Copyright The Times
The computer scientist Alan Kay claimed that “the best way to predict the future is to invent it” and his phrase is being given a whole new meaning with the meteoric rise of the advanced modelling and simulation sector.
Also known as “digital twin technology”, the industry builds virtual worlds that replicate the real one, covering scenarios from battlefields to supply chains to entire cities. The tech allows the safe testing of strategies, decisions, actions or policies in the virtual world before they’re applied in reality, with the intention of saving time, money and lives. Although a specialist field, it’s growing fast, expected to increase from a value of £11 billion this year to £25 billion by 2032.
Adrienne Basil from Synopsys, a California-based technology company, said: “It’s important to first understand the enormous change happening at the moment; the transition from traditional to digital engineering.
“We’re seeing a revolution where AIdriven simulation tools are re-engineering engineering. Ideas, materials and systems are being tested, refined and brought to life before they ever exist in the physical world. In embracing this technology, organisations get better products, faster, more sustainably and cheaper than ever before.”
The high-tech systems can predict the behaviour of everything from people to the climate to materials. In the UK the sector is still small, with an estimated 9,000 people employed in a few dozen companies, but it already contributes £1.08 billion to UK GDP, which is projected to grow to £2.8 billion by 2030.
One of the leading companies is the London-based Skyral, whose cofounders Jason Kennedy and Naomi Hulme have worked on the annual Nato “repmus” exercise (robotic experimentation and prototyping augmented by maritime unmanned systems).
This event brings together military forces, academia and leading technology companies from across the globe to test, develop and integrate unmanned systems into real-world maritime operations.
The company has also developed an operational decision support tool for the Ministry of Defence that cut planning times from weeks to hours, alongside transport planning in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, to cut travel time, fatal accidents and pollution.
Kennedy said: “It’s no longer niche; it’s becoming mainstream. The reality is advanced modelling and simulation is one of the only ways to truly understand second, third and even fourth-order consequences in today’s highly interconnected world.” For Hulme, joining the sector offers a chance to pursue a purposeful career. She said: “It’s about solving some of the most urgent and meaningful challenges facing society.”
Current growth jobs include data scientists and machine-learning experts, alongside engineering and product talent, UX designers and project managers. Ethics and compliance experts are also in high demand.
Palle Klaerke, from Systematic, the Danish company, is working with a vast range of organisations from healthcare to the military. He said: “This is a sector for people who want to use their skills for more than commercial gain, who want to build solutions that make a real difference to the world we live in.”
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