Through the Interface

Building the 5m Dar Smart Bridge

Now that my head is briefly back above water following Autodesk University 2022 and some time off with the family, I thought I’d revisit the Dar 5m Smart Bridge project to share some of the things I learned about it during AU in New Orleans. As a reminder, I was not heavily involved in the building of the bridge itself – although I did track it with great interest from a distance – as my role really only came into play in the final stages of the project, when we were looking to get the data from the bridge... Read more →

Another Autodesk University is over

That’s it for another whirlwind AU! This year’s AU was a very different one for me. Normally I’m delivering a class or two and end up spending several hours in meetings with customers – I almost never get to spend time in the Expo. In contrast I spent almost all of my time at this year’s event in the Expo standing on or talking about a bridge, so I can’t give any meaningful commentary about the broader event, sadly. One thing I will say – beyond whatever takeaways people have related to the change of venue (New Orleans over... Read more →

Come and see the 5m Dar Smart Bridge at Autodesk University 2022

In a recent post I hinted at a really impressive project that is being unveiled today in the exhibit hall of AU 2022. (My involvement was as usual pretty minor, primarily relating to data visualization, while the really impressive work was around designing and printing it.) The project is a 5 metre long single-cantilevered (in terms of the printing – it’s supported at both ends when in use) smart bridge, 3D-printed from recycled PETG and glass fibre in our Boston Technology Center for Dar. Here’s a video shared via LinkedIn that describes the project and a photo of Steve... Read more →

Human-centric building design

In a recent post, I mentioned that I’ve been asked to help lead our efforts in a particular area of research. I was deliberately vague at the time. Now, with Autodesk University 2022 around the corner, it seems a good time to say more about this. I hope it stimulates some interesting discussions at the event. As a company, one of Autodesk’s core interests is to enable the design and creation of healthier, safer, more resilient spaces. We want to explore tools for designers and architects that help them create buildings with more attention to the occupants. In the... Read more →

Exciting updates on Tandem & seeing them at AU

If you didn’t get the chance to watch last week’s webinar by the Autodesk Tandem team – their September 2022 webinar – then I highly recommend checking out the recording, especially if you’re interested in updates to their work on displaying sensor data. If you liked Project Dasher, you’re going to love the work that’s being done in Tandem. :-) Questions were asked during the webinar about attendees’ interests regarding workflows for heatmaps: If you missed the chance to vote – but have strong opinions on these workflows and would like to provide detailed feedback – then you can... Read more →

Next week is the Forge Hackathon

Back at the beginning of August I mentioned the upcoming Forge Hackathon which precedes Autodesk University 2022. Well, the upcoming has become the immediate, and next week it’s happening! So if you’ve been debating whether or not to join the event, it’s time to make a decision and (hopefully) register. It’s a great opportunity to showcase your development team’s capabilities, to create something genuinely novel using Forge, or simple to kick back and have some fun. Or ideally all of the above. :-) (See this blog post for a reminder of the prize categories and judging criteria.) Read more →

Forge Data Days (and DevDays Online 2022) videos

I’ve signed up to help with the Forge Developer Zone in the Exhibit Hall of Autodesk University 2022 in New Orleans, if you’re going to be there. Right now I’m planning on being there at these times, in case you want to swing by for a chat: Wednesday September 28th | 11:30am – 1:00pm Thursday September 29th | 11:30am – 1:00pm If you’re attending AU – whether physically or virtually – and have an interest in the Forge platform, then you may find this article to be of use. For my own preparation I thought I’d brush up on... Read more →

Counting down to AU 2022

There’s now just a month to go before many will be travelling to New Orleans for the first in-person Autodesk University since 2019. Aside from being back at event with 10,000 or so attendees – something many of us may well have forgotten how to do, including myself – this year’s event will be different from those in recent years as it’s being held somewhere other than Las Vegas. In Vegas it’s possible to have that many people (give or take) hosted along with a full conference – including a significant exhibition space and somewhere to feed the hungry... Read more →

A special unveiling at AU 2022

The Autodesk Research team is currently printing something very special in our Boston Technology Center with the hope of it being displayed at Autodesk University 2022 in New Orleans. I expect to be spending quite a bit of time near this object, during the event, and am very much looking forward to it. Even at this early stage it’s already a thing of great beauty. Now for some pre-AU fun and games: if you can guess the object’s function and how much it’ll weigh once finished – within an as-yet-undetermined threshold – then I’ll send you a souvenir from... Read more →

Register today for this year’s Forge Hackathon

Registration for the Forge Hackathon 2022 – being held virtually from September 19th-23rd – is now open. The prize categories are fun: You had me at 3D game Show me the Data! I feel the need, the need for Digital Twin Task automation is a state of mind There’s no place like ACC Do keep in mind the following judging criteria: Innovation Elegance Business problem solved Progress made during the week Depth of Forge use Wow factor (If you feel you need it, more detail on the categories and judging criteria can be found in the above-linked blog post.)... Read more →

Register now for Autodesk University 2022. I may even see you there!

Registration is now open for this year’s AU: the first time it’s been held in-person since 2019, and in a brand new city (for AU, at least), New Orleans. It’s being held from September 27th to 29th, which will be here really soon! The early-bird pricing of $1,750 is available until July 23rd, at which point it slides upwards to $1,999 until August 12th and then on up to the full price of $2,250 from there. And if you can’t make it in person to the event, there’s still the option to attend virtually for free. Registration for the... Read more →

The Autodesk Gallery opening and the 2m Dar Smart Bridge at DCW 2022

A few events have happened over the last few weeks that I would have loved to have attended, had I had the energy (and been in better shape). The first was the grand opening of the Autodesk Gallery on May 11th. I received an invite – because of my participation in the NEST project – but as I was planning on actually being at the NEST building that day I declined. And I ended up being home with Covid, so there’s that. The gallery was opened by SF Mayor London Breed. Here’s a snap of Andrew Anagnost showing the... Read more →

Three AU proposals to vote for and a deadline reminder

It’s the last few days to submit your class proposals for Autodesk University 2022 in New Orleans. The Call for Proposals closes on April 15th. I’ve now submitted three classes, myself, and would greatly appreciate you voting for the one(s) you would like to see part of the event. This is whether you intend on being there in-person in New Orleans or not: the vast majority of classes will either be livestreamed or recorded and made available on-demand for virtual attendees. Here they are. Voting is open until April 25th. Voxel-based Architectural Space Analysis inside Dynamo Building Digital Twins... Read more →

Vote on my (and others') AU 2022 class proposals

I’ve gone ahead and submitted two class proposals for Autodesk University 2022. If you think they should be part of this year’s event, I’d certainly appreciate you voting for them: Voxel-based Architectural Space Analysis inside Dynamo Autodesk Research first created the Space Analysis toolkit - and its accompanying Dynamo package - to support 2D generative design workflows such as those used during Project Discover for the architectural layout of Autodesk's Toronto office. VASA - short for Voxel-based Architectural Space Analysis - takes these techniques to the next level, allowing the geometric exploration of architectural spaces in 3D for activities... Read more →

Autodesk University 2022 will be in New Orleans

The Call For Proposals for Autodesk University 2022 is now live, and with it the news that this year’s event will be in The Big Easy, the beautiful city of New Orleans. I was last there for our Autodesk-internal TechX event in 2019. Here are a few snaps from back then: It was a good time, and I very much hope I get the chance to return in late September (the conference is being held from the 27th to the 29th). As mentioned recently, submitting your proposals early – the deadline is April 15th – will give you more... Read more →

Autodesk University 2022 dates and CFP

The AU team has announced the dates for Autodesk University 2022: it will be held from September 27-29, 2022, and – barring some regression in the current health situation – in-person for the first time since Autodesk University 2019! I can also reveal that we’ll be meeting in a city that isn’t Las Vegas. (Sorry to not say more about this, but we’ve been asked not to talk specifically about where’s it’s being held, for now.) This is clearly earlier than the usual November/December timeframe, so the Call For Proposals (CFP) will logically be held that much sooner. In... Read more →

Forge and digital twins at Autodesk University 2021

I’ve finally found the time to view the main information from the recent Autodesk University event, and thought it worth highlighting what I consider to be some of the “big ticket” items, especially from my own – somewhat Forge- and digital twin-centric – perspective. First-up, Forge was everywhere in the keynotes. If it wasn’t previously clear that Autodesk is serious about becoming a platform company, it should be from the messaging at this AU. On a side note, there are a number of internal organisational changes that have happened/are happening at Autodesk to accelerate this shift, so I’m currently... Read more →

Rome and Sardinia

This is my first week back after a lovely 10-day trip to Italy, most of which we spent scuba diving on the beautiful island of Sardinia. We’d planned this trip some time ago, but that didn’t mean it was without its worries: between last-minute doctor’s visits for medical certificates (not strictly required for scuba diving, but it’s generally a good idea to have them) and fast antigen tests for the (so far unvaccinated) kids, there were more logistics to think about than usual. We also needed to check a couple of suitcases – which were basically full of neoprene... Read more →

At the Forge Hackathon, counting down to AU2021

While I’m unlikely to be present for much of next week’s Autodesk University event – all being well I’ll be in Sardinia – I have been feeling the excitement mount ahead of it. Mainly from attending the Forge Hackathon, which is now nearing it’s climax. The event kicked off with a really interesting event held via SpatialChat. I hadn’t used it before, but was immediately hooked. There were different rooms (fine), but even within a single room you could have private conversations by moving off into a corner. The sound increases as you get closer to a sound source,... Read more →

Build your first Digital Twin at the upcoming Forge Hackathon

Other that my regular foolings-around with ancient tech, I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog in recent weeks. That’s all about to change, though, as we enter the busy period leading up to Autodesk University 2021. For one I have some interesting learnings I thought I’d share from some of the foundational work I’ve been doing on Dasher’s codebase, but there are also some interesting updates for people performing analyses of 2D (and 3D!) spaces. Fun stuff! First though, it’s worth reminding people of the Forge Hackathon that’s around the corner. It starts in just a couple of... Read more →