It is Alive in the Lab

The Pelican Shelf

I am from Louisiana. My wife, Sheryl, is from Indiana but moved to Louisiana. Louisiana is where we met, dated through high school and college, and then got married in Galveston, Texas shortly after we both graduated from the University... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Extension "Artfully Done" Exhibit

People Snohetta // more Kreysler & Associates // more Software Autodesk 3ds Max // more Autodesk Revit // more PowerMill Rhino Major museums have always had to walk a fine line between self-restraint — to let the art within shine... Read more →

Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Modern Art at City Park in New Orleans

When I attended an all-boys Catholic high school in New Orleans, our football team played its games in a stadium in City Park. That pretty much was my exposure to the park. Recently my wife and I visited New Orleans... Read more →

Harriet Tubman on United States $20 Bill

source: localtvkstu.files.wordpress.com Back in June 2010, I was curious if Benjamin Franklin was the only non-US President to be on our paper currency. So I used Wikipedia to write this blog post. Read article. That post was popular then and... Read more →

Book Review Part 3: The Principles of Product Development FLOW: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald G. Reinertsen

In a previous blog article, I mentioned how I was getting back to my programming roots and reading The Principles of Product Development FLOW: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald G. Reinertsen. My plan is to review each chapter.... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco: Janet Echelman exhibit

The Autodesk Gallery at One Market in San Francisco celebrates design — the process of taking a great idea and turning it into a reality. With about 60 different exhibits regularly on display that showcase the innovative work of Autodesk... Read more →

Information from the City of Alameda Transit and Transit Demand Management Advisory Committee Meeting

I work in San Francisco but live in Alameda which is adjacent to Oakland. I commute to work via ferry. On Wednesday, April 20, I attended a City of Alameda Transit and Transit Demand Management (TDM) Advisory Committee meeting. There... Read more →

Autodesk Vending Machine Update

In a previous blog post I complained about the user interface for our vending machine on the second floor of the Autodesk One Market Street office: New Vending Machine: You call this progress? I thought that the ordering process had... Read more →

Updated Project Boulder for InfraWorks 360 2017.1 available via Autodesk Labs

Autodesk InfraWorks 360 (i.e., automated 3D model building, cloud technology, and specialized features for road, bridge, and drainage design) helps civil engineers plan and design transportation infrastructure. It allows them to manage larger-scale infrastructure models created from existing data sources,... Read more →

Book Review Part 2: The Principles of Product Development FLOW: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald G. Reinertsen

In a previous blog article, I mentioned how I was getting back to my programming roots and reading The Principles of Product Development FLOW: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald G. Reinertsen. My plan is to review each chapter.... Read more →

free Project Kameleon infrastructure modeling technology preview extended to July 15 Autodesk Labs

Project Kameleon is our free technology preview where you can try our new infrastructure model content authoring tools that are compatible with InfraWorks and AutoCAD Civil 3D. The technology preview includes a stand-alone .exe Parts Editor that enables authoring Inlets,... Read more →

April 2016 issue of the Autodesk Labs newsletter now available

There's another issue of Innovation Edge, the Autodesk Labs newsletter, available for your perusal. This brief publication highlights technologies and utilities available on Autodesk Labs. Something people don't always know is that technology previews are free. All we ask is... Read more →

Dr. Erin Bradner says "You're very welcome" to Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School

One of my colleagues, Dr. Erin Bradner, works on our Project Dreamcatcher software. Dreamcatcher is one of our generative design research projects where Autodesk is working to make computers more of a partner in the design process rather than just... Read more →

The Patio Light Project

My wife, Sheryl, is the festive type. She wanted some accent lights for our patio. I didn't want them. So naturally, now we have patio lights. I didn't want them because I worried that hanging lights would detract from our... Read more →

Autodesk Labs feedback yields monthly updates of SimStudio technology preview via Project Arro

Project Arro is an Invitation Only Technology Preview. This is not our normal public technology preview because the simulation team is interested in working exclusively with existing Autodesk Simulation users. Project Arro is designed to enable Autodesk Simulation Mechanical, Autodesk... Read more →

Book Review Part 1: The Principles of Product Development FLOW: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald G. Reinertsen

I got my book as a "new" copy from Amazon.com, so I am not sure what's up with the annotation? It's not my handwriting. In a previous blog article, I mentioned how I was getting back to my programming roots... Read more →

Why does Autodesk have a Labs?

Years ago, Marketing Manager, Amanda Collins, wrote: Autodesk Labs, part of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), is home to innovative new technologies and collaborative development. Its mission is to involve you, the customer, in the progress of... Read more →

Autodesk Labs: It's Alive in the Lab is 9 years old today

I wrote my very first post on this blog on April 10, 2007: Hear it for yourself: It's Alive MP3 (38K) Welcome to my new blog. Some of you may already know me as "that DWF guy" from my work... Read more →

Taste Test: Entenmann's Popettes versus Hostess Donettes

On Fridays, I sometimes post non-technology-preview-related items to give my blog some character. My wife went to the grocery store on last Saturday. Knowing that I like donuts and that I like experiments even more, she bought two different types... Read more →

Autodesk Labs will be down for 1 hour to perform some maintenance tonight

Autodesk Labs is part of the Autodesk Feedback Community. It's the same platform used for the Autodesk Beta program. The Autodesk Feedback Community is undergoing a hardware upgrade tonight. The maintenance window starts at 9:00 pm Pacific Time tonight and... Read more →

Book: The Principles of Product Development FLOW: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald G. Reinertsen

My undergraduate degree from the University of Lousiana is in computer science. I specialized in top-down structured programming with an emphasis on scientific programming (as opposed to business programming). My masters degree from Arizona State University is also in computer... Read more →

Jon Pittman: Forget the Consumer Internet of Things: IIoT Is Where It’s Really At

Jon Pittman is our VP of Corporate Strategy. Jon has also been a Lecturer at the Haas School of Business of the University of California at Berkeley. One of the elements of our strategy is exploring what design capabilities are... Read more →

Engineering.com Follow Up: What does an Autodesk Labs Program Manager do?

While I was on vacation in New Orleans, an article about Autodesk Labs appeared on Engineering.com: Read the article. Basically, the Autodesk Labs process is: One of our divisions has a technology that they would like to preview. They work... Read more →