It is Alive in the Lab

Happy New Year

Here's wishing everyone in the Autodesk Labs community a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year. Read more →

Let's Give Them Something To Talk About

In keeping with the theme of top ten lists, here is the top ten list of technology previews that got the most feedback during 2010. December isn't over, but I doubt the results will change dramatically. I included Autodesk Labs... Read more →

Top 10 Autodesk Labs Downloads of 2010

'Tis the season to count things... It's that time of the year when all of those lists of the year appear. In keeping with the phenomenon, here are the top ten most downloaded technology previews from the Autodesk Labs web... Read more →

Happy Holidays

We're probably out doing some last minute shopping... I will be on vacation until January 4. In fact, many Autodesk employees are taking time off, so if you don't get an immediate response to your Autodesk Labs feedback, fear not.... Read more →

Updated BrowsePhotoSynth for AutoCAD Now Available

It's no secret that the point of the Autodesk Developer Network (ADN) Plugin of the Month is to encourage would-be developers to develop their own plugins for AutoCAD, Inventor, etc. That's why we include the source code with each plugin.... Read more →

Two more Project Galileo infrastructure conceptual design videos

Project Galileo is our technology preview for infrastructure conceptual design. To quote Technical Marketing Manager, Lynda Sharkey, "Project Galileo is a virtual city model built using GIS data, 3D models, civil data, and terrain data." You can learn more about... Read more →

TRON Legacy: Oh how far we've come in computer rendering

source: TRON: The Official Site On Friday, December 17, many Autodesk employees went to see the new movie TRON Legacy. As computer scientists, we were enthralled by the original TRON in terms of the advances it fostered in computer graphics.... Read more →

Project Neon rendering service Update Now At Your Disposal

Nasty bug Senior Product Manager, Mark Fritts, noted that we had a Project Neon update on Friday. Recall that Project Neon is a technology preview of a rendering service. You upload your drawings. You get an image back. You can... Read more →

Firefox Add-on for Autodesk Design Review graduates from Autodesk Labs

Last month we retired the Firefox Add-on for Autodesk Design Review. Thanks to everyone who downloaded the technology preview over the last 22 months: and provided feedback: The add-on is still available on the Autodesk web site. Graduation ceremonies are... Read more →

Heads Up on the Project Photofly Head Models

Thanks to everyone who visited the Project Photofly booth at Autodesk University. For those who sat still and had their pictures taken so we could make a 3D model of your head, we have not forgotten about you. The Project... Read more →

Autodesk Labs Planned Maintenance Outage

This is a reminder that Autodesk Enterprise Information Systems team will be performing routine maintenance this weekend. This maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, December 18 from 2 PM - 5 PM PDT which is the same as December 18 10... Read more →

Project Bluestreak Update Now Available

source: FilmDrunk Senior Product Manager, Mark Evans, alerted me to the enhancements in the yesterday's December 15, 2010 Release of Autodesk Project Bluestreak. Bluestreak Desktop now has the “More” button at the bottom of the activity stream to load more... Read more →

No Need to Curb Your Enthusiasm - another Subassembly Composer video now available

Senior Product Designer, Sara Makarenko, supplied me with yet another video for the Subassembly Composer Technology Preview for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 - how to create a simple curb. Recall that this technology preview gives you an easy way to... Read more →

Working with the Flowchart Video for Subassembly Composer for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011

With apologies to the rock band Devo: "Working with [the flowchart] Going on down, down Working with [the flowchart] Oops, about to slip down" "Working In A Coal Mine," Allen Toussaint, 1966. Senior Principal Developer, Tom Fukushima, supplied me with... Read more →

Bond, Ralph Bond, interviews Mathews, Brian Mathews, at AU

Brian Mathews, VP of Autodesk Labs Media and Digital Public Relations Manager, Ralph Bond, interview our own Brian Mathews at AU: Download BrianMathewsAU29Nov2010.mp3 (6401.5K) Listen to Brian answering Ralph's questions What is Autodesk Labs? (See Autodesk Labs) What is reality... Read more →

Avoid placing Vasari.exe in Program Files folder on 64-bit systems

Project Vasari is downloadable as a "sandbox" application. By this, I mean that everything it needs to run is contained in one EXE file. This is different from traditional installs that involve an EXE, registry updates, and dynamically loadable libraries... Read more →

Future Project Photofly Features Mesh Instead of Point Cloud Data

Thanks to our Labs team members who manned the exhibit area at Autodesk University. Brian Mathews, Vice President, Autodesk Labs Dominique Pouliquen, Marketing Director, Autodesk Labs Keshav Sahoo, Director of Engineering, Autodesk Labs Mason Foster, User Experience Architect, Autodesk Labs... Read more →

Summary of Feedback Requests on the Google Earth Extension for AutoCAD-based Products

The Google Earth Extension is one of the oldest active technology previews available on Autodesk Labs. Month in, month out, the technology preview is one of Labs most popular downloads. If you have not downloaded it for yourself, you can... Read more →

Project Galileo technology preview Now Available for Download

Every time Product Designer, Eric Fain, would send me an update of the sample data, I couldn't help but think: "Won't you take me to Tiny Town? Won't you take me to Tiny Town?" With apologies to "Funky Town" disco... Read more →

Updated BIM Family Toolkit for Inventor and Revit Now Available

Yesterday I posted an updated BIM Family Toolkit to the Labs site. This update includes defect fixes and improved compatibility with localized versions of Revit. Download BIM Family Toolkit via Autodesk Labs For the uninitiated, the BIM Family Toolkit allows... Read more →

Factory Layout Optimization for AutoCAD now supports non-English AutoCADs

As mentioned in my previous post, based on your feedback, the Factory Layout Optimization team was hard at work updating the technology preview to support other languages. You can download the fruits of their labor at: Download Factory Layout Optimization... Read more →

December ADN Plugin of the Month: QR Codes for AutoCAD Now Available

On the heels of Autodesk University, we have released the December ADN Plugin of the Month. You can download it now: Download QR Codes for AutoCAD via Autodesk Labs This plugin comes to us from Developer Consultant, Augusto Gonçalves and... Read more →

How wide can images be?

A few of the Autodesk bloggers were discussing the widths of images in blogs. This posting is a test to see how images are handled. This is a test. This is only a test. This is an image that is... Read more →

Streaming Version of Project Vasari update Now Available

Last week a new download of Project Vasari was available that included critical stability and usability fixes. The update was originally only available for the portable executable. This same update has now been made for the streaming install. To refresh... Read more →

Autodesk Hosts Techbridge Field Trip

As part of our efforts to promote math and science among students, Autodesk hosted 17 eighth grade students from Glenbrook Middle School in Concord, California. They visited Autodesk as a field trip as part of the TechBridge program. Techbridge is... Read more →

Subassembly Composer Technology Preview for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 Now Available

Senior Principal Developer, Tom Fukushima, clued me in on our latest technology preview. AutoCAD Civil 3D provides a powerful model-based representation of corridors. An issue with building these corridors is getting exactly the right subassembly. Your inventory of subassemblies may... Read more →

Tesla Model S Electric Car in Design Matters Exhibit at AU

When we moved a Tesla Model S in our Gallery at One Market, I reported on it: Autodesk Gallery at One Market: Tesla Model S Rolls Into Place At Autodesk University, we had the real deal. Media & Digital Public... Read more →

Factory Layout Optimization is English-only For Now

The technology preview of Factory Layout Optimization for AutoCAD was launched with great fanfare at Autodesk University. As such many people are trying it. You can try it for yourself. Download Factory Layout Optimization for AutoCAD At this time the... Read more →

Autodesk Labs Flexible and Configurable People and Furniture

Software Developer, John Schmier, filed this report. John was part of the DWF team at its inception where he served in a variety of QA roles with his focus on automation. For Autodesk Labs, John has a development position which... Read more →

Scandium Technology Preview for Moldflow Insight Now Available

The Moldflow team names their projects after the elements. Today we are retiring the Radium Technology Preview for Moldflow Insight. Radium is an alkaline earth metal found in uranium ores whose isotope decays into radon gas. We are also happy... Read more →

Factory Layout Optimization for AutoCAD Now Available

American TV viewers 40 years or older probably remember the episode of I Love Lucy where Lucille Ball worked in a candy factory: YouTube: Lucy in Candy Factory Clearly this was a factory whose process was not optimal. Today, more... Read more →