It is Alive in the Lab

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) More... 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 →

Autodesk Visiting Fellows Program Brings in Outside Perspectives

The Autodesk Visiting Fellows Program recruits exceptional, industry-shaping talent to help light the future path of Autodesk. Although fellows have rich sectoral expertise, they tend to focus on defining and pursuing opportunities emerging at the intersection of our traditional markets... Read more →

Autodesk Forge Customer BIM6D takes AEC to the Next Dimension

Autodesk Forge is our set of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) that allow our customers and partners to customize their own solutions around their design data. Our Forge team just published a new Forge customer success story with BIM6D. BIM6D, a... Read more →

Book Review: Berserker Man by Fred Saberhagen

Download BerserkerMan.jpg (4254.8K) Berserkers are mighty, killing machines, They are unmanned spaceships that have been integrated with a form of artificial intelligence referred to as The Co-ordinator. The onboard machines, auxiliary robots, and missiles allow Berserkers to execute their mission... Read more →

The Power of Named Users

Microsoft Teams lets us see who did what. I log in all the time. At work, I log into my PC and Microsoft Teams using my Autodesk domain user name and password. At home, I log into Spotify, Netflix, eTrade,... Read more →

Man-Made and Natural: My Walk Down Thistledown

My wife, mother-in-law, and I live in Wildwood at Oakcrest. Wildwood at Oakcrest is a fantastic community located near Tomball and just north of Houston in Cypress, TX. Wildwood at Oakcrest is in an inviting place to call home thanks... Read more →

The Trees of Wildwood at Oakcrest Add Beauty, Value, and Help the Environment

My wife, mother-in-law, and I live in Wildwood at Oakcrest. Wildwood at Oakcrest is a fantastic community located near Tomball and just north of Houston in Cypress, TX. Wildwood at Oakcrest is in an inviting place to call home thanks... Read more →

Cadcraft uses Autodesk Forge to Streamline its Customer's Process

Autodesk Forge is our set of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) that allow our customers and partners to customize their own solutions around their design data. If what archers do is called archery, I guess what Forge developers do is called... Read more →

Book Review: Transcendence by Gaia Vince

Mural I created as I read each chapter of Transcendence Like most companies during this pandemic, we're all working remotely. I am in the Houston area, one of my colleagues is in Cleveland, and the rest of our team is... Read more →

HoloLab Uses Autodesk Forge for Augmented and Mixed Reality

"Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination Take a look and you'll see into your imagination" — Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory There's a brand new story that was just released by... Read more →

How About A Game of LUMA Bingo?

The LUMA Institute got its name from the Latin for illuminate, i.e., to shed light on solving problems. LUMA is a collection of 36 techniques that can be applied to practice human-centered design, often referred to as design thinking. To... Read more →

Capgemini uses Autodesk Forge to View and Manage Buildings and Infrastructure

Autodesk Forge is our set of cloud-based developer tools used by our community of customers and partners to derive more value from their design and engineering data. When you use a computer program, you do so via its User Interface... Read more →