The Virtual EngineerLife Experiences in the Virtual Engineering World

Sitting in the keynote this AM, Carl Bass spoke about how Autodesk software was used in creating the movie Avatar. Always forgetting that Autodesk has a Media and Entertainment division, I was definitely interested. He showed a few of the behind the scenes footage of James Cameron directing the movie. The producer, Jon Landau, was there to give some insight with a promise of more (~15min preview)during the M&E keynote at 5pm.

As you can imagine, the keynote was packed. The above trailer doesn’t due the movie justice. We were treated to a 40min preview of various clips in 3D. I can’t even begin to explain how they filmed this movie. Tons of super fancy filming terminology. But just imagine that they used special cameras that gave the director the ability to see in real time the actors in a CG environment. Truly amazing. Really, really cool.

The coolest part is the future of 3D. These guys were convincing that this is the future. Watching and interacting with movies and entertainment in 3D will be the norm. Made some time to take the obligatory photo-op with the producer of Avatar. Nice!

So telling people at home that I was involved in the making of the movie. Above is the picture to prove it..

We are partially through Day 1 of #AU2009. Hectic day of bouncing around from session to session. One of the highlights was the General Keynote session with the likes of Lynn Allen, Carl Bass, Amory Lovins and Joe Kowalski. All shared some really cool stuff.

Mr. Bass always has a big presence on stage but this year was bigger and bolder than normal. He referred to “web based” computing numerous times. Check out this pic that Shaan Hurley (cameras not allowed for the public) snagged. I’d have taken one myself, but was security was tight

He highlighted numerous examples from collaboration of autocad users making changes simultaneously in real time, similar to Google Docs. To serious rendering needed for Showcase and Entertainment and Media type stuff. To simply running AutoCAD and Inventor over the web, via the Twitch project. What was different about his presentation was that it was stated as fact, its coming. No doubt about it. Other vendors have danced around it, maybe, someday, not sure etc. Autodesk is stepping up there and saying, its coming. Obviously they are only giving a glimpse on the details, but they are saying it nonetheless.

Another thing that Mr. Bass said as fact was their commitment to the MAC. This is clearly somewhat of a buzz around the CAD world, but the MAC OS, seems like it is here to stay for Autodesk. So, I wonder if CFdesign will be ported to the MAC as well? You never know!

“Social Media” events are becoming more and more popular at software events over the last few years. Initially they seemed to be held out of some sort of obligation. People weren’t exactly sold on the idea, but realized that they had handfuls to hundreds of people writing about their products and services, so it seemed logical to assemble them to hear what they had to say.

But, depending on the organization, you definitely get a vibe that not everyone is still on board with the whole SM craze. Definitely, not the case at Autodesk. Last night Shaan Hurley organized a “Blogger Social” at #AU2009. Walking into the room, I was amazed at how jam packed it was. Some pretty well known bloggers from various backgrounds were in attendance.

But, the SM vibe is much stronger than just blogging. People are tweeting, non-stop. In many cases, that is how we are communicating with one another in lieu of emailing and texting. Tons of conversations were based on the daily twitter banter. Cameras are everywhere and everyone is jonzing for some wifi to upload to flickr etc.

I plan to snap some pics, tweet away and hopefully snag a video or two to post to vimeo or you tube. Stay tuned…

Getting primed for #AU2009. I always forget how freakin’ vast Vegas is and I am talking specifically about the Mandalay Bay Hotel. I have trekked from one side to the other. I landed in the “lounge”. Really funny area of bean bags and free wifi, totally my speed and apparently some of the younger attendees that are jumping from bag to bag.  In contrast, there are some of the older gen that are trying to be cool but once they sit down, they are struggling to get back up. But at least they are trying as others are snubbing the whole area.

Two social engagements tonight. The first is targeted for media and bloggers. Psyched to be able to put some faces with the tweets and blogs. It is also being held at Border’s Grill, which is a massive bonus.

The other event is a VIP gig for the AEC space. Should be really interesting, as CFdesign was just named the Autodesk Preferred MEP Industry Partner. Really fun and exciting new industry that has avoided the CFD game for a very long time. There are niche products out there, but there is a big boom in energy efficiency, smoke evacuation and data center cooling. We have been working with these applications for a number of years, but only recently have heard of such a high demand.

Check out the image above (click the link for details) of an airflow simulation of the Yale Medical School conducted by Genesys Engineering.