Dassault Systemes supports the Virtual Plus Reality Challenge with its 3D software tools (more)

Paris-Beijing: a five-month run covering more than 6,000 miles (10, 000 kilometers). A true challenge for seasoned marathon runner Philippe Fuchs made possible in part thanks to Dassault Systèmes, worldwide leader in real-time 3D technology. It is through Dassault Systèmes’ Passion for Innovation program that Philippe’s journey begins.  Passion for Innovation helps non-for-profit organizations and passionate individuals fulfill their dreams using Dassault Systèmes’ 3D software solutions.

“One of our colleagues is an automobile buff,” says Mehdi Tayoubi, interactive strategy and marketing director, Dassault Systèmes. Despite his disability, he dreamed of driving his recently acquired Lotus on a racetrack. We thus created the Passion for Innovation program to help him realize his dream.  To qualify for the program, candidates must meet to main criteria:  1), they must be creative and capable of coming up with innovative solutions, and 2), their projects must have a need for our 3D solutions, whether used as an interactive medium or scientific tool.”  It was also through the Passion for Innovation program that architect Jean-Pierre Houdin worked with Dassault Systèmes to reveal the secret of how the mysterious pyramid was built. 

When Philippe Fuchs, professor at the internationally renowned engineering school Ecole des Mines de Paris and President of the French Virtual Reality Association, submitted his idea to Tayoubi last October, he was quick to accept. “Philippe convinced us rather quickly that running was his passion. We decided to push the envelope by inventing the Virtual Plus Reality Challenge with two other partners, Sports Without Borders and the Marseille Laboratory of Movement and Perception. Using real data from Philippe's run, the lab create the first scientifically valid 3D virtual and bio-realistic foot.

On March 7, Philippe embarks on the Paris-Beijing adventure, hoping to arrive during the Summer Olympic Games. In conjunction with Philippe’s run, Dassault Systèmes has taken on two other challenges.  One is humanitarian, since kilometers run by Philippe in the real world, and the general public in the virtual world, will translate to more support for Sports Without Borders. The other is scientific, because establishing such a detailed model of the foot promises to open new possibilities in sports.  While it is relatively easy to simulate the shoes’ wear-and-tear in 3D, measuring the effects of sports equipment on the human body is more complicated. It is in this way that Dassault Systèmes promises to help contribute to the future of sports.

Link to Dassault Systemes V Plus R Site