FoDES - Future of Design & Engineering Software

“Make me a car” is an impressive demo until you ask where the braking hydraulics, controls, and safety logic went.  We let Viral Shah, CEO and founder of JuliaHub, and Chris Rackauckas, tell us about physical AI and its use for systems analysis.  Its a different AI story than the popular one: physical AI for engineers, where models must respect governing equations, compile, and validate against kn...

CAD should be the easiest tool in the room, yet it still feels like stepping into a cockpit packed with controls you have to relearn every time. We sit down with Mark, a longtime developer and former Siemens leader, to talk about why AI is racing ahead in some areas while product design and manufacturing still feel stuck and why the biggest blocker is not geometry, it is the interface. We break do...

Rare earth magnets, AI data center energy demand, and electrification are colliding in one place most people ignore: the electric motor. I sit down with Jarek Rzepecki from Monumo to get practical about what it takes to design motors and powertrains when costs, materials, and constraints can shift fast, and when “just optimize the motor” is never the whole story. We dig into why system-level optim...

Your wireless device can pass every isolated RF check and still disappoint in the real world. That’s the uncomfortable truth behind crowded stadium Wi-Fi, high-speed mobility, and the next wave of machine-type communication, and it’s exactly why I sat down with the team behind TSF Waves to unpack what “system-level wireless design” actually means. We get into the hard split that’s held the industr...

We talk with John Harrington, co-founder of HighByte, about why factory-floor data stays invisible to the teams who need it most and how Industrial DataOps closes that gap. We explore contextualized data pipelines, the post-IoT architecture shift toward cloud data platforms, and why AI agents will force a new level of data quality and governance.  • Moving beyond “throw it over the wall” design an...

We talk with Juan Carlos Santamaria about how AI in engineering has evolved from rule-based robotics to modern systems that perceive job sites and help machines make better decisions. We dig into Trimble’s push from AI perception to operator assist and what it will take for engineers and operators to trust AI in the field and in design tools.  • Juan Carlos’s PhD-era view of AI as a multidisciplin...

We talk with OpenSpace CTO Michael Fleischman about turning job-site photos into spatial data that teams can actually act on, from 360 degree capture to progress tracking and AI agents. We dig into why construction software adoption is so hard, and what changes when your phone can be used to create higher-quality data and automation.  • Michael’s path from philosophy and psychology to computationa...

Matt McElvogue, VP at Teague, talks about Teague's human-centered design. We explore how building early aligns design, engineering, and business, and why full-scale prototypes beat slide decks. From accessible aircraft cabins to friendlier autonomous shuttles, we show how human-centered design meets hard constraints while accounting for many factors, such as aesthetics and functionality, that...

We talk with Makistry founder Parth Meta about turning plain English prompts into parametric CAD and why a structured AI “brainstorm” can speed design without losing engineering control. We dig into standards-aware reasoning, exports, limitations, and the roadmap for assemblies and 2D-to-3D. • Why CAD still slows real projects • Text to parametric models through a guided brainstorm • Using RAG to...

We trace how focused simulation wins over all-in-one platforms, then try to find out more about the design of an Olympic helmet  — with no luck. Rand Simulation experts use LS-DYNA and validate the results to cut risk and time. We close with a frank take on what AI can and cannot do for complex physics and where humans must stay in the loop. ANSYS ability to simulate crash behaviour, fragmentation...

Amit Shastri, CTO Americas at Digitate, explains how composite AI moves operations from reactive firefighting to predictive and autonomous action, without sidelining human judgment or ripping out trusted systems. Digitate’s approach blends logical reasoning, LLMs, and guardrails to deliver unified observability across IT, OT, and business processes. • Regional CTO role bridging customers and produ...

We talk with Lukas Fraser, VP of Product at Looq AI, about a camera-first platform that delivers survey-grade 3D models and automates utility workflows. We cover hardware design, accuracy claims, pole and cable analysis (for power lines), and why controlled capture makes photogrammetry competitive with LiDAR. • Controlled handheld capture with four synchronized lenses and GNSS • Calibrated hardwar...

We talk to Tudor Vasiliu, founder and director of Panoptikon, about how architects use AI to elevate visualization without losing control, unpacking “AI passes,” professional guardrails, and why speed still needs expertise. A live demo shows rapid mood and lighting iteration, while we call for better client tools and more usable AEC software. • AI passes that enhance materials, lighting, foliage,...

We talk with CTO and co-founder Theopile Allard about Neural Concept’s AI copilot for engineering and how option-driven workflows change speed, creativity, and trust in simulation-heavy design. We explore physics prediction, geometry generation, LLM agents, and how legacy solvers stay central. • AI copilot that creates and evaluates many variants • Physics predictive engine for CFD, structures, EM...

We talk with Arjun and Kanal Jain, co-founders of Tandem about building an AI knowledge layer that captures design decisions, links requirements to CAD, and helps engineers spend more time designing. We compare text-to-CAD promises to enterprise reality, dig into traceability and DFM, and explore how integrations unlock better simulation. • Capturing design intent across CAD, PDM, PLM • Linking re...

We explore how complex electrical systems can be designed faster and with more confidence by combining an intuitive canvas with deep electrical intelligence and pragmatic AI. Anthony Samuel shares lessons from aerospace startups, Y Combinator and competing with incumbents while staying focused on validation and usability. • Seed funding from YC, Floodgate, Boost VC, enabling hiring and product bui...

We explore how GIS connects BIM, CAD, and reality capture into usable context for design, construction, and operations. Gaussian splatting takes center stage as Patrick Wallace explains how it preserves fine detail and enables point clouds, meshes, and object detection at scale. • Indoors product ingesting DWG to power floor-aware campus maps • Difference between authoring tools and GIS as the sys...

Tassos Hadjicocolis, CEO of Phenometry, and Stephanos Androutsellis-Theotokis, CTO and founder, give a detailed demo of Phi, a browser-based modeler that makes organic shapes quickly and precisely, then sends results to Onshape as clean NURBS for downstream CAD operations.  • Running Phi inside or alongside Onshape • Direct push–pull of vertices, edges, faces • Curvature combs and smoothen for fai...

We dive into why CAD feels hard and how natural-language automation can remove friction without forcing a platform switch. Co-founder and CEO Owen Dourneau explains MecAgent’s approach to compiling plain English into SolidWorks actions, the limits of file translation, and where AI can truly help engineers. • Pain points with feature trees and steep learning curves • Why building on top of SolidWor...

We talk with Mastercam CEO Russ Bukowski about how AI, vertical integration are reshaping CAM. From voice‑enabled Copilot to reseller acquisitions under Sandvik, Russ lays out a roadmap for faster programming, safer code, and a tighter art‑to‑part thread. • Modernizing Mastercam’s UX and onboarding the next generation • Vertical integration of sales, service, and support to get closer to customers...

SPONSORED EPISODE Shiva Dhawan, CEO & Co-Founder at Attentive.ai shares his journey from mechanical engineering to building an AI-based takeoff software for construction, and explains why manual takeoffs from PDFs remain one of the biggest bottlenecks in bidding workflows. The conversation dives into how AI can read construction drawings, the role of human verification in ensuring accuracy, an...

We explore how 3D utility-centric design on top of AutoCAD speeds grid and fiber projects by connecting CAD, GIS, and SAP  by enforcing standards that prevent costly errors with Al Eliasen of SBS. We also dig into pragmatic AI uses that shorten proposals and enhance UX without risking safety. • Origins of SBS and Autodesk utility heritage • Competition with Bentley; partnership with Esri • GIS as...

We sit down with Michael Bogomolny, Ph. D. of InfinitFORM , which has blasted through the hype of topology optimization with a deterministic, GPU-accelerated engine that creates parts that are both optimized and manufacturable. The result: shorter design cycles because prismatic parts are ready for machining.  In this podcast, Michael talks about: • Funding update and market momentum • Why mesh-ba...

We sit down with Uzair Sayid, founder of NextCad AI, to explore how automated drawing checks cut busywork, reduce errors, and capture expert standards without slowing design. The conversation tracks his journey from frustrated mechanical engineer to building an on-prem tool that blends rules with AI to expertly check engineering drawings. • Origin story rooted in wasted time on documentation • Loc...

We explore how an AI copilot layers on top of HFSS to automate RF simulations without losing rigor or control. Gustavo Navarro shares a live demo, a practical roadmap from post‑processing to pre‑processing, and a vision for cross‑domain orchestration across trusted solvers. • Why HFSS expertise is hard but essential • Natural language to HFSS automation without hiding code • Generating S‑parameter...