As Labor Day passes and the summer draws to a close, it’s time to start thinking about Autodesk University. The AU team clearly knows this (they themselves have been thinking about the event since before AU 2012, so this is more for the rest of us ;-) and so they’ve gone ahead and posted a preview of the class schedule for this year’s event.
Take a look at rows 2^8 and 2^8+1 (that’s 256 and 257 for non-programmers :-) if you’re interested in seeing information on the two classes I’m delivering, this year: one is on Leap Motion, the other on Kinect Fusion.
Here’s the introductory blurb for each, in case:
DV1441 – Reality Capture Inside Autodesk® AutoCAD® Using Kinect Fusion
Kinect Fusion allows you to "paint" in 3D using a Kinect® device as a wand, aggregating a point cloud representing a 3D volume (and allowing you to export a mesh of the capture surface). Kinect Fusion started as a UK-based research project between Microsoft Research Cambridge and Imperial College London. It was introduced into the Kinect for Windows® SDK in the 1.7 release, and has the potential to allow low-cost, high-quality reality capture for anyone with a Kinect device. This class looks at a prototype integration of Kinect Fusion inside Autodesk AutoCAD, investigating the quality of the results and the potential for further development.
DV1442 – Integrating Leap Motion with Autodesk® AutoCAD®
There is a great deal of interest in how the Leap Motion™ Controller is going to change the way we interact with 3D modeling and visualization tools. This class focuses on the steps that are needed to define a simple, gesture-based user interface to Autodesk AutoCAD using the Leap Motion SDK. We look at a way to enable AutoCAD users to navigate 3D models using gestures, as well as different techniques for allowing geometry creation and manipulation. We take a look at the relative pros and cons of gesture-based interaction with 3D systems in an attempt to assess whether this mode of interaction is likely to prove popular in our industry.
As usual, there are lots of other classes scheduled – on topics many of you will find more interesting than these two – so check out the preview schedule and start thinking about signing up (registration opens on September 12). If you need help convincing your boss this is a worthwhile event to attend, this page may be of help.
And if you’re an ADN (standard or professional) member, be sure to plan on attending the DevDay and DevLab prior to AU 2013. As usual I’ll be there: even though I work for Autodesk I find DevDays to be invaluable for getting information on what’s coming. But there are other pre-conference events scheduled, and I’ll no doubt be poking my head into the DesignScript Workshop at some point during the Monday afternoon.
See you in Las Vegas!
Update:
I forgot to mention the panel events I’ll be participating in, this year. Here they are:
DV1338 – Autodesk® AutoCAD® APIs: Meet the Experts
Back for the 5th successive year! Our panel of hardcore ObjectARX® and AutoCAD .NET experts from our AutoCAD software development team are ready to your programming questions. If you are writing plug-ins for AutoCAD software, then this is the perfect forum to get to know the people who create the APIs you work with as well as your fellow programmers who use those APIs. Come and ask questions, add your expertise to the discussion, or just listen and learn.
DV2227 – Autodesk® Cloud and Mobile API/Technologies: Meet the Experts
Ask your programming questions to our panel of hardcore cloud and mobile experts from our software development teams. If you are writing solutions that are based on these technologies or you are just about to start and want to know more, then this is the perfect forum to get to know the people who create the APIs and services you work with and your fellow programmers who use those APIs. Come and ask questions, add your expertise to the discussion, or just listen and learn.
I’d also like to mention one of Scott McFarlane’s class, this year. Scott is kindly preparing a set of three blog posts on unit testing with AutoCAD .NET for publishing here, for those of you who are unable to attend his AU session.
DV2173 – Automated Testing with the Autodesk® AutoCAD® .NET API
Automated testing (which includes unit testing and integration testing) is one of the cornerstones of the agile software development process. Yet we see it as difficult and expensive, especially for programs that are written with the AutoCAD .NET API. So what makes it so difficult? What are the obstacles? Can we overcome them? This class explores the topic of automated testing, specifically for .NET programs that are written for AutoCAD-based products. You learn how good programming practices, such as single responsibility, abstraction, interface development, and dependency inversion, go hand-in-hand with writing testable code, and how to use these techniques to decouple your code from the AutoCAD API, allowing you to unit test your business logic in Visual Studio®. We also look at a few of the popular testing tools, including the Gallio Automation Platform, which integrates AutoCAD into its test runner.
