Autodesk customers imagine, design, and create places, things, and media (films, TV shows, movies, games). Our software helps them design, make, and use their creations. In this regard, we have bundled our solutions into industry collections.
- Architecture, Engineering, and Construction
- Product Design
- Media and Entertainment
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 customers, the gallery illustrates the role technology plays in great design and engineering. I am one of about 80 gallery ambassadors. As I have mentioned many times before, we chose the job title "ambassador" instead of "docent," because the correct way to address an ambassador is "your excellency" yet this never happens. Given that we have gallery exhibits and industry collections, I wondered what a gallery tour would consist of if it included exhibits specific to each industry collection.
Here's my shot at it.
Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Industry Collection
1 | Shanghai Tower | The building represents a "vertical city" with 8 stacked neighborhoods (128 floors) where each one is an open-to-the-public park with 14 stories above it. | Autodesk analysis tools were used by Gensler to: reduce energy consumption 30-40%, reduce water usage 40%, and require 35% less material due to its twisted tapering shape (optimized via Autodesk Ecotect wind tunnel analysis). |
2 | Artfully Done | SFMOMA is adding a 10-story, 235,000 sq. ft. addition whose facade is being created from 1,400 unique glass fiber reinforced plastic panels, a material typically used for the manufacture of boats, that weighs 1 million pounds less than an equivalent amount of cement. | Two Autodesk customers, Snohetta and Kreysler & Associates, worked together to combine architecture and digital fabrication processes normally used for manufacturing. |
3 | Art imitates life | World renowned architect, Toyo Ito, designed the Taichung Metropolitan Opera House as a sound cave featuring huge cavernous spaces consisting of curved walls without any supporting columns. | AutoCAD and Maya were used with The Emerging Grid — an optimization algorithm that converted rigid, inorganic spaces to soft, organic shapes — resulting in curved walls created using sprayed concrete and inlaid floors. |
4 | Getting physical |
Digital models are increasingly used by city planners and real estate developers to design and understand future projects in a real-world context. |
The 3D city model, printed at the Autodesk Pier 9 office, uses Autodesk InfraWorks for the collection of buildings where many of the individual 3D building models were created from photographs using Autodesk ReCap. |
5 | Imagining a City of Evolutionarily Optimized Buildings | Instead of the traditional design/analyze/update approach, what would happen if a designer simply provided constraints and allowed infinite computing resources in the cloud generate thousands of possibilities and evaluated them? | Using the Project Vasari, Revit Architecture, and Autodesk Green Building Studio application programming interfaces (APIs), IDEA Studio residents developed a plug-in to automatically generate, analyze, visualize, and rank various design configuration. |
6 | A Building That Heals | At any time, over 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infectious complications acquired in hospitals, so the Butaro Hospital, constructed using local labor in Rwanda, was designed to maximize patient health. | Software like AutoCAD and Autodesk Revit allow architects, like those on the Butaro Hospital, to create designs that leverage natural ventilation aided by 24' ceiling fans and beds that face windows so patients enjoy natural light. |
7 | Lost and Found | Much of the damaged USS Arizona still lies below the surface of the Pacific Ocean from the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. | Working with Autodesk, the National Parks Service combined subsea LiDAR, SONAR, and photogrammetry to create an accurate 3D model and 3D print it. |
8 | Healthy Structures | Inspired by LEGO blocks and the Rubik's Cube, Brunet Saunier Architecture designed a hospital referred to as a monospace: a structure with strong conceptual identity but flexible enough to address a variety of evolving requirements in the future of medicine. | Brunet Saunier Architecture leveraged AutoCAD, Revit, and 3ds Max to make this hospital a reality by designing a series of rooms that can be repurposed as hospital needs change. |
9 | Imagining buildings that build themselves | Self assembly is the process where a system spontaneously assembles from separate components without external guidance. | Autodesk is working with scientists at MIT and the Scripps Research Institute to apply self-assembly techniques at the large scale such as for buildings. |
10 | Hypergreen Tower | The Hypergreen Tower is a building sheathed in a lattice skin constructed with environmentally friendly materials, such as new lightweight concretes and solar panels where open air gardens are watered by rainwater collected by the structure. | Jacques Ferrier used AutoCAD and 3ds Max in the tower's design, and Building Performance Analysis and Revit are being considered for future projects. |
11 | Bay Bridge Seismic Safety Project model | One of the 3 busiest bridges in the world, the eastern span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge is the longest self-anchored suspension bridge in the world. | Autodesk 3DS Max visualization software was used to gain legislative approval, bring contractors on board, and inform the public — often changing their behavior dramatically. |
12 | Angling for4 a better view | The Joetsu Aquarium features a giant tank with interior walls that replicate sections of the Sea of Japan's underwater topography, so visitors can experience the hidden beauty (800 species of aquatic plants) and rich aquatic life (3,500 animal species) that is normally only seen from the surface. | Architectural design firm, Nihon Sekkei, used Autodesk CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software to analyze water flow to model water movement and temperature to create a healthy environment for the flora and fauna as well as position the fish for optimal viewing. |
13 | Autodesk Transportation Simulator | The Presidio Parkway is a historic drive that connects the Presidio with the Golden Gate Bridge. | Autodesk visualization software helps people get a visceral experience of the finished roadway so they understand the benefits of the completed project and are more tolerant to inconveniences, such as road closures, along the way. |
14 | California Academy of Sciences | Billed as the greenest museum in the world, the structure houses a natural history museum, planetarium, aquarium, and living rainforest and requires little or no A/C or heating due to its innovative domed roof design that acts like an airplane wing to provide ventilation. | Parametric design (specifying the layout using an equation instead of individually) via AutoCAD yielded the intricate design which has variations at each intersection point of the roofing grid. |
Product Design Industry Collection
1 | RKS Rocks Electric Guitar Design | The open body structure of the RKS guitar allows body shells and ribs to be changed to suit diverse preferences for color, finish, materials, shape, and even sound. | RKS used AliasStudio for sketching and surfacing to create customized bodies that feature no flat surfaces. |
2 | Darwin in the machine | Whether its a facial implant specifically created for one patient or an efficient radiator constructed with minimal material, generative design (using a computer to generate thousands of possibilities given requirements defined by a human) can produce the best design in less time than even an army of human designers. | Autodesk Within and Autodesk Within Medical allow reality capture/computing to be combined with generative design to produce strong yet lightweight objects that are perfectly suited for the medical industry and can only be fabricated using 3D printing. |
3 | Infinite seats | Using software that mirrors the design process of Nature, the resulting chair design is of equal strength but dramatically reduced weight — requiring less material. | The Living, part of Autodesk, has been working on research and development projects in the fields of architecture, art, industrial design, aerospace, computer science, engineering, manufacturing and synthetic biology to create new types of buildings, public installations, prototypes, and architectural environments. |
4 | Bio Computation and Next Generation Aerospace | Airbus used cloud computers to generate and evaluate thousands of possible structures, designed using synthetic biology and principles from architecture, for their concept plane that depicts travel in 2050. | Autodesk continues to offer desktop applications, packaged into suites, but also offers cloud-based services that can leverage the connectivity of the internet and apply more than one computer to a problem — particularly in the areas of analysis, simulation, and collaboration. |
5 | Not your garden-variety garden tool | Edyn is a smart garden system that tracks every aspect associated with soil and references this information with online databases to recommend which plants will thrive, when to plant and when to harvest, what organic fertilizer to use, how to find optimal sunlight, and when to water. | From concept to final product, industrial design, user experience, and brand, teams used 3ds Max, Alias, and AutoCAD to explore dozens of possibilities, not just in terms of aesthetics and connectivity, but also to develop the story they wanted the device to tell. |
6 | Embrace the Future | Unsatisfied that 450 low-birth-weight and premature babies die each hour, many in developing countries, two Stanford students developed a low-cost (only $200) incubating blanket for newborns. | Autodesk provides its software free to faculty and students as part of our Educational programs. |
7 | 3D SOS | Because coral reefs are the "canary in the coal mine" when it comes to the Earth's overall ecosystem. using 3D models to map and render coral reefs allows scientists to accurately measure changes in surface area, size, and color in their efforts to preserve them. | Autodesk Foundation partner, Sly Lee, is using 3ds Max, Memento, and ReCap 360 to convert photographs into 3D models of coral reefs. |
8 | Soccket: A Ball of Energy | Designed for poverty-stricken areas of the world that do not have access to electricity, children kick the SOCCKET soccer ball around for 30 minutes, and it stores enough energy to power an LED reading light for 3 hours. | A member of Autodesk's Entrepreneur Impact Program, Unchartered Play (started by two Harvard coeds) used Inventor to redesign the energy harnessing mechanism after testing showed the original design was prone to breakage. |
9 | Bionic is beautiful | A ~$500 prosthetic limb can convert muscle contractions to finger and thumb movements configured via an iPhone app. | Exiii (Genta Kondo from Sony and 2 friends from Panasonic) designed the Arduino-powered HACKberry myoelectric prosthetic limb using Fusion 360 and Inventor. |
10 | MagicWheels Wheelchair | Though manual wheelchair design has been the same for the past 150 years, this wheelchair features a gearing mechanism, like a 10-speed bicycle, that makes it easier for users to go up hill. | As just one example where Autodesk strives to be a great, good, and important company, Autodesk Inventor was used in the design and validation of the wheelchair. |
11 | Digital Tools in Life Sciences | Former CEO, Carol Bartz, used to say "If God didn't make it, one of our customers did." but that line is being blurred as scientists work with DNA origami to create personalized medicine and self-assembling buildings. | Based on what we have learned by supplying software to other industries, Autodesk supplies special-purpose software, such as CADnano, to assist those working in life sciences. |
12 | Mercedes-Benz BIOME Car | The concept is that the Symbiosis vehicle would be built from BioFibre, grown in the Mercedes-Benz Nursery through proprietary DNA, that collects energy from the sun and stores it in chemical bonds. | Although most car manufacturers use Alias Automotive or Alias Surfacing, Mercedes-Benz used Autodesk Maya to pattern the shape of the vehicle after skeletal systems found in biology. |
13 | Vicous cycle | A cascade of gears, starting at 30 revolutions per second and reducing to 1.3 years for a single revolution, produces enough torque to lift the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty together. | Based on an existing art installation by Arthur Ganson ("Machine with Concrete"), Autodesk and Exploratorium collaborated to use interconnected gears to illustrate the unseen but powerful presence and force of time. |
14 | The Past, Present, and Future of Product Design | Nike co-founder, Bill Bowerman, was inspired by the pattern of his breakfast waffles to design a running shoe bottom that would maximize the performance of his University of Oregon track team. | In partnership with Autodesk, Nike studies how bodies work and what stimulates performance (e.g., Kobe Bryant breaking down needs into performance goals which in turn map to parts of a shoe) as part of designing athletic apparel including shoes. |
15 | LEGOLAND Mega Model | Playing with LEGOs has been the initial inspiration for many of today's architects and engineers, and the dinosaur mega model (62,500 bricks) is a replica from the LEGOLAND theme park that helps spur the imagination. | The LEGO Group designs initial brick shapes using Maya, feeds that into a proprietary brick builder application, and then uses AutoCAD to create plans for LEGO exhibit construction. |
16 | Cooking Clean | The BioLite HomeStove consumes 50% less wood than traditional cook fires, reduces smoke emissions by 95%, and can convert heat to electricity so it can recharge cell phones, LED lights, and other devices via a USB port. | Autodesk Simulation CFD and other simulation software helped BioLite engineers evaluate the relative design decisions, reduce the number of physical prototypes required, and avoid overbuilding – helping the team save both time and money. |
17 | 3D Printed Bowls | The bowl was 3D printed in soft plastic, hard plastic, glass, and stainless steel. | Years ago, the bowl was designed by Autodesk CEO, Carl Bass, using Inventor and Fusion 360, fabricated at Pier 9, and given to Autodesk Board members as holiday gifts. |
18 | Making A Cardboard Head | A model of the head of our CEO's son, Willie Bass, was generated from a collection of 2D photos. | Autodesk 123D Catch and Autodesk ReCap Photo are our consumer and professional photogrammetry offerings that use the power of the cloud to create 3D models from pictures. |
19 | 123D Make-made 3D Objects | The output from 123D Make can be sent to a laser cutter that perforates sheets of cardboard to that physical 3D models can be constructed from computer designs. | Autodesk 123D Make, available for free, allows anyone to output a design in perforated cardboard layers that can be punched out and assembled into a 3D replica. |
20 | 3D Printed Vase | 3D printing is achieved via what is called, additive manufacturing, in this case adding a very thin layer of material, a layer at a time, to build up an object from nothing. | This vase was imagined, designed, and created by our CEO, Carl Bass, using Autodesk software and given to Autodesk board members as gifts. |
21 | How you slice it | Autodesk and Exploratorium teamed up to co-design 3 puzzles that are collections of slices that are arranged to construct a 3D object. | Although designs are often created using Autodesk software via 3D modeling, other ways like generative design (where geometry is generated from requirements), parametric design (where geometry is defined by equations), or reality capture (like laser scanning, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or photogrammetry where geometry is captured from real-world objects). |
22 | Real-time 3D Capture and Analysis | By combining low cost hardware with easy to use software, anyone can visualize themselves in a wind tunnel. | Autodesk Flow Design, which started out on Autodesk Labs as Project Falcon, is easy to use computational fluid dynamics software. |
23 | A dress to impress | The ~$5,000 laser-scintered nylon (formed by melting powder) dress consists of 3,000 triangular pieces and 5,000 hinges that, although rigid, behave like fabric. | Nervous System, a recipient from the Spark Investment Fund, uses reality capture and mass customization to shape each dress and print them as folded so that they would not be too big for the 3D printer. |
24 | Beginning at the end | Subtractive manufacturing is based on starting with a solid block and removing material (often a layer at a time) to arrive at a desired object. | Autodesk Delcam, one of the world's leading suppliers of advanced CADCAM solutions for the manufacturing industry, provides complete, automated CADCAM solutions, to take complex-shaped products from concept to reality. |
25 | 3D Printed Ceramics | Rapid prototyping leverages the ability of a 3D printer to "print" a working 3D model faster and cost effectively as compared to building physical prototypes. | For 3D ceramic printing exhibit, the Autodesk team in Israel used a PotterBot machine in our lab driven by Autodesk Project Spark. |
26 | Writing comes full circle | Student artist, Yohei Mizobe, depicted traditionally flat Japanese characters, known as Hiragana because of their elegant lines and curves, as 3D objects wrapped around a sphere. | Mizobe used Autodesk Fusion 360 to design his characters. |
27 | Power Play | Makers of the Soccket Soccer Ball, Unchartered Play has developed a jump rope that collects and stores energy that can be used to charge a smart phone or other device. | Unchartered Play is part of the Autodesk Entrepreneur Impact Program that provides qualified companies with access to up to $150,000 worth of Digital Prototyping software for free. |
28 | Custom sound | Typically used for prototyping, 3D printing can also be used to create finished products such as these speaker cases that were combined with individually programmable LED lights. | Years ago, a trio of Autodesk employees pooled their skills to demonstrate the unique possibilities of 3D printing. |
29 | Fold and float | Inspired by the ancient art of origami, the double-layered polypropene kayak needs no internal frame and folds into a carry-on sized box when not in use. | Designed using both 2D AutoCAD (the folding pattern) and Fusion 360 (the 3D components), architect Anton Willis was able to start his manufacturing business with a Kickstarter campaign after designing/creating 25 prototypes at TechShop. |
30 | Pioneering technology meets ancient craft | Digital fabrication can be combined with revered traditional Japanese craftsmanship to create unique and timeless objects that are pieces of art in their own right. | Kabuku, a small production design form in Tokyo, uses Autodesk Fusion 360 for its designs and is another example of how 3D printing is moving from just prototyping to final manufacturing. |
Media and Entertainment Industry Collection
1 | Bruce Beasley GS022 | Computer assistance was used at inception (design) instead of production (automated milling process) as the actual statue was carved by hand. | Autodesk Inventor and 3D printing were used to create a replica of the statue which was sent to a village in China for carving as they have done for hundreds of years. |
2 | Carl Bass Cheek-to-Cheek Bench | The same process used for the 4 statues that toured with the Digital Stone Exhibit was used to create Carl's bench. | Autodesk CEO, Carl Bass, used many Autodesk tools to design and simulate a bench for his garden. |
3 | Autodesk in Film and Television | Although not as widely publicized, Autodesk is the dominant player in the film, games, and television industries. | For the last 21 years in a row, all Oscar nominees for the best visual effects category have used Autodesk software for the films that were nominated. |
4 | Virtual Cinematography | Using a device representing a "virtual camera" puts "what the movie looks like" in the hands of the director, in this case James Cameron, instead of the animator. | Autodesk MotionBuilder is the software behind the process. |
5 | Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs | Inspired by a popular children's story written more than 30 years ago, Sony Pictures Animation used the latest in digital animation technology to create Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, an imaginative disaster movie. | Working with Autodesk Maya, rather than model items such as a hamburger as a single piece, the team modeled each ingredient separately and bound them together using a Rigid Body Dynamics (RBD) system and then employing a Soft Body Collision extension of RBD to visualize the burgers bouncing and breaking apart. |
6 | Inside Explorer Table | In addition to physical, presenting a relic as a digital model allows visitors and researchers to see not only the outside, but what is inside. | The Autodesk Reality Computing team works with museums using technologies like laser/CAT scanning and photogrammetry to capture and create 3D models of precious artifacts. |
7 | Insecta Lamp | Korean artist, U-Ram Choe, lives and works in Seoul where he creates highly ornate kinetic sculptures that mimic forms and motions found in nature. | U-Ram Choe created the Insecta Lamp while participating in the Artist in Residence program at the Autodesk Pier 9 office. |
8 | Nature by numbers | The Fibonacci sequence, where the next number is found by adding the two numbers before, is nature's organizing structure in everything from leaf configurations, flower petal patterns, pine cones, and sunflower seeds. | Artist, John Edmark, created this 3D printed bloom at Pier 9 as part of the Artist in Residence program using a Fibonacci-related measurement called the Golden Angle. |
9 | 3D Mummy | The mummy was scanned, digitized, and made available to museum visitors via highly detailed 3D prints to usher in a new era of archaeology. | Autodesk ReCap software was used for photogrammetry (images to 3D) and also to convert the scan data to an accurate 3D model. |
10 | pixlr-o-matic Photo Booth | This old-style photo booth allows you to combine images of you with predefined elements and modern photographic effects. | pixlr is Autodesk free online photo editing software that requires only a web browser. |
The Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco is open to the public on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. There is a guided tour on Wednesdays at 12:30 pm and a self-guided audio tour available anytime. Admission is free. Visit us.
Tour guidance is alive in the lab.