Aura, an AI-powered virtual co-pilot, unveiled by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks at the 3DExperience World event in Houston, Texas, is set to revolutionize the CAD design experience.

This new development marks a significant milestone as SolidWorks celebrates its 30th anniversary and enters its Gen 7 Stage. Aura is the first “Virtual Companion” of its kind, seamlessly integrated into the broader 3D UNIV+RSES initiative, which embeds generative AI technologies at the heart of Intellectual Property Lifecycle Management (IPLM). Aura promises to empower users while ensuring the highest levels of security and privacy for their intellectual property.

Aura: A Virtual Companion

Aura, which will be available on any device by July 2025, is designed to be a conversational chatbot that assists users by learning from them, teaching them, and performing tasks on their behalf. With responses tailored to each individual user, Aura reinforces Dassault Systèmes’ commitment to maintaining secure intellectual property. Manish Kumar, CEO of SolidWorks, highlighted that Aura’s AI responses will be exclusive to the user, further protecting their data.

“Aura is part of the evolution of SolidWorks and the broader 3D UNIV+RSES ecosystem,” Kumar explained. “It’s more than just a tool; it’s a virtual companion designed to work alongside you, enhancing productivity and empowering your design process.”

Aura has been trained using SolidWorks training guides, best practices, and help documentation, ensuring that it provides accurate and relevant support. By embedding AI deeply into the platform, Aura is poised to transform how users interact with SolidWorks, making design more intuitive and efficient.

Generative AI and the Future of 3D Design

At the event, Pascal Daloz, CEO of Dassault Systèmes, shared his vision for the future of the company’s AI-powered tools. He highlighted the new role of AI in SolidWorks as a cornerstone of Dassault’s “Gen 7 Stage.” Daloz elaborated, saying, “This new generation places artificial intelligence at the center of everything we do. It’s not just about automation—AI is here to empower, enhance, and guide our users.”

Daloz introduced two critical categories of AI-driven services for the future of SolidWorks: Generative Experiences and Virtual Companions. Generative experiences refer to AI-powered automation for tasks like assembly, design, testing, and validation. These tools are designed to streamline complex processes, helping users work smarter, not harder. On the other hand, virtual companions like Aura are tailored to enhance individual skills and accelerate workflows without replacing the user.

“These companions are not here to replace you,” Daloz affirmed. “They’re here to empower you.”

AI in SolidWorks

As part of its ongoing AI integration, SolidWorks is planning a series of innovative features aimed at further enhancing the user experience. Some features are already available, including predictive commands and automated drawing generation. However, Dassault has also made exciting advancements, such as generative rendering, which will allow users to quickly create custom product renders, and generative 3D parts, which will facilitate seamless transitions from 3D scan data to parametric 3D models.

One particularly intriguing feature, which received cheers from the audience, is a mesh-to-3D tool that will eventually enable users to convert complex mesh geometry into native parametric features. “Once fully developed,” Kumar said, “this feature will provide a seamless way to transition from mesh geometry to parametric features, whether you are working with 3D scan data, imported mesh files, or legacy CAD models.”

The Power of 3D UNIV+RSES

At the media interaction, Daloz further explained how SolidWorks fits into the broader 3D UNIV+RSES vision, Dassault Systèmes’ seventh-generation representation of the world. Unlike the virtual environments of the metaverse, 3D UNIV+RSES connects both the real and virtual worlds. “The metaverse is a virtual world which is not linked to reality,” Daloz pointed out. “What we offer with 3D UNIV+RSES is the ability to navigate across different scales and disciplines, something that other platforms, like Nvidia’s Omniverse, cannot do.”

SolidWorks users can look forward to the official release of Aura and other AI-driven features in July 2025, marking the beginning of a new era for CAD design powered by artificial intelligence.

The travel sponsored by Dassault Systèmes.