Ansys and LightSolver Partner to Enhance CAE Modeling

LightSolver, inventors of a new laser-based computing paradigm, announce a partnership with Ansys. After a successful test run on LightSolver’s platform, the two companies are working to integrate LightSolver’s technology with Ansys LS-DYNA nonlinear dynamics structural simulation software to accelerate simulations for automotive, aerospace, and other industries.

LightSolver's all-optical Laser Processing Unit (LPU) will leverage laser interactions to compute large and complex problems, Ansys reports. The LPU processes at the speed of light, making it suited for computations that require massive amounts of iterations, such as optimization problems and simulations for global challenges, according to the companies.

LightSolver offers a digital platform that emulates LPU functionality and accelerates computations for certain use cases. Together, LightSolver and Ansys collaborated to explore accelerators based on advanced computing methods, testing LightSolver’s digital platform on a number of implicit mechanical analysis cases to reduce floating point operations and storage. The test showed that the combination can shorten product development cycles, according to the companies.

In the cases tested, LightSolver successfully optimized sparse matrix reordering within the Ansys LS-DYNA solver, reducing the amount of computation required, the companies noted.

“We’re excited to partner with Ansys and augment the value of their multiphysics simulation tools through acceleration,” says LightSolver CEO and co-founder Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D. “Modeling in computer-aided engineering remains one of the most computationally intensive workloads requiring specialized HPC infrastructure. We’re looking forward to providing clients with increased value as our hardware platform continues to evolve.”

About LightSolver

LightSolver is developing an all-optical supercomputer capable of solving complex and large computational problems at the speed of light. Utilizing the interference patterns of lasers, the LPU can tackle challenges that were previously constrained by the limits of electronics, while fitting into a rack unit and operating at room temperature. Dr. Ruti Ben-Shlomi and Dr. Chene Tradonsky, physicists from the Weizmann Institute, founded the company in 2020. More than two-thirds of the team are physics, math and computer science PhDs.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.