STORAGE

UGS PLM Solutions, the product lifecycle management (PLM) subsidiary of EDS (NYSE:EDS), today announced it will provide software products to be used as part of the technical foundation for a $10.8 million project to develop the Digital Body Development System (DBDS) -- a decision support software system that will integrate the virtual building of an automobile body structure with functional build decision making software. Part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) the DBDS will potentially save U.S. automobile manufacturers $3.5 billion in vehicle launch costs by shortening lead times, reducing the number of physical evaluation model builds and improving vehicle quality. The four-year project will involve a validation phase where the DBDS will be implemented at two vehicle launches -- one at Ford Motor Company and one at General Motors Corporation. "The DBDS will help Ford continue producing world-class vehicles while reducing development lead time," said Al Ver, Ford vice president for Advanced and Manufacturing Engineering. "We value the knowledge and expertise of our suppliers and are excited to be a part of this collaborative effort." The goal of the DBDS is to enable the implementation of a virtual build methodology where designers and vehicle launch teams will be able to make better decisions faster and understand the quality, cost and timing impacts of these decisions. Key enabling technologies are anticipated to be the enterprise-wide visualization and the variation simulation technology of UGS PLM Solutions' Teamcenter(R) solution. "We are delighted to be part of this project as it has the potential to develop industry-changing technology and processes," said Joan Hirsch, vice president, UGS PLM Solutions. "It builds on a broad range of key strengths of our current solutions for automotive body development and has synergy with our product direction, particularly how our technology for simulating the variation of deformable parts, such as sheet metal body components, can be used in such an environment." The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) has brought together automobile and tool manufacturers, a software development firm and academia to develop the DBDS. While previous efforts have focused on design methodologies, this project focuses on body development and manufacturing validation because these areas are so problematic and costly. The overall project will be managed by CAR in Ann Arbor, Mich. In addition to Ford, General Motors and UGS PLM Solutions, the DBDS interdisciplinary research team consists of the following organizations: Altarum Institute, American Tooling Center, Atlas Tool, Autodie International, Cognitens, ComauPico, Perceptron, Riviera Tool Company, Sekely Industries and Thunder Bay Pattern Works. The University of Michigan and Wayne State University are also key research participants.