Case Study: XSun accelerates solar drone design and simulation with Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE

XSun develops a 12-hour autonomous solar drone with Dassault Systèmes

XSun, a French start-up, faced the challenge of designing the second generation of its SolarXOne solar-powered drone to overcome limitations in autonomy and safety regulations. To optimize this complex multidisciplinary system, they needed high-performance tools for design, simulation, and collaboration. They partnered with Dassault Systèmes to address this.

Using Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud, specifically the Reinvent the Sky solution with CATIA and SIMULIA, XSun consolidated all design and simulation data onto a single platform. This enabled remote, multidisciplinary collaboration and allowed for rapid virtual testing of iterations. The solution accelerated development, reducing the preliminary design phase to under a year and minimizing physical prototypes. The result was the SolarXOne, a sub-25kg drone with a 12-hour flight autonomy that is now ready for a wide range of applications.

XSun