It is Alive in the Lab

Book Review: The Genesis Machine by @AmyWebb and @AndrewHessel

Materials to make things are evolving from non-living to living. [Materials list from The Future of Making by Tom Wujec] Full Disclosure: Although I don't know Amy Webb, I know Andrew Hessel from his days at Autodesk. Autodesk customers design... Read more →

Air Travel: Back to the Future

I am old enough to remember a time when entertainment on an airplane was provided by the airline. A flight attendant would walk down the aisle offering passengers a chance to rent a pair of headphones. The passenger would hand... Read more →

Autodesk Customers Can Use Autodesk Software to Address the Effects of Urbanization

Sources for the charts: openknowledge.worldbank.org macrotrends.net unstats.un.org As a global company, we at Autodesk look at the needs for housing and infrastructure around the globe. We have found that: Urbanization With over half the world’s population already living in cities,... Read more →

Autodesk Software Can Help Address the Nine Planetary Boundaries

Data sources for the charts: Stockholm Resilience Centre Our World in Data: Annual CO2 Emissions Our World in Data: Outdoor Air Pollution "Save the Planet" is a misnomer. Whether the result of human activity or natural long-term planetary cycles, planet... Read more →

Book Review: Upgrade by Blake Crouch Reveals Places, Things, and Modes of Transportation of the Future

image source: Wikipedia I am on the Strategic Foresight team at Autodesk. The Strategic Foresight team informs long-term decision-making by anticipating what might happen so the company and our customers can navigate change, seize opportunities, and mitigate risk. We apply... Read more →

With the Rise of Electric Vehicles, Where Do the Batteries Go?

Rendering of an electric concept car showing airstreams. Designed using Alias and rendered in VRED. It would be a shame if society moved to electric vehicles, resulting in clean air, but we buried ourselves in toxic mountains of used, dead... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at One Landmark in San Francisco Once Again Being Used for Customer Briefings

Yesterday I gave my first tour of the reimagined and remodeled Autodesk Gallery. With my relocation to Texas and the pandemic, I had not given a tour in three years. Let's just say, "I was rusty." The Autodesk Gallery showcases... Read more →

Autodesk: Life Begins at 40?

Autodesk empowers innovators with design and make technology so they can achieve the new possible. They say "life begins at 40." Well, we at Autodesk are about to find out. Autodesk was founded by John Walker 40 years ago today.... Read more →

The Symbiotic Relationship Between Autodesk and Our Customers

Autodesk serves three primary industries: Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Product Design and Manufacturing (PD&M) Media and Entertainment (M&E) Our position is that these industries are converging: Customers who make buildings (AEC) are starting to behave more like customers who... Read more →

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all of our customers and partners. Thanks to everyone who shares an interest in Autodesk technology. Your experience shapes our technology. Celebration is alive in the lab. Read more →

What are the differences among Whiskey, Bourbon, Rye, and Scotch?

While living in California, I learned to become a wine drinker. Now that I live in Texas, I am learning about Bourbon. I went to my first Bourbon tasting event last night. I was so intrigued by the wide selection... Read more →

Factoring Forces of Change Into Company Strategy

There are forces of change (e.g., retiring Baby Boomers, working remotely, cloud computing, online learning, transportation moving to electric, government regulation of AI) that Autodesk believes have the potential to significantly impact our customers and our business in the next... Read more →

Alex Fergnani: How To Practice Strategic Foresight in Three Steps

Our team at Autodesk is the Strategic Foresight team. We apply foresight techniques to help Autodesk form its strategies, bring in visiting fellows who share their perspectives to help Autodesk identify any blind spots, and create scenarios that provide a... Read more →

In the Future, AI May Help Architects Even More to Make Sustainable Choices

Forecasting is a discipline where practitioners describe long-term outcomes that contrast with the present to enable better decision-making. Visioning is a discipline that involves the creation of a preferred future that imaginatively captures values and ideals. The Strategic Foresight team... Read more →

In the Future, Will AI Help You Design Your Own Bespoke Products?

Q: What do you call paper figures that sit on top of your desk? A: Stationary art* The Strategic Foresight team at Autodesk looks systematically at the future and facilitates active discussions to help Autodesk determine possible and preferable future... Read more →

In The Future, Will You and Your Friends Will Be Able to Watch Different Versions of the Same Movie at the Same Time?

The Strategic Foresight team at Autodesk helps identify and articulate long-term forces of change and their implications shaping the future for Autodesk and our customers. We work with Autodesk leaders to shape a preferable future that delivers value for our... Read more →

What other technological tipping points do you envision?

Enlarge As technologies evolve, there are certain tipping points where they because feasible, desirable, and profitable enough to be part of professional solutions. What other technologies and tipping points can you foresee? Speculation is alive in the lab. Read more →

Book Review: Flash Forward by Rose Eveleth (@roseveleth)

Our team at Autodesk is called Strategic Foresight. We help identify and articulate long-term forces of change and their implications shaping the future for Autodesk and our customers. As Strategic Foresight, we do not attempt to offer definitive answers about... Read more →

New Panasonic Electric Razor Blades Made My Shave Closer

I have a Panasonic Arc 5 Electric Razor. I find that shaving with an electric razor is very convenient. When I first got the razor, the shave was very close. As I have used it more and more, the shave... Read more →

Seismique Interactive Immersive Art Gallery in Houston

Seismique is an immersive art gallery in the southern part of Houston. I learned about this place on a local TV show called The Texas Bucket List. My wife, Sheryl, and I visited today. Here are photos of some of... Read more →

Book Review: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

Our team at Autodesk is called Strategic Foresight. We help identify and articulate long-term forces of change and their implications shaping the future for Autodesk and our customers. As Strategic Foresight, we do not attempt to offer definitive answers about... Read more →

Autodesk University Classes from Autodesk Research with Insights about the Future

As a member of Autodesk's Strategic Foresight team, our team works to consider possible futures for Autodesk customers and our business. With this in mind, our team has a fondness for thinking about potential futures and what steps are necessary... Read more →

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Autodesk Foundation but Were Afraid to Ask

At Autodesk, we're inspired by a better world designed and made for all. With that in mind, we empower innovators with design and make technology so they can achieve the new possible. We deliver customers intuitive, powerful, and accessible technology... Read more →

The Musical Instrument Museum is Quite Noteworthy

Yesterday I visited the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Scottsdale, Arizona. The MIM features every kind of musical instrument imaginable — the kind of instruments played every day by people worldwide. Although the exhibits share the rich diversity and history... Read more →

The Future of Warfare: Bionic Soldiers?

graphic courtesy of Autodesk Senior Experience Designer, Marsha Leverock At Autodesk, we are inspired by a better world designed and made for all. Our mission is to empower innovators with design and make technology so they can achieve the new... Read more →

The Future of Performance? A Comparison of In-Person versus Streamed Concerts

photo courtesy of Christian Epting As a Todd Rundgren fan for 48 years, I have been attending streaming versions of his concerts over the last few days. Todd Rundgren is conducting a virtual tour. He is performing 25 shows from... Read more →

Four Out of Five Physicists Surveyed Recommend Time as an Illusion for Their Patients who Experience Reality

With the pandemic in full swing, I have been watching Todd Rundgren's virtual Clearly Human tour that is being streamed from Chicago. This tour draws heavily from Todd's Nearly Human album, and the show ends with the album-closing song with... Read more →

Cheat Sheet of Autodesk Products by Industry

[Editor's note: This is a repost of an article from 07/22/2019 with an update for the Autodesk Construction Cloud and Innovyze.] Autodesk serves three industries: Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Product Design and Manufacturing (PD&M) Media and Entertainment (M&E) Not... Read more →

#CNBC: Can Factory-Built Homes Help Solve The Housing Crisis?

Autodesk serves three primary industries: Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Product Design and Manufacturing (PD&M) Media and Entertainment (M&E) I have mentioned this before, and I'll say it again. Our position is that these industries are converging: Customers who make... Read more →

Technology's Impact on the Future for AEC, PD&M, and M&E According to Eli Dourado

Our team at Autodesk is called Strategic Foresight. We help identify and articulate long-term forces of change and their implications shaping the future for Autodesk and our customers. As Strategic Foresight, we do not attempt to offer definitive answers about... Read more →

Stuff Every American Should Know: Where did Mount Rushmore come from?

For Christmas, my wife got me the book, Stuff Every American Should Know, by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese, published by Quirk Books in 2012. One chapter explains where Mount Rushmore came from. IMAGINE South Dakota's official historian, Doane Robinson,... Read more →

Stuff Every American Should Know: Who Invented Blue Jeans?

For Christmas, my wife got me the book, Stuff Every American Should Know, by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese, published by Quirk Books in 2012. An early chapter addresses the question of who invented blue jeans. As early as the... Read more →

Stuff Every American Should Know: Who was Geronimo and Why Do We Yell His Name When We Jump?

For Christmas, my wife got me the book, Stuff Every American Should Know, by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese, published by Quirk Books in 2012. One chapter explains why we all yell "Geronimo!" when we jump from even the smallest... Read more →

Stuff Every American Should Know: Why Do We Have Fireworks on July 4?

For Christmas, my wife got me the book, Stuff Every American Should Know, by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese, published by Quirk Books in 2012. One of the chapters answers the question, why do we have fireworks on the Fourth... Read more →

Stuff Every American Should Know: What's the Difference Between a Pilgrim and a Puritan?

For Christmas, my wife got me the book, Stuff Every American Should Know, by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese, published by Quirk Books in 2012. An early chapter addresses the question of what's the difference between a Pilgrim and a... Read more →

Stuff Every American Should Know: The Difference between the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution

Enlarge For Christmas, my wife got me the book, Stuff Every American Should Know, by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese, published by Quirk Books in 2012. The second chapter highlights the differences between the Declaration of Independence and the United... Read more →

Stuff Every American Should Know: How America Got Its Name

Enlarge For Christmas, my wife got me the book, Stuff Every American Should Know, by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese, published by Quirk Books in 2012. The first chapter reminds me of my grade school education, where students learn how... Read more →

Happy Holidays from Autodesk

At Autodesk, our mission is to empower innovators with design and make technology so they can achieve the new possible, and together, anything is possible. The holidays are alive in the lab. Read more →

My Favorite Autodesk It’s Alive in the Lab Posts of 2020

When I started this blog in April 2007, it was about showcasing free technology previews that were available via Autodesk Labs. Hence the name, It's Alive in the Lab. For some years now, it's about showcasing Autodesk technology. Despite the... Read more →

Book Review: Originals by Adam Grant

Through a generous offer from getAbstract during the pandemic, I found that Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World is a creativity book by Adam Grant. It was inspired by his missed opportunity to invest in eyeglass maker, Warby Parker. Warby... Read more →

Merry Christmas from the Sheppard/Lerdall/Price Family

Christmas 2020 Dear friends and relatives, 2020 will universally be marked by the all-consuming pandemic, but for us, the year will also be remembered for a joyous addition to our family. Steven got a dog. And, oh yeah, Stephanie and... Read more →

My FanDuel Virtual Gambling Experience Left Me at a Loss

I am on my sabbatical from work until December 2. To celebrate the birth of our first grandchild, my wife and I are staying with our daughter, son-in-law, and new grandson in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to my sabbatical, I had... Read more →

Yesterday We Saw More of the Ravenswood Area of Chicago than We Planned: What's in a Name?

While we await the birth of our first grandchild, we are staying at the Guesthouse Hotel in Chicago. Our room has a kitchen, so parents-to-be, Blake and Stephanie, brought us groceries in the morning. We took advantage of that with... Read more →

The Future of Making: Is Bespoke Toothpaste in our Future?

Autodesk serves three industries: Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Product Design and Manufacturing Media and Entertainment We find that how people in these industries do things are becoming more alike and that their supply chains are starting to intersect. It's quite... Read more →

Andrew Friendly: The Pandemic Has Proven that Government Matters

The Autodesk Point of View is our Autodesk internal provocative op-ed, published monthly by our Strategic Foresight team, where we discuss the big ideas that have the potential to significantly impact our customers and our business in the next 10... Read more →

Making Software Easier to Learn

At Autodesk, we're researching how people learn because we want to make our software easier to learn. We have found that people want to do to learn instead of learn to do. In other words, they don't want to spend... Read more →

Book Review: Berserker's Planet by Fred Saberhagen - AI Will Mimic/Predict Human Emotion

Enlarge via BeserkerPlanet.png (5264.4K) In my previous review of Berserker Man, also by Fred Saberhagen, I mentioned how my friend, Francis Walsh, the astronomer, loaned me some science fiction books. I usually do not read fiction, but I am reading... Read more →

Book Review: NORMAL by Warren Ellis

Enlarge: Character Map from Normal "The future is here. It’s just not widely distributed yet." —William Gibson Our team at Autodesk is called Strategic Foresight. We help identify and articulate long-term forces of change and their implications shaping the future... Read more →

Free Tinkercad Lessons Plans are Available for Teachers

With COVID-19 impacting the ability of teachers and students to gather face to face, remote learning is the remedy. As such, Tinkercad has been found to be a valuable tool in teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. Tinkercad is... Read more →

Drone Pictures of My House Opened My Eyes

As a Marine, my neighbor, Clay, learned to play by the rules. As an air-traffic controller today, he knows the rules when it comes to using unmanned aerial vehicles, a.k.a., drones. So when I learned that Clay had a drone,... Read more →