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Keridwen is an open-source modular toolbox gathering, through interoperable software modules, a structured set of key functions common to most scientific software.

Keridwen provides numerous generic modules like pre and post-processing tools, data conversion functions, data visualisation tools or elements of graphical user interfaces covering the whole modelling chain. Written in Java, based on a modular and service oriented approach built around the industrial OSGI standard for a high level of inter-operability, Keridwen aims to facilitate the conception and the development of tailored scientific applications, simulation or experimental data analysis software.

Keridwen benefits from the software experience and know-how collected on numerous scientific projects. It aims at letting the final expert focus on its specific and tailored developments. For each targeted domain, Keridwen allows to build its own and dedicated Integrated Modelling Environment (IME) fully adapted to its needs.

By composition of software components or as an integrated application, Keridwen can be applied to numerous numerical models or scientific experimental databases in the context of a large variety of application domains.

Key Features

Keridwen aims to address needs that may appear along the whole modelling process from the modelling of the studied system to the results extraction and analysis. This may include the simulation kernel control and monitoring or simple data conversion modules or dedicated GUI. Keridwen must be seen as a general Meccano for scientific and technical applications.

The Keridwen Core package gathers an extensive set of low-level functions, like a message-driven controller or a generic hierarchical data model.

The Keridwen Tools package provides a set of advanced functions, like a simplified geometry editor, meshing tools or applications to set initial and boundary conditions. This toolbox is completed by various post-processing tools.

Click on the maps here below to access to detailed functionnalities of each bundle.

By compositions of modules, Keridwen allows to easily build-up adapted solutions:

  • Multi-physics modelling processes
  • Multi-models to address complex systems
  • Generic structures of CAD and meshing
  • Flexible and customizable graphic interfaces
  • Compatible with most of programming languages used in scientific computing (Python, Java, C / C++, Fortran ...)
  • Easy integration with external tools
  • Rich 2D and 3D visualisation tools (based on JFreeChart and VTK)

Application Cases

Keridwen is already used by several majors scientific projects in the frame of various scientific and industrial communities as well for Artenum internal developments.
  • SPIS, the Spacecraft Plasma Interaction Software: SPIS is the current European reference tool in spacecraft-plasma interactions modelling and is world-widely used today. Its recently released new version (SPIS-GEO), dedicated to industrial uses, has been fully redeveloped on the basis of Keridwen as a complete Integrated Modelling Environment (IME). SPIS-GEO integrates most of the current Keridwen modules and illustrates the possibilities of fine integration of tailored simulation kernels.
  • GEFICOT for GEo FIles COherence Tool, is a tool dedicated to check and recover the consistency of Gmsh's geo files. This includes id conflict resolution, duplicated elements removal and co-localised construction nodes.
  • Electronic Design: Around the 2D advanced rendering bundle, Keridwen Draw, a specific application is currently under development for the design and the functional analysis of electronic integrated devices, like CPUs and memories.
  • EDGE EDGE (ExtendeD Gdml Editor) is an easy-to-use GDML editor to load and edit GDML geometries. It is completly based on Keridwen.
  • Robbie the robot Robbie is an experimental Raspberry Pi robot, with a sfotware controla layer fully based on Keridwen.

Innovative Technical Solutions


Project Status

Please note that this project is currently under development and only SNAPSHOT builds are available at this time. The functionality is reasonable stable but some documentation and development tasks have not yet been completed. The API is fairly well defined; however, is subject to minor changes until a release build is produced.

You are welcome to start using and integrating this library in your project.

Feel free to provide any feedback, good or bad.

Visit the Download page to download the latest builds of Keridwen library.


Services & Support

Keridwen is a product of the Artenum Company. Along with Keridwen, the Artenum company provides a variety of services and support:

  • System integration and tailoration providing the most adapted solution for each specific modelling context and simulation kernel
  • The integration of external tools, simulation cores or processing modules
  • On-demand development of dedicated or business modules and simulation cores
  • On-demand development of visualisation and data analysis pipelines based on VTK
  • On-demand development of data import/export formats (STEP, IGES, MED, NetCDF)
  • The conception of dependance trees for modelling chains (research, optimisation, system analysis)
  • Training and expertise.
Please feel free to contact us for further information.

An Open-source project

Registration To access to the Keridwen software, data and other tools, a user registration to the Keridwen community is mandatory.

Please use the Keridwen Community registration form. Beware that only registrations done through this form will be valid on this platform.

If you already have an account, please upgrade your account to access to Keridwen.

Password lost ? Please contact us.

Keridwen is an open-source project and is distributed under the terms of the Gnu Public License and can be freely downloaded after a free registration as community member.

Keridwen can be freely used and integrated into other open-source projects. In complement, a double licensing scheme offers the possibility to integrate Keridwen into close-source application with the Close-Source Developer License (CSDL).


Authors and credits

Keridwen is copyright (C) 2010-2017 by the Artenum Company and has been mainly developed by the following authors:
  • Benoit Thiébault (Artenum)
  • Benjamin Jeanty-Ruard (Artenum)
  • Arnaud Trouche (Artenum)
  • Pierre Souquet (Artenum)
  • Jérémie Turbet (Artenum)
  • Julien Forest (Artenum)
Keridwen integrates several other open-source projects through various bundles.

Please credit their authors as well, if you use these components.


Last edited by Julien Forest at Apr 11, 2018 1:50 PM - Edit content