RobiNZ CAD Blog

End of an era, as Autodesk leaves Shaan Hurley

On Tuesday 30 March 2004, I posted this on TypePad: Getting Started This is the first post to see how it all works. Read other weblogs, thought I'd have a go myself. RobiNZ CAD Blog The reason I chose TypePad, then a new'ish (public launch October 2003) hosted platform, is one of the most influential 'other weblogs' was Shaan Hurley's Between The Lines ~ AutoCAD Blog. I'd been thinking about blogging but had no interest in coding or self-hosting. When Shaan told me his pioneering CAD Blog was hosted, authored, on TypePad it was enough to spur me into action,... Read more →

Autodesk Labs Project Spark – Revit for Everybody?

Autodesk Labs recently announced the Project Spark technology preview. Based on a Revit Technology Platform Spark previews a simpler leaner Revit aimed at new entrants to the world of Building Information Modelling. Some might say, in a Jeremy Clarkson voice, this is a Limited Technology Revit with features aimed at a user wanting to move from a CAD LT to BIM LT workflow. So what is Spark? Project Spark is based on the Revit Architecture code base, but does not support conceptual design, analysis, rendering, advanced collaboration tools, or expose an API. So it is Revit, but not quite Revit?... Read more →

Autodesk Labs Project Photofly 2, ready to make models for you!

A couple of weeks back I showed the scene below in a presentation on “bImformation modelling” for the Auckland Revit User Group. It was created with Autodesk Labs Project Photofly technology which assembles a collection of 2D digital camera images into a 3D spatial arrangement then generates a 3D point cloud spatial model. This allows measurement & line geometry to be traced. Using the TV as a reference dimension I was amazed it captured the size of a painting in an adjacent room, not even directly photographed, to within 0.5cm! The Photofly editor also found edges (the white vertical dimension)... Read more →

Media Q&A with Carl Bass #AU2010

I took a lot of technically ok photos of Carl Bass, Autodesk President and Chief Executive Officer, addressing the media Q&A but thought, although blurred, this one captured him best. It was soon after the AU General session and Carl seemed pretty relaxed, with a coffee in hand. Jeff Kowalski, Autodesk CTO, was also on present to elaborate on his General Session theme of “Infinite Computing”. Hazy on “The Cloud” Questions about “Autodesk & The Cloud” resulted in as many questions as answers. Rather than direct customers to a single solution, or platform, it seems Autodesk are getting more agnostic.... Read more →

Autodesk University General Session Keynote #AU2010

Lynn Allen opened the AU General Session and mentioning the new 60 minute AU session format. She also announced a repeat of last years challenge when the person who passes the most Certification Exams at AU2010 will get a free ticket to AU2011. Carl Bass, Autodesk CEO, focused on “Innovation” as “Invention + Application”. This set the stage for a series of speakers who are applying design technology for this. Examples ranged from Student Education Project H Design, Microwave ground powered space shuttles from Escape Dynamics, Civil Transport Project Simulations from San Francisco & Seattle, the Tesla Model S and... Read more →

The synergy of pen & touch

I first saw this video on Long Zheng’s blog a few days ago. Microsoft Research show how pen & touch can combine to be more than touch alone. While touch gestures like pinch, tap & drag can be good for changing view, tapping links or moving objects it’s far from what is needed for natural interaction. This hints at what a combination of the active digitiser stylus and touch can achieve. Lets hope we see it outside the lab and (hello Autodesk?) in our design applications.... Microsoft Research’s “Manual Deskterity” explores the synergy of pen & touch – istartedsomething Then... Read more →

#AU2009 Day 3 – Thursday

08:00am - 09:30am Autodesk® Revit® for Film and Stage AB304-1 10:00am - 11:30am BIM Bids Only! How to Get Your Subcontractors to Bid an Autodesk® Revit® Project CR308-1 01:00pm - 02:30pm The Real Engineer's Workflow: MEP Massing for Pre-Design Analysis MP314-3 03:00pm - 04:30pm Next Generation AEC Collaboration AB318-1 05:00pm Integrated Architecture and Interior Design Documentation with Autodesk® Revit® AB322-3 Revit for Film and Stage I wondered if this class would ever happen… thankfully sanity prevailed. Phil Read presented a session based on the movie design work of Revit genius, it’s the only word that fits, Bryan Sutton. If you’ve... Read more →

#AU2009 Day 1 – Tuesday

08:00am - 09:30am Advanced Design Integration for Radical Energy Efficiency AU104-6 10:00am - 11:30am AU Keynote and Welcome Address with Carl Bass 01:00pm - 02:30pm Experience Design for Architects, and Product, Automotive, Package, Interior, and Interactive Designers DL114-2 03:00pm - 04:30pm BIM 4 Contractors: From 2D Conversions to 3D Manipulations CR118-1 05:00pm Industry Keynote: AutoCAD® and Media & Entertainment Keynote and Mixer KN122-1 I was going to write these up and publish daily at Autodesk University but… So over the next few days will summarise the sessions I attended, then plan to revisit some topics in greater detail as time... Read more →

Revit User Group "Ribbonisation" presentation links

Last week I presented to the Revit User Group Auckland about "ribbonisation". It was a background to the development of the Fluent User Interface, otherwise known as "the ribbon", based on several presentations I have seen over the years. I suspect it was possibly the only presentation ever given to a Revit User Group with more Microsoft Office and AutoCAD content than Revit! All the content was drawn from public sources, mostly blogs and presentations. I had permission to use it for the presentation and can share those sources here. If you're interested in User Experience/Interface development there is plenty... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery - The technology toy box

A few weeks ago I blogged about the design related displays in the Autodesk Gallery at One Market Street - their San Francisco Customer and Technology Showcase. That is just one aspect of the space. T... Read more →