This weekend is becoming an annual tradition for me. A mixture of consuming more turkey than humanly possible and prepping for one of the best conferences of the year – Autodesk University. This is my third year in a row and I am as excited as ever. There is something to be said for 1000s of like minded folks gathering in Vegas a few weeks before Christmas. The week is jam packed with more information, buzz and excitement than anyone can handle. The goal is to retain as much of it as possible.
I am fortunate to be attending in two capacities- member of the media to represent this blog and a vendor representing CFdesign. I see the two roles as quite different, but at the same time very similar. I will have my ears wide open and will be taking copious notes to relay my take on the events.
As always, there is a short list of topics I am particularly interested in….
Web-based and Mobile Computing
Clearly, two totally different technologies but I am lumping them together as I think they are very related. They complement each other nicely. Whenever I listen to the Autodesk folks they tend to use the phrase “SaaS” all the time, obviously standing for Software as a Service. From the user community, SaaS is nothing more than a business or licensing model. What I care about from the user side is the flexibility of accessing my data as well as compute power from anywhere, any device, any time. Many of the tools being rolled out to the Labs site look promising. They are being used to educate and show proof of concept. I’m anxious to see one that changes the way we work. If anyone is listening, I have a list of ideas.
Inventor/Fusion Modeling Platform
This may or may not exist as a true product or platform. But, I can’t help but feel that one of the true unique advantages that Autodesk has in the market is a unified modeling system. Inventor is proving itself daily as a true player in the MCAD space. With the integration of Alias and Fusion and AutoCAD it is becoming a unique system that cannot be rivaled by Dassault Systemes or Siemens. Both of these powerhouses have a few solutions, one at the high end, one at the midrange as well as surfacing (ICEM) modeling that seems to be integrated in CATIA, but not SolidWorks. So there is a constant issue of interoperability. Too many tools that do not play nicely with one another, If they cannot share and cannot help drive the process, what’s the benefit?
The Simulation Roadmap to “true” Digital Prototyping
Simulation is still in it’s infancy when it comes to mass adoption. Most companies are far from realizing the true potential of simulation. It will need to be a natural part of the design process, not just a “module” that is added to a CAD seat. If we look at what SolidWorks did with COSMOS in the early days, it’s truly amazing. The number of FEA boxes that were pushed as well as the bundling of CAD and simulation is truly amazing. But ten years later, COSMOS is still viewed as a designer/CAD level tool. DS acquired ABAQUS (rebranded SIMULIA) but the technologies seem to remain separate. Vendors seem to treat designers, engineers and analysts separately. The problem in the engineering community is the lack of interoperability. It’s fine that the tools are developed for the particular user, but when data cannot be shared across the enterprise (or even across the hallway) we are not solving the problem, we are just contributing to it, Autodesk is in a prime spot to change the game in the simulation market. Not easy, but the pieces are falling into place.
Still lots to do before heading out, but the excitement is building. See you in Vegas.
