Starforge: How AI and SysML v2 accelerate engineering
Integration and automation are key prerequisites for product velocity, i.e. the ability to develop physical products at the speed of software. The new tool Starforge promises to realize this through the integration of system and design models. Find out below what Starforge does and where the tool stands, including a link to the MBSE podcast, which includes a live demo.
Starforge & Planetary Utilities
Starforge is the tool of Planetary Utilities, and promises close integration of all product models, as well as accessibility via AI.
For readers of SE-Trends, it is nothing new that complex systems such as spacecraft, cars or machines are created in highly specialized silos. The disciplines of mechanics, electronics, software, simulation, etc. all work in their own tools and data formats. Integration is laborious, resulting in frictional losses, media disruptions and delays.
The from Johannes Gross (Germany) and Robert Karban (Austria) in California, Planetary Utilities wants to change exactly that with Starforge. Johannes comes from research into graph-based design languages and digital twins. Robert comes from a practical background and is already well known in the SysML community. He spent many years at NASA JPL and is co-founder of OpenMBEE.
Both are united by the experience that today's tools are not built for integrated systems engineering. In the last episode of the MBSE podcast, the two of them presented their tool (demo in the video from approx. 25 minutes).
Familiar problem, new solution
The problem is well known and I have often mentioned it here: Tools are separated by discipline, their models are incompatible; modeling is often manual and click-intensive instead of automated; information from simulation, CAD and requirements does not flow together automatically.
Starforge wants to change that. First of all, an AI-based accessibility layer creates simplified access to the system model. Instead of performing hundreds of clicks, the engineer can interact with the system, for example: "Add a thermal unit to the backbone", and Starforge creates the corresponding SysML v2 model and the CAD component (in the video at 30:30).
Clearly defined interfaces are a central element. Modules can only be flexibly combined if connections are standardized.
Interfaces and libraries
Integration is particularly expensive in the aerospace industry. The coordination of electrical and thermal interfaces between components alone can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Starforge therefore follows the approach of linking modules via clearly defined interfaces. In doing so, we have to consider many types of interfaces: mechanical, electrical, data-related and many more. The modules come from libraries that describe these interfaces. This creates a construction kit for complex systems.
By having predefined interfaces we can define the classes of objects that fit. We get a flexible system where we can you combine hardware, with something like a parts catalog in the background. This approach is really very well suited for any kind of modular system where you already know your interfaces.
Hierarchical organization
Starforge organizes technical information in a multi-layered structure ranging from geometry to simulation:
- Topology: Basic geometric structure: solids, surfaces, edges, points.
- Physics: Materials, surface properties, thermal and electrical parameters.
- Discretization: Definition of how physical models are calculated (e.g. FEM mesh).
- Simulation & Behavior: Sequence of system functions over time, including control and regulation.
- Digital Twin Layer: Consolidation of all models for continuous analysis and optimization.
This organization allows models from different disciplines to be consistently linked. Incidentally, this is also a basic principle that I refer to in my book Product Velocity will enter into.
Flexo: The heart of architecture
A central element of the platform is Flexo, part of OpenMBEE and the modern successor to the "Model Management Service".
Flexo serves as a central exchange and integration backend for SysML v2 models. Other services or tools can access it via the standardized SysML v2 API, whether CAD, simulation or requirements management.
Starforge uses this approach consistently: the system consists of microservices that can be combined as required, for example for CAD conversion, simulation, validation or AI-supported model generation. This allows companies to build a customized integration architecture without being tied to a monolithic tool.
Openness is built in
Starforge is in the direct tradition of the Open MBEE community. The team integrates open source components, gives back improvements and offers flexo deployments as a service. The aim is to create an ecosystem in which integrations are developed and shared openly. Because every organization faces similar challenges.
Openness is also anchored technically: SysML v2-API, FMI/FMU for simulation, STEP for CAD, etc.: All of these standards form the basis. Starforge does not see itself as another tool silo, but as a platform for open exchange.
Comparison with similar tools
This puts Starforge in line with other initiatives aimed at Product Velocity, which I have already reported on here. In particular Syside has similar goals, especially with regard to the openness of the ecosystem. It is therefore not surprising that Planetary Utilities already collaborates closely with Sensmetry, the manufacturer of Syside (and Sysand Repository).
Also Dalus is based on SysML v2, but is less open and focuses heavily on the UI to make SysML v2 simpler. In contrast, Starforge concentrates on application engineering. Also Flow Engineering is less open and focuses on usability and integration. However, Flow goes so far that it is not even based on SysML.
Conclusion
Starforge shows what modern systems engineering can look like when openness, automation and AI come together. Instead of isolated tools, a networked ecosystem is created in which the engineer talks to his digital twin and all domains remain synchronized. I will continue to follow the developments at Planetary Utilies closely.
