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Contract part of new product development process

Maplesoft™, the leading provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science and mathematics has announced a multi-year contract with Toyota Motor Corporation, the world’s largest automobile company. The partnership will produce advanced physical modelling tools to help Toyota move to a new product development process called the Model-Based Development. Key features of the new process include Control System Design and Physical (‘Plant’) Modelling based on a symbolic approach.

Toyota has been one of the earliest industrial companies to embrace Model-Based Design, the concept of creating a computer-based model of a system to analyse, test, improve and optimise the design before actually building the physical system. In the initial stages this was used in the design, simulation and implementation of control systems using tools from companies such as The MathWorks®. Toyota is now expanding its scope with the development of the new Model-Based Development process.

The goal of Model-Based Development is to improve time-to-market, quality and reliability while reducing cost. Physical modelling requires a symbolic approach to computations in order to accurately and efficiently represent real-world physical systems. Toyota has recognised Maple™ as an important part of this framework providing the ideal mathematical environment for Physics-based modelling. Maple is an advanced software tool from Maplesoft that relies on a powerful computation engine to derive and solve complex sets of equations, simplify large sets of equations, develop advanced mathematical models and create user-friendly technical applications.

“Mathematical environments such as Maple have many advantages,” said Jim Cooper, President and CEO of Maplesoft. “By describing the complex, acausal relationships of a physical model in a clear and efficient way, Maple enables simplification and optimisation taming the complexity of large models and reducing development and testing time. Furthermore, the Maple document environment makes solutions more readable and understandable, rendering knowledge capture and re-use simple and effective. We are delighted to partner with Toyota in this innovative venture.”

Tools developed by Maplesoft will provide the fundamental mathematical framework for physical modelling within the Model-Based Development throughout Toyota. All areas of engineering development such as engines, transmissions, suspensions, braking systems, climate control systems and in-vehicle electronics stand to gain from the use of the new set of modelling tools.

Toyota is recognised worldwide for its innovative use of technology. “Model-Based Development will set new industry standards for the use of software tools and models in automotive systems development,” said Dr Akira Ohata, Project General Manager of Toyota Motor Corporation. “Symbolic computation, pioneered by companies like Maplesoft, makes new design methods a reality today. Automotive companies like us will realise further improvements in cycle times, cost optimisation and smoother implementation of extremely complex systems.”

As part of the partnership Maplesoft and Toyota are doing pioneering work in other yet-to-be-announced projects as well. The two companies are also leading a Physical Modelling Consortium which brings together leaders in the automotive industry to share ideas and advance the development of Rapid Plant Modelling Methodology based on symbolic computation.

About Maplesoft

Maplesoft is the leading provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science and mathematics. Its product suite reflects the philosophy that given great tools, people can do great things. Maplesoft has transformed the way engineers, scientists and mathematicians use mathematics, enabling them to work better, faster and smarter.

Organisations around the world have applied Maplesoft solutions in nearly every technical field including engineering design, operations research, scientific research and financial analysis. Maplesoft’s commercial customer base includes Allied Signal, BMW, Boeing, DaimlerChrysler, DreamWorks, Ford, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Raytheon, Robert Bosch, Sun Microsystems, Toyota and Tyco.

Maplesoft offers powerful and easy-to-use tools that save time and reduce errors.

With offices in the UK, USA, Germany and throughout the Nordic region, Adept Scientific is one of the world’s leading suppliers of software and hardware products for research, scientific, engineering and technical applications on desktop computers.