Airbus Airspace Cabin Vision 2030

Autodesk got its start when we democratized CAD technology by making it available on personal computers that were much less expensive than special-purpose workstations so that small mom and pop architect shops could graduate from using their drafting tables. We have never forgotten that and still serve mom and pop shops today, but in addition to small shops, we also have large firms as customers. For them, we are often a trusted advisor instead of just another vendor. Part of the reason is that we work closely with them to help them solve their workflow-related problems.

One of the things that some of our larger customers take advantage of is our Future of Making workshops. In these workshops, a customer identifies a problem that they are having, and Autodesk works with them to apply problem-solving techniques in pursuit of solutions. Last year, I participated in a session with Airbus. As Airbus uses our software in designing and making airplanes, we hosted a meeting with Airbus executives, their partners, and representatives from other parts of the airline industry. The topic was the cabin experience in the year 2030. There was lots of brainstorming, flip charts, post-it notes, and break-out sessions. Here is Airbus' video that depicts the results from that session.

Some may think you're supposed to feed a cold and starve a cabin fever, but after seeing the video, I think we can all agree that the proposed cabin experience whets our appetite for future travel.

Technique sharing is alive in the lab.