To end off the media summit, Autodesk is providing a preview of technology that might or might not ship in future products -- with a wink wink that we are seeing software that's actually running.
Data Management
Autodesk calls ProductStream its digital pipeline. The new news is that ProductStream is being integrated with Sharepoint from Microsoft. (Sharepoint is software for sharing documents, an extension of the Office suite, but will work with ProductStream at some point in the future.)
Real Time Raytracing
Recently-acquired Opticore of Sweden does real-time raytracing to make even more real looking images, particularly -- of interest to Autodesk -- for the automotive industry. (Earlier, Renault described using 150 computers to generate 2-minute movies in 3 hours in order to preview different car model finishes on a computer-generated freeway and village.)
The real-time demo of Opticore updates the image in about one frame per second, including reflections from mirrors and car bodies -- impressive for software rendering; it is running on an 8-core CPU. This would help Renault reduce that three-hour rendering time.
Consumer Products
For the final demo, we're being shown how Autodesk now has software that takes plastic design from Alias to Inventor. I think we're seeing an alpha of a next release of Inventor, because there are a couple of new UI elements. It appears that Alias surfaces now go direct into Inventor, instead of being imported via DWG.
Now we're seeing new plastic part designing, such as vent holes, ribs, and mounting bosses. Next step: manufacturing. The plastic part now goes to the new mold design environment in Inventor. It automatically sizes the work piece (the box in which the plastic part gets molded), figures out cores and cavities, parting boundaries, and so on. This mold design was done in four minutes. Plastic fill simulation takes 30 seconds.
Paris Moment
Perhaps the most famos landmark in the world. Two-story elevators carry tourists up all four legs to the first level. The radio age saved the tower from being torn down, when it was realized the top of the tall tower would be great location for antennas (1920s) -- in a city of short buildings, where building heights are kept to 19 degrees of the street width.
[Disclosure: Autodesk provided me with air and ground transportation, hotel, meals, and corporate gifts.]
Comments