Altair (www.altair.com), a global provider of technology and services empowering client innovation and decision making, today announced the addition to its HyperWorks Partner Alliance (HWPA) of RAMSIS, the occupant simulation software by Human Solutions. HyperWorks users can now download the latest version of RAMSIS from the HWPA website at www.hyperworksalliance.com and use RAMSIS at no incremental cost through their existing HyperWorks software license system. To date, over 350 companies worldwide have joined the HyperWorks Partner Alliance.

The consideration of ergonomic aspects in product development has evolved into a decisive competition factor for manufacturers and a challenge for designers who must account for a wide range of human sizes. RAMSIS allows manufacturers in the automotive, aircraft and industrial vehicle sectors to realistically simulate a digital human body to create more ergonomic, safe and comfortable interiors. Used by more than 70% of all vehicle manufacturers, RAMSIS calculates such critical aspects as reach, visibility and ride comfort virtually using precise dimensions, postures and movement sequences of a diverse catalogue of 3D CAD manikins. The system uses current, international body dimension databases to supply accurate representative results about product requirements for complex international target markets - roughly 3 to 5 times faster than conventional analysis methods.

"Altair's HyperWorks Partner Alliance is an ideal conduit for RAMSIS applications," said Andre Luebke, Key Account Manager for Human Solutions NA. "The digital human modeling suite that RAMSIS offers is a natural extension to the HyperWorks solutions library. Thus development engineers have a one stop shop for most, if not all of their product development needs."

HyperWorks is a suite of enterprise analytic applications that includes statistical, database, visualization and simulation software to help companies make better business decisions. Its patented HyperWorks Units licensing technology allows users to transparently share software licenses globally across a broad suite of applications.

"RAMSIS is an exciting technology which represents a new direction for the HyperWorks Partner Alliance," said Martin Nichols, Altair Executive Vice President of Global Alliances and Operations. "Expanding our solutions library to include applications outside of traditional CAE demonstrates Altair's commitment to providing a truly comprehensive platform which can encompass all aspects of the design process."

The addition of Human Solutions' technology brings the total number of applications available under the HyperWorks platform to 58 including 30 third-party software applications such as RAMSIS. These applications enable users to maximize their current investment in HyperWorks licenses by giving their engineers and designers flexible access to a growing pool of leading technology solutions.