It is Alive in the Lab

Happy New Year

I hope this new year finds you well. My wish for you is a happy and prosperous 2009. Thanks to everyone who reads this blog. Without you, there is no blog. It's like they say: "If a tree falls in... Read more →

MEP Analysis Extension for AutoCAD MEP/Revit MEP has run its course

Our technology preview of the MEP Analysis Extension for AutoCAD MEP/Revit MEP has run its course. The add-in no longer executes after December 31, 2008. Your feedback was both helpful and voluminous. You were bursting with ideas when we first... Read more →

We're on to something with Project Newport

At AU, we billed Project Newport as a game engine for architects. Our Discovery Space was constantly buzzing with visitors who wanted to navigate Revit models using game controllers, Wiimotes, or the KOMME®Z table. Even though it is not available... Read more →

Do It Yourself Multi-touch Development

At Autodesk University we had the Perceptive Pixel Multi-touch Wall in the exhibit hall. Though I have not blogged about multi-touch in a while, this sparked renewed interest in this topic. A Mr. Richard Feder of Fort Lee, New Jersey... Read more →

Happy Holidays from Project Newport

I got this from the Project Newport team. I thought I would share: We wish you a wonderful holiday and a happy 2009! We want to take this opportunity to thank you warmly for your collaboration and insights. We look... Read more →

Happy Holidays

Since I had a turkey for Thanksgiving, I figured I might as well do a Christmas tree for today. Christmas Tree DWFx. Zoom in! This tree brought to you by Project Draw and Project Freewheel. No trees were harmed in... Read more →

Amanda Collins' Christmas Wish List

On the heels of AU, Autodesk Labs Marketing Manager, Amanda Collins, filed this report. All Amanda really wants for Christmas is customer feedback from experts like you. Autodesk Labs at AU 2008 and Beyond! Think about the excitement that keeps... Read more →

AU FlipCam videos: YouTube and non-YouTube

In my haste of blogging while at Autodesk University, I did not post YouTube alternatives for the videos I created using my FlipCam. Since some of your companies block YouTube access, I am now providing alternative locations. I set some... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery: Augmented Reality Demo

Autodesk Labs Software Developer, Eddy Kuo, and Technical Evangelist from the office of the CTO, Brian Pene, have been working on augmented reality. Augmented reality is the ability to add 3D computer models to real world scenes. This is typically... Read more →

These kids today...

I went to De La Salle High School in New Orleans. I am a computer scientist today because I took a BASIC programming class in high school. It was taught by our math teacher. I saved my programs as holes... Read more →

Autodesk Labs - rapid prototyping development

You can see from the press releases that IBM has announced its new Jazz technology: InfoWorld: IBM Rational offers Jazz-enabled project collaboration tools ARN: IBM Rational offers Jazz-enabled project collaboration tools On Thursday the 11th I attended a briefing on... Read more →

Project Showroom 1.0.12 Now Available

Project Showroom is a technology preview for Autodesk's vision of a new web-based home decorating tool. It allows you to browse product selections from leading manufacturers, and get a feel for how those products will look in real-world settings. You... Read more →

Bidirectional Communication between AliasStudio and Autodesk Inventor

The AliasStudio Direct Reader Add-in for Inventor provides the ability to communicate effectively between industrial design and engineering by directly reading a native AliasStudio wire file into Autodesk Inventor. AliasStudio Direct Reader Add-in for Inventor Recently the team provided me... Read more →

Autodesk MapGuide Public Wiki

MapGuide has a public Wiki: MapGuide Best Practices Wiki On May 16, 2007 I asked the question: Wikipedia: Appropriate for Autodesk documentation? I guess the answer is yes. Read more →

AU Online Site and Blog get a face lift

Manager of AU Program Development, Joseph Wurcher, has given the AU site and his blog a new look: Autodesk University Site There are videos plus speaker and class spotlights. Check it out. Read more →

Autodesk Labs: Your experience results in our innovation

Reflecting on his AU experience, Autodesk Labs Software Architect, Ben Cochran, filed this report. Perceptive Pixel Multi-touch Wall at AU Technology in isolation can be fun to play with and can inspire additionally development and new business ideas. But, a... Read more →

Autodesk Labs in the Autodesk University-based news

Autodesk Labs Marketing Manager, Amanda Collins, sent me a nice recap of coverage of Autodesk Labs at AU. I thought I would share it with you. Event Report: Autodesk University 2008, Part 1 Cadalyst Management December 10, 2008 http://management.cadalyst.com/cadman/News/Event-Report-Autodesk-University-2008-Part-1/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/570966?contextCategoryId=6764 Event... Read more →

Community site maintenance scheduled - 11pm Friday Dec 12, to 11am Saturday Dec 13

Autodesk IT and Worldwide Marketing are coordinating separate, parallel system maintenance tasks this weekend for the community sites and discussion groups. A maintenance page will be posted during the downtime from 11pm Friday Dec 12 to 11am Saturday Dec 13.... Read more →

Augmented Reality 3D Motorcycle demo

Yesterday I showed Jeff Kowalski's main stage presentation that features the 3D motorcycle; however, before this presentation came to life, Eddy Kuo and Brian Pene had it working at the San Francisco office. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YXdjNofHgI A lot of work goes into... Read more →

Autodesk Seek teams up with TurboSquid for user-generated content

Director of Marketing for TurboSquid, Michele Bousquet, sent me the following note: In partnership with Autodesk, TurboSquid has just opened up Revit Market, a marketplace especially for user-generated Revit families. Revit Market is designed to complement Autodesk Seek. http://www.turbosquid.com/Revit To... Read more →

Storytelling for Architects

Fresh from his stint at AU, Interaction Designer, Ian Hooper, filed this report on Project Newport. image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cernese/82655383/sizes/m/#cc_license Architecture has always had a role in storytelling, from the library that hold the books to the created space for drama,... Read more →

3D Printing and Augmented Reality at Autodesk University

Our Chief Technology Officer, Jeff Kowalski, talked about 3D printing and augmented reality as part of his main stage presentation at Autodesk University. I was in attendance with a FlipCam and recorded a few minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB6GAUYQHkI Autodesk Labs own Eddy... Read more →

Kevin Wittkopf: AU photos

Microsoft Senior Technical Evangelist, Kevin Wittkopf, took some photos of people experiencing multi-touch using Autodesk Mudbox on an HP TouchSmart device running Microsoft Windows 7. Multi-touch Autodesk Mudbox on HP TouchSmart with Windows 7 All but one include Autodesk Labs... Read more →

Inventor Plastic Features Technology Preview has run its course

Our technology preview of the Inventor Plastic Features has run its course. I have placed an entry on the graduates page. Autodesk Labs Graduates Your feedback was both helpful and voluminous. You were bursting with ideas when we first launched... Read more →

John Schmier: AU photos

Autodesk Labs Software Developer, John Schmier, took several photos at AU. I placed them on my flickr account. Autodesk Labs AU photos on flickr Check them out! Read more →

Ramtin Attar: AU photos

Our friend, Ramtin Attar, of the Autodesk Research group was kind enough to share some of his AU photos with us. Autodesk University Photos on flickr Check them out! Read more →

Autodesk Research Microsoft Surface at Autodesk University

The Autodesk Research team helped us with the Discovery Space at Autodesk University. Autodesk Research team members, Alex Tessier and Mike Glueck, received a shiny new Microsoft Surface for the Autodesk Labs booth. They unpacked it and in only a... Read more →

Differences between Autodesk Freewheel and Project Freewheel

Since we are showing Project Freewheel in the Autodesk Labs booth at AU, a Frequently Asked Question I get is: What are the differences between the two Freewheels? Yes there are two Freewheels. Although we at Labs work very diligently... Read more →

Wii Winner from Autodesk Labs Discovery Space

This week in the Autodesk Labs Discovery Space in the Exhibit Hall, Autodesk University attendees could enter their names for a drawing to win a Nintendo Wii system. One of our Autodesk Labs software developers from our Shanghai office, Jay... Read more →

Applicable Worldwide: MEP Analysis Extension for AutoCAD MEP/Revit MEP

Previous I posted about 32-bit and 64-bit MEP Analysis Extension Downloads showing how downloads of 32-bit was very popular but 64-bit usage is on the upswing. Although the analysis extension has been downloaded by users in over 120 different countries,... Read more →

AU Exhibit Hall Opening Night: Perceptive Pixel Multi-touch Wall

We love our Perceptive Pixel Multi-touch Wall. Last night Ben Cochran, John Schmier, and I manned the device as part of the Exhibit Hall opening. We allowed AU attendees to interact with the wall to experience the gestures software developer,... Read more →

Autodesk University Discovery Space: software as a service

While John Schmier and I set up the Perceptive Pixel Multi-touch Wall, Gyorgy Ordody set up Project Newport. David Falck and Jay Gao set up our software as a service stations. I snapped a few seconds of this set up... Read more →

Full Scale 3D Printed Motorcycle on Display in the AU Exhibit Hall

3D printing is one of the ways Autodesk customers can experience their designs before they are real. One of the highlights of this morning's main stage presentation at Autodesk University was the unveiling of a full scale motorcycle that had... Read more →

Assembling the Multi-touch Wall for Autodesk University

Today the Autodesk Labs team spent the day setting up our Discovery Space in the Exhibit Hall. I helped John Schmier assemble the Perceptive Pixel Multi-touch Wall. Although this was my second time assisting with this task, this was the... Read more →

Pre-AU Activity: A walk along the Las Vegas Strip

courtesy of John Schmier, Scott and Gyorgy of Autodesk Labs Once AU really starts, none of us will have any time to leave the Venetian. It's a whirlwind like that every year. With this in mind, Autodesk Labs software developers... Read more →

Project Newport in the Autodesk Labs AU Discovery Space

Today we will set up our Discovery Space in the Exhibit Hall for AU. We also have a briefing on Project Newport - a technology that we did not have in our space last year. Project Newport is a 3D... Read more →