It is Alive in the Lab

List of @AutodeskGallery Exhibits by Industry #AutodeskGallery

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 →

Innovation can happen via Build, Buy, or Partner

At Autodesk, we make a distinction between invention and innovation. An invention is something new. An innovation is something new or different that makes an impact. Without impact, innovation is just invention. Innovation is preferred because it creates competitive separation... Read more →

Autodesk Forge partner, coolOrange, releases a Vault Fusion Lifecycle Connector

Autodesk Vault is our product data management software that helps designers and engineers organize design data, manage documentation, and track revisions and other development processes. Vault customers can create better designs, reduce errors, and build more efficient development cycles using... Read more →

New 59-second video: The Future of Making

Autodesk makes software for people who make the world around us. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a blockbuster film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are... Read more →

Computer Programming as a Way of Life - Thank you, Mr. Hebert

The year was 1975. I was a junior at De La Salle (an all-boys Catholic high school in New Orleans). Mr. Hebert, one of our math teachers, decided to offer computer programming as an elective. I decided to take it.... Read more →

Congratulations to Dr. George Fitzmaurice

I am pleased to share that my colleague has won an award. George Fitzmaurice (pronounced fitz-morris by the way) was nominated and has been awarded entry into the ACM CHI Academy! The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Computer-Human Interaction (CHI)... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas: The New Silverpilen Motorcycle

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

Welcome and What Would You Ask an Ethics/Technology/Security/Policy Expert?

Yaël Eisenstat image source: yaeleisenstat.com I am part of the Strategic Foresight Team at Autodesk whose purpose is to assist the CEO and senior executives in developing and implementing company-level strategy to help Autodesk operate intentionally as an integrated, coordinated... Read more →

It's that time of the year again: AU Las Vegas 2019 Call for Proposals #AU2019

Learn more... Autodesk customers can get involved in three ways: Teach a class to share your insights and knowledge, lead a panel or roundtable discussion, or create a hands-on training lab. Give a 15-minute AU Theater Talk providing your take... Read more →

Can data sensed in MAKE and USE provide insight for DESIGN? #IoTinActionMS

Now that I have relocated to the Houston area, I can participate in local events far from Silicon Valley. On Thursday, April 16, Microsoft had an IoT (Internet of Things) in Action conference at the JW Marriott in downtown Houston.... Read more →

Philippe Starck, Autodesk, and Kartell team up for the A.I. Chair

When the chair was invented, the patent office wanted to know what it did. The inventor replied: "You might want to sit down for this." This report comes to us from Arthur Harsuvanakit. Arthur is a Senior Designer at Autodesk.... Read more →

Register for the free Design Automation API Webinar for Autodesk Inventor to be held on May 7 at 8:00 am PDT

When elementary school coding class students ask me if they should be computer programmers (like me) when they grow up, I tell them "No." In the future, programming is not going to be a specialized skill. Everyone will know how... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas: Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Center

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

Lunch with the Customer at Autodesk Portland Office Fosters Convergence of Industries

Autodesk Technologist, Shaan Hurley, is all about the customer. This makes sense since Shaan was a customer before he became an employee. Shaan is based in our Portland office and is spearheading a new program there called Lunch with the... Read more →

PlanGrid Road Show is a "Home Run" with Houston Area Construction Industry #PlanGridRoadShow

PlanGrid is a cloud-based construction management system (with an offline mode) that provides stakeholders with access to all project information from wherever they are. That's because PlanGrid supports Android, iOS, and Windows. From plans and specifications to punch lists, documents,... Read more →

Can data sensed in BUILD and OPERATE provide insight for DESIGN? #IoTinActionMS

Now that I have relocated to the Houston area, I can participate in local events far from Silicon Valley. On Thursday, April 16, Microsoft had an IoT (Internet of Things) in Action conference at the JW Marriott in downtown Houston.... Read more →

A Bold Proposal: Will Our Solar Energy System Ever Pay for Itself?

When we were shopping for solar systems, my wife and I contacted various providers with the following results: Freedom Solar Power offered a 15 kW system with an out-of-pocket cost of $37,044. The system was comprised of 42 360-watt panels.... Read more →

We're Getting a Pool (Part 2)

We recently moved to Cypress, TX. Since Texas has hot weather in the summer, we're getting a pool. Since Autodesk software is used to design and make things, I have been chronicling the construction process. In a previous blog post,... Read more →

Autodesk Collaborates with Its Customers at Its Technology Centers

The Autodesk Technology Centers are where the future of making takes shape. With locations around the world, we collaborate with industry, academic, and entrepreneurial communities to reimagine what it means to design and make, and create a shared vision of... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas: Making Mass Customization Easier Customer: Project Frog

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

BBC: The unexpected inspiration behind Japan's bullet train

Dr. Eiji Nakatsu next to 500 Series Shinkansen train Who would you have guessed that the design of an electric passenger train had been influenced by animal biology? Biomimicry is a branch of science that looks to leverage the results... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas: Ireland's New Children's Hospital

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

A Bold Proposal: Initial Savings from Solar Panels for My Home in Cypress, Texas

Autodesk is committed to helping designers and engineers create a future where we all live well and within the limits of our planet. We are excited to lead the way with sustainable, forward-thinking business practices. Together, we can design a... Read more →

What is Autodesk Forge?

If what archers do is called archery, why isn't what Forge developers do called Forgery? So what is Forge and what do Forge developers do? Jim Quanci is a Senior Director for the Autodesk Developer Network. Stephen Preston is a... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas: New Approaches to Motorcycle Design

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

eSUB uses Autodesk Forge to help Subcontractors

Autodesk Forge is our application program interface (API) platform and supporting materials (sample code, manuals) as well as a community of developers who uses those APIs. Although Forge is intended for our customers and 3rd party developers to be able... Read more →

Autodesk Fusion 360 Applied Innovation Interns: Where are they now?

Since it's April Fool's Day, I thought I'd cover something light and fun. Despite what's associated with today, the stories you are about to read are real. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent. When Carl Bass... Read more →

Hey, That Name Sounds Familiar

It's Friday, so that means that I blog about something besides Autodesk technology. Here is something that I did in fun. I made a joke on Facebook the other day that got me to wondering. What else could I find?... Read more →

I Was Startled by a Ring Doorbell Motion Alert

...Along came a spider, who sat down beside her, and frightened Miss Muffett awake! Our new Lennar home (designed in AutoCAD) is a smart home. Lots of devices like lights, locks, and home entertainment are controllable by smartphone apps as... Read more →

3-year Subscription Savings now Available for Seats Switched from Maintenance to Subscription

Here's an opportunity to save some money, so I am passing it on. ...and now, a word from our sponsor: Earlier this month, Autodesk announced the extension of its 3-year subscription savings promotion into a continuous offer. Beginning today, we... Read more →

BUILD Spotlight Series - AI SpaceFactory

Although most works of science fiction depict space habitats as domes, this is wrong. A cylinder is a more appropriate structure instead. The Autodesk Technology Centers are where the future of making takes shape. With locations around the world, we... Read more →

What's so Hot about this Forge Thing - the High-level Picture for Software Development Managers

Let's say you've been an Autodesk customer for a long time. You've got decades of your intellectual property captured in AutoCAD drawings, Inventor models/parts, or Revit models. If you'd like to leverage that data to showcase your work to your... Read more →

Results of the Crisco Cookie Taste Off

It's Friday, so I post about something besides Autodesk technology. I am posting this today, but this is actually something I did and wrote up last Saturday. My wife, Sheryl, likes to bake chocolate chip cookies. I like to eat... Read more →

We're getting a pool at our home in Cypress, Texas (Part 1)

California real estate is expensive. One of the advantages is that when you sell a home in California, pay off the mortgage, and move to someplace like Texas, you can use the proceeds to buy a new Lennar home (site... Read more →

How does one classify generative design?

So what is generative design? Is it modeling, reality capture, scripting, artificial intelligence, or something else? When it comes to how designs have been traditionally created, there have been a variety of ways: Modeling by hand where a human expresses... Read more →

BUILD Spotlight Series - Digital Stone Project

The Autodesk Technology Centers are where the future of making takes shape. With locations around the world, we collaborate with industry, academic, and entrepreneurial communities to reimagine what it means to design and make, and create a shared vision of... Read more →

Dakota Safety: The Technologies That Are Revolutionizing The Construction Industry

The world's population is set to grow to 10 billion people by 2050. By that time, 68% of us will live in cities. Cities are characterized by lots of buildings. They're where we work, live, eat, pray, and play. To... Read more →

A Bold Proposal: Inspection and Activation of Solar Panels for My Home in Cypress, Texas

Photo courtesy of Freedom Solar Power As I mentioned in a series of blog posts, we are going solar on our new home in Texas. I considered this a bold proposal ($37,044) because in 2011 we made small improvements to... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas, Perth's Optus Stadium, Now On Display at Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

Factory_OS is Forging a Better Way to Build

Last week I blogged about how our team visited Factory_OS (factory off-site): Our Factory_OS Tour in Vallejo, California We wanted to see the convergence of construction and manufacturing for ourselves. Autodesk and Factory_OS have worked together to tell the Factory_OS... Read more →

The Future of Automation - The Serious and the Humorous

Autodesk has always been an automation company, and apparently, everyone cares about automation, even late night TV hosts. It’s a complex and nuanced topic and helping people understand the coming changes to our work is important. We’ve been doing it,... Read more →

The Rock Boat XIX: Day Five of Five - Somewhere in a Song

The Rock Boat is a floating music festival. Bands play concerts as the ship travels to its destinations. This year, our cruise went to Key West and Nassau, The Bahamas. Believe it or not, the destinations do not matter. The... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas: Space Exploration Lander

Setting up the exhibit before AU opened Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions... Read more →

A Bold Proposal: Installation of Solar Panels for My Home in Cypress, Texas

As I mentioned in a series of blog posts, we are going solar on our new home in Texas: A Bold Proposal: Solar Plans for My Home Energy in Cypress, Texas A Bold Proposal: Proposed Layout of Solar Panels for... Read more →

Our Factory_OS Tour in Vallejo, California

Computer nerds in hardhats? On Wednesday, my colleagues and I from the Autodesk Corporate Strategy team took a tour of Factory_OS (factory off site). Factory_OS is located on Mare Island in Vallejo, CA. Factory_OS builds well-designed, tech-ready multifamily homes 40%... Read more →

The Rock Boat XIX: Day Four of Five - Tales and Personal Stories

The Rock Boat is a five-day floating music festival. Bands play concerts as the ship travels to its destinations. This year, our cruise went to Key West and Nassau, The Bahamas. Believe it or not, the destinations do not matter.... Read more →

Paolo Soleri: Arcosanti was an Example of More with Less for Better that was Ahead of Its Time

Palo Soleri died in 2013. He was an Italian born architect, urban theorist, craftsman artist, and philosopher. He founded his Architectural Design and Craft Studios, Cosanti, in 1955 and founded Arcosanti in 1970. Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on... Read more →

Redshift: 6 Disruptive Examples Show How Manufacturing and Construction Are Converging

Since the Autodesk position is that construction, manufacturing, and multimedia are converging, I shared Mark Albert's "A Convergence of Construction and Manufacturing" post on It's Alive in the Lab the other day. Actually, Autodesk has held this belief about industry... Read more →

The Conveniences of a Smart Home Augment the Comforts of Home

Tucked away in a game room closet is an array of equipment that combines with smartphone apps to make a smart home. We recently moved to Cypress, Texas. The deciding factors for the home that we purchased included having an... Read more →

The Rock Boat XIX: Day Three of Five - It Was a Group Effort

The Rock Boat is a five-day floating music festival. Bands play concerts as the ship travels to its destinations. This year, our cruise went to Key West and Nassau, The Bahamas. Believe it or not, the destinations do not matter.... Read more →