The Scientific 3D Challenge

Dassault Systèmes, 3D Scientific Modeling Solutions Leader

Dassault Systèmes has since 1981 delivered 3D scientific modeling solutions that allow companies of all sizes to create and produce everyday objects, from simple water bottles to sophisticated airplanes, toys and cell phones. For Dassault Systèmes, the ultimate goal of 3D technologies is to allow virtual projects to become real.

3D is a new universal language. Dassault Systèmes’ goal is to enable everyone, from designers to consumers, to create, share and experience in 3D. The perfect virtual representation of real-life objects thanks to their precise geometry, behavioral characteristics and realistic mechanics, 3D models serve as authentic clones.  They can therefore play a key role in helping companies deliver products to market on time, increasing revenues and boosting competitiveness.  Eliminating the use of physical prototypes allows companies to significantly reduce product development costs and gives them more time to make design adjustments.  In addition, 3D models can be used in an unlimited number of product trials in order to obtain a zero-risk performance level. 

The Virtual Plus Reality Challenge includes a life science component, an unprecedented study carried out in partnership with the Marseille Motion Science Institute. SIMULIA, Dassault Systèmes’ realistic simulation solution, will be used to model the first scientifically valid human foot in 3D based on data gathered from an athlete during activity.  Scientists will also closely study Fuchs’ stride. Given the success of real-time 3D product modelling and simulation, Dassault Systèmes is convinced that these techniques also have a great deal to offer in the field of life sciences.

The human foot is a sophisticated mechanical structure composed of 26 bones, 16 joints, 107 ligaments and 20 muscles. It uses seven points of contact to support the weight of the entire human body and grows half a centimeter when walking or running. Each foot is unique and evolves over time according to its environment and footwear. Beyond the extremely complex challenge of modeling a human body part, Dassault Systèmes and the Marseille Motion Science Institute will go one step further, with an exhaustive 3D study of an ultramarathon runner’s stride.  The Marseille Motion Science Institute will measure parameters such as speed, placement, rhythm and length of stride, as well as the forces and pressure exerted upon the foot during the run. 

Several years work will be necessary to refine this 3D foot model and make it applicable to the general public. Once this step is accomplished, the full potential of this unique study will be realized.

The results of the study will benefit all actors of the sports industry.
 

• Medical professionals
  Study results may improve prevention and treatment of accidents and contribute to the design of prosthetics.
   
• Sports equipment manufacturers
  This 3D foot model may be combined with the modeling of running shoes (especially the sole) to develop lighter shoes that are better adapted to the sport and work in better harmony with the runner.  Such progress would benefit Sunday joggers and Olympic athletes alike.
   
• Professional athletes
  The study may help athletes improve performance by contributing to the development of adapted training programs. For example, the study may reveal how the slight modification of a particular running movement can make the stride less traumatizing, thus reducing potential danger to the athlete.

These types of realistic 3D simulations are therefore quite relevant to serving the needs, and improving the lives, of the general public. And the modeling of the human foot is just the first step towards the modeling of the entire human body in 3D, the ultimate Virtual Plus Reality challenge!   

Simulia Model by Jason Cheung, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University