Mevea is the leading manufacturer and supplier of real-time simulation software tools enabling exceptional physics based digital twin solutions for product development and training. Typical Mevea-customers operate in logistics, construction, mining and forestry sectors. The company has also a solid background in collaborating with universities and research institutes in teaching future engineers and supporting various research projects.
Mevea is based in Lappeenranta, Finland and its products have been delivered into more than 25 countries around the world.
Their core team, including several PhD-level experts with comprehensive experience in simulation, is able to support in all kinds of engineering projects, innovations or challenges especially regarding the development of autonomous and environmentally friendly machines.
Interview with Tero Koskipalo, Managing Director of Mevea.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Tero Koskipalo: Mevea´s over 15 years of experience working with big OEMs (Original equipment manufacturer) has had a vast impact on the company´s product features.
Right from the beginning, it was clear that simulating a machine alone was not enough for OEMs needs. In order to develop the operation of a future machine, the simulation must include the work process and the environment in addition to the machine itself. Also, to be able to operate a modern smart machine, a control system is required. Therefore, the software supports various control interfaces.
Virtual prototyping and validation are one of the most popular uses of the software. For example, it has become more prevalent today to compare alternative solutions to the machine’s carbon footprint, even before the physical machine is manufactured. Similarly, the needs for the development and testing of autonomous and semi-autonomous machines have increased significantly in recent years.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
T.K: If 15 years ago there was a need to rapidly develop new virtual sensors for measuring the state of the simulated machine, today the need has clearly shifted to observing the working environment of the machine. Today, radars, laser scanners, lidars and other similar sensors are part of the control of almost every machine.
Due to the complexity of modern control systems, another feature which has recently been under strong development, is the possibility of using automatic test routines. This is to ensure the coverage of the testing and the safety in all use situations.
Introducing a new simulation tool means integrating it to some degree into an existing process and, for example, CAD software. This emphasizes the importance of different communication interfaces. Likewise, the ability for co-simulation. With Mevea, this is possible with, for example, Amesim and Simulink software.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
T.K: In addition to the simulation software, Mevea offers its customers software training and comprehensive modeling services.
If the goal is to improve the driver training of the future work machine, a training simulator can be easily made by adding training scenarios and evaluation reporting to the simulation model used in product development.
In addition to this service, Mevea offers various simulator hardware setups as well.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
T.K: The market is undergoing a great transformation. Sustainable goals require low-emission and energy-efficient solutions. This has started the transition from internal combustion engines to electric drives. The change opens opportunities for new manufacturers to capture market shares.
On the other hand, the development of features which make the driver’s work easier, and especially the use of artificial intelligence, forces manufacturers to look for completely new methods of operations. For companies like Mevea, this will open great opportunities to find new customers and to grow their business.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
T.K: The market is currently growing rapidly and there is a clear demand for new development tools. New tools must also develop quickly, as new products such as smart sensors etc. enter the market.
Some of the leading machine manufacturers have been aware and are already on the move. Some still rely on traditional solutions and they may soon be in a hurry.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
T.K: First of all, Mevea´s real-time simulation software package is exceptionally innovative as a whole. However, I would like to highlight our software´s unique real-time capability to simulate the soil material behaviour and construction equipment work process extremely accurately. We will be demonstrating this capability at Bauma 2022, the world´s leading trade fair for construction equipment in October.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the rest of 2022?
T.K: As the world is finally opening after the Covid-lockdowns, the development of assistive and autonomous functionalities is rapidly growing among the equipment manufacturers. This will require a new approach for product development and increase the need for implementing physics based digital twin. This will further increase the gap between the leaders and the laggards.
