Dassault's 3DExperience Platform used to Render Upcoming 12-Engine UAV

Dassault Systèmes has taken an opportunity to advertise the utility of its "3DEXPERIENCE" cloud software, showing off Blue Spirit Aero's hydrogen UAV in progress.

The  French startup is working on a propeller-laden, sustainable aircraft using the cloud platform, developing the structures of their upcoming aircraft, the Dragonfly. The fixed-wing, tadpole-like aircraft is hoped to bring hydrogen-electric, sustainable power to service sometime in 2026. To develop the aircraft, Blue Spirit Aero has gone all-out in using the Dassault software to contour the 3D forms of the Dragonfly, develop, and test possible changes, and validate their work with minimal cost between models. Validating the aerodynamics in a virtual environment isn't the only capability of the Dassault software, Blue Spirit notes that it is able to develop internal structures and energy use, as well as "streamline communication between experts across disciplines and locations for more efficient decision-making and full traceability."

“The 3DExperience platform is the technology of reference in the aviation industry,” said Olivier Savin, CEO and founder, Blue Spirit Aero. “By using it to develop our aircraft from concept to certification, not only are we relying on one platform for all aspects of our product development, we are giving credibility to each milestone achieved. We can show potential investors, partners, employees, suppliers, customers and regulators that viable hydrogen solutions are being developed with the same software that has made the most technologically advanced commercial airliners possible.”

“Blue Spirit Aero exemplifies a dynamic startup driving the hydrogen economy that shares our vision for more sustainable aviation,” said David Ziegler, vice president of Aerospace & Defense Industry at Dassault Systèmes. “‘Reinvent the Sky’ and the scalability offered by the cloud allow it to deploy new capabilities as its project matures, optimize program execution, and reduce costs. These are ‘must-haves’ for a startup paving the way toward the certification of a new category of vehicles.”

FMI: www.3ds.com