you're two miles away
As the world teeters on the brink of widespread conflict, a terrifying simulation has revealed what could happen to those caught in the blast of a detonating nuclear bomb. Created by the appropriately named 'atomic marvel', the animation details the impact of an apocalyptic explosion in five distinct 'zones', each a certain distance from the blast site. The clip—which has been viewed over 13million times—shows even those at the furthest reaches, two miles away, aren't safe. For those in zone one—for the purposes of the animation the outer range of the blast radius between 1.27km (0.8miles) and 3.27km (2miles)—the main risks are being rendered blind as retinas burn away from the intensity of the nuclear flash. This flash would then be followed by a burst of radiation causing 2nd degree burns to scorch the flesh of the mannequin figure used in the animation. Finally, the immense sound wave of the explosion may render those within its range temporarily or permanently deaf. But those in zone one may be considered the lucky ones. The fate of those in zone two—within 600m (2,000ft) and 1.27km (0.8miles)—the shockwave will be strong enough to instantly knock them off their feet. This will leave them at risk of injury and concussion with ear drums rupturing from the pressure wave. Their radiation burns will also be more severe third degree injuries covering a large extent of their body. Things only get worse for those in zone three, between 350m (1150ft) and 600m (2,000ft). Those this close to the nuclear detonation are hit by an 800km/h (500miles per hour) shockwave that hits one-and-a-half seconds after the blast. This sends bodies flying like rag dolls into the distance, suffering injuries like catastrophic haemorrhages of blood and ruptured organs. The lungs are particularly devastated by the shockwave the immense wave of pressure created by the atomic weapon, causing the organs to collapse. Thermal radiation is worse this close to the blast and victims are left with 4th degree burns on much of their body. Those in zone four are closest to what the video dubs the 'fireball'—between 200m (650ft) and 350m (1150ft). The grim animation shows that people in this zone are incinerated by a sudden increase in temperature a split second before their bodies are dismembered by the blast wave. Those in zone five—effectively ground zero of the explosion—see the least suffering due to a rapid death. Anyone closer than zone four's 200m (650ft) is effectively vapourised immediately. When a nuclear weapon detonates it creates a ball of air hotter than the sun's 15,000,000C (59,000,000F) core. Anything inside this radius is rendered into white hot plasma—effectively super-heated gas. As one social media user grimly wrote: 'This leaves us with a wise lesson: When a nuclear bomb explodes, it is best to be very far away or very close.' The animation doesn't capture the true horror of what a nuclear weapon being used in the modern era would mean. Firstly, it takes place in an open plain, not the cities where nuclear weapons would most likely fall. Those in any of the outer zones of the blast will also have to contend with a wave of flying shrapnel made of glass, concrete and metal from destroyed buildings and gutted skyscrapers. Fires will spark throughout the area meaning any immediate survivors will also risk burning to death or suffocating from smoke inhalation. What's more, the measurements used in the animation to describe injuries that would occur are historic. The figures refer to the blast radius of the 'Trinity Test'—the first-ever detonation of a nuclear weapon which occurred in the New Mexico in 1945 famously carried out by American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. That bomb had a strength of 18.6 kilotons—a measurement for nuclear weapons—with one kiloton equivalent to 1,000 tonnes of the explosive TNT. Nuclear weapons of the modern age—which number over 12,000 and are capable of being launched across continents—are measured in the hundreds of kilotons. This means the blast radius of any modern nuclear weapon will be of a far greater magnitude and devastation than that shown in the simulation. For example, in a densely populated city like London, a 500kt blast could kill as many as 400,000 people in an instant. But more than 850,000 could also sustain injuries from the blast, shockwave and radiation. With health infrastructure crippled in the wake of a blast many of these injured would succumb to their wounds in the following days. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons notes that 'all of the dedicated burn beds around the world would be insufficient to care for the survivors of a single nuclear bomb on any city'. The animation also only covers the immediate horrors of a nuclear explosion and not those that will stalk any survivors in the days and years to come. Lingering radiation spread by a nuclear explosion will poison the air, water and people many miles from initial blast for decades. High or extended radiation exposure has a number of potential immediate and longer term health risks. Exposure to radiation—which is impossible to see, smell or taste—damages tissues deep in the body, causing a condition called radiation sickness. In the immediate aftermath, victims may suffer from nausea, vomiting, headache or diarrhoea. Depending on the extent of exposure a patient can then recover or enter a tragic period of false hope. At the higher levels a patient will strangely recover some days after the event before then becoming much sicker as their body shuts down their organs and cells damaged beyond any repair. Such victims usually die withing a matter of weeks, even with medical care, from their body essentially ceasing to function or being unable to fight off any kind of infection. In the longer term, exposure to radiation as well as food and water contaminated by radioactive material can increase the risk of developing cancers. Rising global tensions have brought the prospect of a nuclear conflict back into the spotlight. Putin's invasion of Ukraine—and the UK's support of the latter—saw Russian state TV brazenly simulated how Vladimir Putin could launch a nuclear strike on London, declaring there would be 'no survivors'. And just this week US and Israeli warplanes have battered nuclear facilities in Iran in a bid halt the country's development of an atomic bomb. Surviving a nuclear explosion is largely up to chance depending on where a person is at the time of the explosion. However, the British Government has issued advice for what the public should do in the event of a 'radiation emergency'. The primary advice is to get indoors as soon as possible, with health chiefs stating this can reduce exposure to radiation by 85 per cent compared with being outdoors. Being indoors also reduces the amount of radioactive material inhaled by 40 per cent, the advice reads. While some buildings are better than others, getting indoors in any way possible should be the priority, according to health chiefs. 'Buildings made of brick, stone, concrete or similar materials provide the best protection, but being inside any building is better than being outside,' it states. 'If you are already inside a building, stay there.' It warns that Britons may be advised to stay indoors for up to two days—a procedure called 'sheltering-in-place'—to reduce further potential exposure. People who were outside and nearby the side of the emergency would be at risk of their clothes, skin and hair being contaminated. As a result, they may be advised to self-decontaminate, which involves taking off clothing—which removes 90 per cent of any contamination—and showering.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Joby Aviation Expands Partnership with Flexcompute Leveraging Flow360 for Next-Generation Aircraft Design and Multiphysics Analysis
BOSTON, June 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexcompute, the leader in GPU-native high-performance simulation, announced at the 2025 Paris Air Show that Joby Aviation will be leveraging its flagship solver, Flow360, to accelerate the future development of Joby's next-generation electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. From vertical integration in design and manufacturing to real-world flight testing, certification, and a relentless focus on noise reduction, Joby Aviation sets the benchmark for the eVTOL industry. This deepened partnership will enable Joby Aviation to dramatically shorten design cycles and perform high-fidelity aerodynamic and aeroacoustic analyses using Flow360's end-to-end workflow. With this expansion, Joby Aviation will expand Flow360 for multiphysics analysis to design future quiet and efficient aircraft for urban air mobility. "Flow360 is reshaping how we think about the depth of analysis throughout the design process. With faster execution, seamless integration, reliable accuracy, and scalable computing power, we can spend less time managing tools and more time solving the real physics challenges," said Gregor Veble Mikić, Chief Aerodynamicist at Joby Aviation. With Flow360 running on modern GPUs, simulation runtimes that traditionally took days or weeks are now reduced to hours, or even minutes. This performance uplift is critical throughout the design development cycle as it enables rapid and comprehensive understanding of the design evolution and its associated flow phenomena. Key benefits for Joby Aviation include: Early Concept Design: Iterate quickly with confidence, exploring more ideas faster. Aero Database Development: Build accurate aerodynamic models across large flight envelopes to reduce design cycle iterations Aeroacoustics: Simulate propeller acoustics in hours, not days. New capabilities: Explore multiphysics capabilities beyond aerodynamics, enabling a broader range of integrated simulations Flexcompute President Vera Yang added: "At Flexcompute, we're proud to support that leadership. With Flow360, we enable Joby to run high-fidelity simulations to accelerate the optimization of aerodynamics and acoustics across a wide flight envelope. This partnership reflects our shared belief: that faster, quieter, and safer urban air mobility isn't a distant future, it's within reach." As the aerospace industry pushes toward quieter, more efficient, and more sustainable flight, Joby's use of Flow360 marks a shift in simulation-driven design, one where fidelity, speed, and agility are no longer tradeoffs. For more information, please visit About FlexcomputeFlexcompute is a leader in providing high-performance CFD simulation solutions for aviation, automotive, energy, space, and more. Flow360 harnesses the power of GPU technology to deliver simulation results 10-100 times faster than traditional CFD solutions. Flexcompute, known for its team of world-class CFD and simulation experts, including more than 60 PhDs and over a century of combined aerospace experience, helps companies tackle complex design challenges and accelerate development cycles. Our mission is to make software innovation just as easy as hardware through physics intelligence. Learn more at Media Contact:Stephanie McGuirk397185@ (845) 269-8868 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Flexcompute
BBC News
22-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
The state-of-the art manikins training up NHS nurses and doctors
Student nurses Tracy, Briall and Misha are assessing Aria, a seven-year-old girl with tells them she does not know what is going on, explains how frightened she is and asks: "Where's mummy?"But none of this is is a high-tech manikin who forms part of a training exercise in one of several simulation rooms at Swansea University's Simulation and Immersive Learning Centre (SUSIM), one of the biggest and most advanced healthcare simulation centres in the students who train here, including future nurses, doctors, and midwives, say the environment is so realistic that they often forget it isn't reality."[Aria] is built like a child, reacts like a child and has needs like a child," said nursing student Tracy Qui. "She's also scared like a child." Just down the corridor, a surgical team is preparing to bring a new baby into the flash, monitors beep and staff dash around the labour ward."I'm just waiting for baby to cry," said the midwife, as it is delivered by C-section. "Then I'll be happy."After a few vital checks, mother and baby are reunited for their first skin-to-skin contact."Congratulations mum," said the midwife. There are broad smiles all mother and baby, in this scenario, are also high-tech manikins. The room is kitted out with the instruments and machines you would find in a real operating the smells of an operating theatre are piped in, while video images from a real hospital are projected onto the walls."You get so immersed in it - you forget you're not out in real practice," said student midwife Kellie Mills."This is a real baby in our hands and we're very protective of it." 'They can even smell the grass' The scale of the centre means it can simulate many different another simulation room, student paramedics Jojo, Rhys and Sophie are tending to a rugby player injured on a pitch."Me and the crew have come in and immobilised his spine, and to make sure there are no further injuries we're using a collar," said first year student Jojo they are trying to do this while other rugby players run around them with the crowd chanting and singing in the surrounding stands."They can even smell the grass," said Gareth Chilcott, the technician who is running the simulation from a neighbouring room. "As soon as they enter they realise they are on a rugby pitch," he added."We can also lower the temperature so that it's cold and they feel they're running into the wind. It really does heighten their senses."Lecturers who supervise the simulation can also throw in some surprises to the scenario based on the student's level of experience."They really enjoy it and almost see it as a bit of fun," said senior paramedic lecturer Jason Sadler."But when they go on placement [with the ambulance service] and come back and tell us what they had to deal with, they can really appreciate the benefits of what we put them through." 'Limitless possibilities' From hospital wards and care homes to medical emergencies in cafes or nightclubs, staff say there are no limits on what can be simulated at the facility in can even replicate healthcare settings in other countries, as happened in a recent collaboration with workers in Zambia."A lot of what we project on the walls is filmed within our local NHS but we could equally film in any country in the world," said Prof Jayne Cutter, head of the university's school of health and social care."So if we're entertaining international students, they could practice in environments that are familiar to them."The £7m facility was developed by converting a teaching block at Swansea's Singleton Park campus and establishing a second smaller site in centres are linked digitally, so everything that's happening in one can be seen in the other."We have the largest installation of immersive wall technology globally and the second largest simulation management system in Europe," said Joanne Davies, the university's head of simulation education. "I know other centres in the UK and internationally tend to have one or two of these rooms. We have 11, which means we can do mass training not only for our core students but also NHS staff and industry."Staff said the main aim of SUSIM was not to replace the real world experiences students must have before they qualify, but to supplement said some students could get overwhelmed when they first experienced a real operating theatre or busy ward."If you're not immersed in realistic surroundings you can get overloaded, what's known as cognitive overload. And sometimes when we're stressed we can even forget our own name," said Ms Davies."But here we have the sights, the sounds, the smells of realistic environments and that helps our students remember what they've learnt and transfer that into practice."Another benefit, according to the students, is that they can learn from their mistakes without fear of causing harm."We have pre-briefs and debriefs. We talk about what we've learnt," said student midwife Kellie Mills."But we have a phrase here - what happens in SUSIM stays in SUSIM - so it really is a protected environment."
BBC News
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The growing popularity of gaming's surprise hit
Shooting, chasing, exploring - hit video games tend to have themes that set the pulse of the world's most popular new titles, however, is about something considerably more sedate - a Garden involves players slowly developing a little patch of virtual land. It's something that, earlier this month, more than 16m people - many of them children - chose to spend their weekend smashed a record for concurrent players set by the somewhat more adrenalin-filled is it about this plant-growing simulation that has got so many people hooked - and could it persuade more people into real-life gardens? How your garden grows Players of Grow a Garden, which features on the online gaming platform, Roblox, do exactly what the title I gave the game a go, I was presented with my own little brown patch of land. To the sounds of some relaxing music, I bought seeds from the local shop, and watched them as they grew, something that continues even when you are offline. Once your garden produces a harvest, you can sell your items. You can also steal from the gardens of others. "It's a really fun game," says eight-year-old Eric Watson Teire, from Edinburgh. He and his 10-year-old brother, Owen, are massive said "a lot" of his friends at school are playing it too. "We can do competitions with each other - like, whose got the most Sheckles [the in-game currency], whose got the best plant."They are not the only ones. According to Roblox, the game has had about 9bn visits since it was created in March. It says 35% of the Garden's players up until now have been aged 13 and under. It's fair to say the premise does not appeal to everyone - there are online forums puzzling at the popularity of a game which its detractors say is "the equivalent of watching paint dry."Eric says the slowness of the game has an appeal. "There's a bit of patience to it," he told the BBC he enjoyed the competitive element of it - but its virtual produce also caught his attention. "Could there be a sugar apple - which is the best plant you can get? Or will there be a carrot, which is the worst?"The gameplay can be sped up if you use Robux, the Roblox currency, which is paid for with real players are very willing to do that. On eBay, it is possible to buy some of the most sought-after items - such as a mutated candy blossom tree or a dragonfly - for hundreds of Roblox is one of the world's largest games platforms. In the early months of this year, it had 97.8m daily vast empire includes some 40 million user-generated games and experiences, and Roblox is the most popular site in the UK for gamers aged eight to 12. While many love the platform, there have also been reports of young people being groomed on it and becoming addicted. Roblox told the BBC earlier this year it was confident in its safety tools, and took the approach that "even one bad incident is one too many". 'A seed of an idea' If people discover they love virtual gardening, might they be encouraged to take up the real thing? Andrew K. Przybylski, a professor of human behaviour and technology at the University of Oxford, said it was possible the game could "plant a seed" that could lead to a passion for plants. But, overall, he's sceptical."It is unlikely that a game like this will encourage real world gardening any more than Super Mario Wonder encourages plumbing," he told the Sarah Mills of Loughborough University has carried out research into the experience of young people and gaming. She highlights a key appeal of Grow a Graden is it is free to play, but the in-game currency is important."This wider landscape of paid reward systems in digital games can impact children and young people's experiences of gaming and financial literacy," she said."It can also cause challenges for many families to navigate, changing the nature of pocket money."Gardening podcaster and BBC presenter Thordis Fridriksson, meanwhile, is hopeful that any interest in gardening is a good thing."Obviously the whole process is pretty different to real life, but it taps into the same thing which makes gardening so addictive, and that's planting seeds and watching your garden grow. "Fingers crossed some of the people who love the game will try growing something at home."Outside the living room in Edinburgh where they play the game is Owen and Eric's actual garden, which both boys help in. "I like gardening - and gardening in Grow a Garden," says asked which one he prefers, he's emphatic: "Grow a Garden!" Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
