With a PHD in signal processing, Arnaud Talon carried out his thesis on non-destructive testing (NDT) at Safran Helicopter Engines. He worked in vibration for six years before becoming Head of the Vibration Measurement Group at Safran in 2010. In 2015, he was also appointed Vibration Expert at Safran. Working with his team, Arnaud Talon is in charge of all vibration measurements and dynamic measurements on engines, demonstrators, and sometimes aircraft, for R&D, certification tests and investigation purposes.

Why do you think it is interesting to be involved in the Beyond Tomorrow project?
“It’s interesting to consider how quickly the technology of product creation and data processing develops. At the moment, we don’t know what kind of data we are going to store and collate in the future.”

What do you think is the biggest challenge for product development in the future?
“The main challenge will continue to be vibration. There is a need to continually go deeper and increase understanding in the field of vibration analysis.”

Per-Olof Sturesson is the Senior Director, Driving Dynamics and Noise & Vibration Centre, for Volvo Cars. He has worked in noise and vibration in the automotive industry since 1996. In Detroit, he researched structural dynamics and acoustics, and he has worked with General Motors in Europe. Per-Olof is currently responsible for a team of 160 people involved in driving dynamics (handling, steering, ride, braking and driver assistance) and noise & vibration.

Why do you think it is interesting to be involved in the Beyond Tomorrow project?
“Shaping the future is interesting. I don’t think you should always look in the past to predict what will happen in the future.”

What do you think is the biggest challenge for product development in the future?
“Getting the right product out with the right quality and cost, and meeting noise legislation in 2024 is going to be a true challenge. There will be new challenges with electrical vehicles, too – for example, with high-frequency structure-born noise, where we need to understand excitation from the electromagnetic field generated in the motor better.”

With 30+ years in the automotive industry, all at the Ford Motor Company, Piero Aversa has a lot of experience in engines and transmission product development. He recently moved into the noise and vibration field and is currently Chief Engineer, Global Powertrain NVH, at Ford. His main area of responsibility is computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysis and power train system testing, including engines, transmissions, drivelines and exhausts.

Why do you think it is interesting to be involved in the Beyond Tomorrow project?
“It is interesting to think about the future of our business and how to best serve the needs of the customer. Product development needs to be geared towards the future with products that serve some ultimate vision of the needs of people and the greater society.”

What do you think is the biggest challenge for product development in the future?
“The biggest challenges are speed and cost. In the automotive field we are striving to push more concepts, design, testing, and analysis into the virtual phase, with less reliance on physical prototypes.”

Dr Ivan Tashev is a Partner Software Architect at Microsoft Corporation. He received his MSc in electronic engineering (1984) and PhD in computer science (1990) from the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria. He was assistant professor in the Department of Electronics of the same university when in 1998 joined Microsoft. Today Ivan Tashev is leading the Audio and Acoustics Research Group in Microsoft Research Labs in Redmond, Washington.

Why do you think it is interesting to be involved in the Beyond Tomorrow project?
“It’s a chance to take a step back from the day-to-day responsibilities and think together with the moderators about the big picture, the trends and where the industry is going.”

What do you think is the biggest challenge for product development in the future?
“The products will be getting more and more optimized (price, cost, weight, functionality, etc.). It will require companies that have enormous computing power to do this optimization and to put more smartness in the products (to wit, artificial intelligence).”

With a PhD in mechanical engineering, Marco Ballatore is the Functional Manager of Chassis NVH at Bentley Motors. Previously, he worked for Bridgestone Technical Center Europe – developing technologies for tyre-road noise minimization and studying rolling tyre dynamics – and as a vehicle dynamics specialist for Fiat Group Automobiles. In his current role at Bentley, Marco leads the team developing the structural dynamics and vibro-acoustics performance of all products.

Why do you think it is interesting to be involved in the Beyond Tomorrow project?
“It’s useful to analyse industrial trends from different sources, putting one’s own reality in a wider, global future context.”

What do you think is the biggest challenge for product development in the future?
“Short-term challenges include time-to-market reduction, regulation strengthening and active systems integration. With prototype-less development, the widespread adoption of virtual rendering and experiencing techniques for making decisions is the first waypoint. In the long term, the trend is towards a service-based rather than an ownership model. It will be interesting to see if this will involve luxury segments.”

Dr Venkatakrishnan is the Chief Scientist and Head of Experimental Aerodynamics at CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories in Bangalore, India. With a PhD in aerospace engineering, Dr Venkatakrishnan’s main areas of responsibility are experimental aerodynamics and aeroacoustics and flow diagnostics.

Why do you think it is interesting to be involved in the Beyond Tomorrow project?
“It allows out-of- the-box thinking while anticipating what a future generation might want or need. Considering that earlier projections were either overreaching (for example, flying cars, etc., by 2020) or were manifest as products ahead of their time (Iridium phones, for instance), it shows how challenging it is to predict the future and this makes it interesting.”

What do you think is the biggest challenge for product development in the future?
“The biggest challenge is regulatory agencies because technology is always a step ahead and the drafting of new acceptance and performance regulations will always be superseded by the advent of yet newer technologies.”

Director at the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) Centre for Product Development, Claus Erichsen Kudsk is the head of a highly skilled, multidisciplinary team in a business unit that is under constant development. The unit comprises two sub-departments: Certification & Inspection and Additive Manufacturing, each being among the best in Europe in their respective fields. Claus Erichsen Kudsk has worked at DTI since 1999 and is highly experienced in product development, in particular, utilising metal additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing).

Why do you think it is interesting to be involved in the Beyond Tomorrow project? 
“I am always looking for new business opportunities enabling additive manufacturing to transform into a successful production method in the Danish manufacturing industry. This will take years and therefore is very relevant in future studies!”

What do you think is the biggest challenge for product development in the future?
“It’s to do with being able to focus on your core business, as well as factors to do with globalization and simulation. I also think of the challenges involved in implementing additive manufacturing, of course.”

Jianmin Guan is the Director of Vibration and Acoustics Solutions at Altair Engineering, where he is responsible for HyperWorks®, NVH-related software and business development activities. His background includes 18 years of experience in NVH at Ford Motor Co., and he won the prestigious Henry Ford Technology Award in 1996 and SAE International’s Forest R. McFarland Award in 2017. Jianmin Guan is a member of the SAE Noise and Vibration Committee and is an instructor of the Structure-borne NVH Workshop at SAE Noise and Vibration conferences.

Why do you think it is interesting to be involved in the Beyond Tomorrow project?
“It is great to learn from the experts’ view of the future and be able to contribute to it.”

What do you think is the biggest challenge for product development in the future?
“To be open minded, stay up to date with the latest technology trends, such as electrification, IoT, additive manufacturing and simulation-driven design, and find new ways of problem solving.”