By Nishant Arora

Los Angeles, Feb 7 (IANS): From collaborating with engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for designing a next-generation space exploration device to cut the distance barrier between cities, the global 3D design company Dassault Systemes is busy working on ideas to herald a new era for millennials.

According to Gian Paolo Bassi, CEO, Dassault Systemes, new space exploration devices will further expand our knowledge about the universe.

"We are working closely with JPL engineers to build a space exploration device that will be faster than any other machine of its kind of previous generation and will be able to carry heavier payloads," Bassi addressed the jam-packed Los Angeles Convention Centre as he kicked-off the four-day SOLIDWORKS World 2017 conference here on Monday.

"In order to safeguard our Earth from an asteroid impact in the future, we are also working with NASA to develop a planetary space defence system that can alert us in such threat in advance," Bassi told the gathering in the city of entertainment which was inundated with rain since morning.

Dassault Systemes is also working with the California-based aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company SpaceX on an ambitious hyperloop transportation project.

Proposed by SpaceX founder Elon Musk in 2013, the Hyperloop system envisages mass transportation at a speed of up to 760 miles (nearly 1300 km) per hour via low-pressure tubes.

"It means that once in use, the hyperloop pod ride will take you to San Francisco from Los Angeles in flat 35 minutes. We are working with engineers to design the low-flying vehicle," Bassi noted.

Last week, the Hyperloop competition pitted 27 research teams against each other for the chance to test-drive their model pods in a test tube built by SpaceX in California.

Following the competition, SpaceX released a video which takes viewers on a trip through the 1.25km tube, showing what a ride in a Hyperloop pod might be like.

Students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Munich Technical University and Delft University of Technology finally received the chance to send their pods for a test drive to see whose model was most impressive.

"Innovation is about experiences that we are creating for our customers and space research is one of those," Bassi said.

Not just space research, the 3D design solutions are also helping baby toy manufacturers build innovative toys, guitar makers develop new-age electric guitars and magicians create mind-blowing illusions to leave their audience speechless.

Being attended by over 5,000 engineers and designers from around the globe, the four-day event is organised by Dassault SystAmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company and a world leader in 3D design software.

Over 120 exhibitors are displaying new technologies and products amid 200 interactive training sessions at the annual SOLIDWORKS World 2017.