WorldCAD Access

Live from Carl Bass Q&A

Carl Bass is answering questions from the media. So far, questions have to do with the cloud and other OSes.

Carl Bass confirms that there is demand for a Mac version of Revit.

Multi-OS Support

AutoCAD has been rewritten so that it can be ported to any viable OS and hardware. "Viable" is determined by consumers wanting to use the software on a particular platform. Recognize that core functions, like calculating angles and drawing lines, is independent of OS, and is written in C++, mostly. File operations are fairly uniform. The big difference is the UI skin.

Two million downloaded SketchBook for iOS devices; 500,000 have paid for the software. Note to Android users: Sketchbook Express (free) and Sketchbook Mobile ($1) now available on the Android Market. I just downloaded it, and it works. For Android 2.1 and up.

The company's CTO notes that only about 15% of CAD operations can make use of multi-threading. He implies that we can expect AutoCAD on Android tablets next year (my interpretation of his words).

(Before this Q&A, I met with Dell, whose head office is in Texas. Now my cell phone is giving me the weather for Austin TX! What was in that USB key they gave me?)

The Cloud

Mr Bass says that he sees that people are using the cloud for two areas:

•    Solve problems that never able to solve before.
•    Solve problems differently, such as being able to solve all possible iterations of solutions (the spreadsheet revisited).

Large customers are not necessarily the first to embrace the cloud, since some of them say they have more computing power than Amazon. Or they will look for the security of virtual clouds. So, Mr Bass thinks that smaller customers will want it first, due to the easy access to huge amounts of computing power -- such as fast rendering.

Regenerative Design

Using scripts to create designs "is coming soon." Autodesk wants to make sure that this new scripting language for AutoCAD can be used by more than just 14 specialists worldwide; even architects will be able to use it.

Now talking about sustainability...

OK, that's a wrap for the Q&A.

Live from the AU keynote

Day three for me here in Las Vegas, day one for AU, officially. Some seven thousand attendees are projected by Autodesk to attend. I dunno if that includes non-paying attendees, like Autodesk staff and the media. This morning we  hear from ceo Carl Bass and cto Jeff Kowalski, along with representatives from several corporations using Autodesk software.

The arena at Mandaly Bay hotel begins to fill with 7000 people.

We are getting the mandatory video with rock music. And here he is...

Mr Bass asks, "Why do we do what we do?" He thinks the answer is, "Impact." True. I used to be a transportation engineer, but got frustrated with my inability to have an impact on the industry. Being a writer and editor lets me make an impact, to make a difference. (Oh, and he is a global climate change believer, but then there is huge profits to be made  from that.)

Jeff Kowalski theme is "infinite computing", where computers have no limitations in data size, computaiton speed, and location.

He showed us digital factory software that simulates motions of machines and people on the factor floor. A demo of how a building affects its neighbourhood used downtown Vancouver. Software showed heat emissions and wind flows around surrounding buildings.

Showed a unified software that shows a chief architect how a project is progressing, without the chief architect needing to know programs or file format, yet has access to all data in visual and table forms.

Live from Autodesk Media Day

I checked, and Autodesk is allowing me to report on media day, a half-day for CAD journalists and bloggers. Sitting next to me is a writer from San Francisco whose site is globalwarmingisreal.com. (The temperature yesterday evening in Las Vegas as I arrived was 0C, 32F.)

So now we are hearing from the Autodesk vp of marketing, Chris Bradshaw. He is telling us how Autodesk didn't do so well in the retail space, with programs like PictureThis. But then something else came along, first the iPhone and then the iPad. These two Apple hardware products launched a new category of software: easy to download and install, esy to use (no documentation).

Apple's iDevices are a form of cloud computing, and now Autodesk is embracing the idea. Their current version of "PictureThis" is a Web-based app that uses drag'n drop (not just furnishings, but also décor).

Autodesk vp of marketing Chris Bradshaw

He mentions that there will be lots of talking about suites (bundled softwar) next year, not something that I have any interest in.

Technology Trends Realized

Mr "What's Next, Next, Next" -- as introduced by Mr Bradshoaw -- Brian Mathews of Autodesk Labs, is next speaking on seven technology trends.

• Human centered design (like Lego blocks)
• Analog to digital (like Project PhotoFly)
• What to do with all that data (like Project Galileo)
• Infinite computing (like the cloud, which breaks Moore's Law)
• Digital reality (like Project Krypton real-time design analysis, and Project Neon, which does cloud-based rendering doing several renderings in parallel of the same model)
• Digital to analog (like 3D printing and augmented reality, for which Labs will have something to announce here soon.)
• Net effect combines all the above tech trends to make them more valuable (aka SaaS, Web Services, Collaboraiton, Mobile Access, and whole system design)

A new version of Project PhotoFly does photo modeling inside CAD software by merging multiple digital photographs to create a 3D model. Never shown before is a realistic 3D rendered model recreated from a series of photos made with an iPhone. Not a $120,000 laser scanner. (The software automatically determines the location from which each photo was taken, and then generates a point cloud, from which 3D triangles are created.)

New Project Galileo does city-scale modeling -- ie, huge data sets. Automatically grows a BIM model from 2D plans.

 Autodesk uses Amazon's cloud service primarily.

Q: What is the pricing for the cloud apps?

A: No, I cannot talk to that. This is not public at this time. [Heh!]

Accessibility of Design

Next up is Amar Hanspal, vp of PSEB. Or, he would be, but the order of speakers got changed.

Seen on Bill Fane's laptop screen: "I would kill for a Nobel Peace Prize."

I'm also posting news items on my Twitter stream, ralphg.

 Keven Schneider demo'ing to us the latest advancements in Inventor Fusion, which places nearly all commands at the cursor.

Autodesk Tinkerbox

Tinkerbox is new software for students, has a puzzle mode (solve problems) and an invent mode (design new contraptions). The software runs on iPads and involves mechanical parts. It reminds me to The Incredible Machine, which was available for PCs about 15 years ago.

The demo we are watching is running on Windows. "We like that this is very manufacturing oriented." The point to the software is to get children interested in engineering.

Tinkerbox in puzzle mode.

 Finally, Mr Hanspal is up front. He notes that AutoCAD is no longer called "2D" but "documentation." Heh: I guess he forgot about Autodesk calling Release 10 "The 3D Release." Anyhow, AutoCAD is further than "2D" design but also now meant for conceptual design.

"AutoCAD is now for modeling in the context of the real world." He notes that Autodesk is making AutoCAD able to handle millions and billions of data points. Showing a 3D laser scan of a large boat, surfaced, and then rendered.

Heh. I wonder how the makers of $30,000 laser scanners think about Autodesk using $100 digital cameras do the same work via PhotoFly. (The problem with being one of the last speakers is that your material starts to replicate of that from earlier speakers. We're hearing about the wonders of the cloud -- yet again.)

 He is strongly hinting that PhotoFly and Neon will become part of AutoCAD in the future. Perhaps as cloud-linked apps, where entering the "Render" command sends model data to the Amazon servers to process -- transparently (my speculation).

 Now speaking of ADN, the Autodesk Developer Network, whose members tailor AutoCAD. "AutoCAD was the original app store." (This morning, Bricsys announced that GlobalCAD has ported six of its apps to Bricscad.) Mr Hanspal is now mentioning DesignScript that we heard about this morning.

 Amar Hanspal says UI innovations in Mac version of AutoCAD will migrate to the Windows version.

While Mr Hanspal speaks of "The Power to Choose," he makes no mention of Android or Linux. Well, he does say that "mobile is important to Autodesk," and ceo Carl Bass mentioned Android during the Q3 conference call two weeks ago.

He is now showing a workflow that "connects the dots" to prove that the bundles are not just shovelware (software stuck on a CD.) Except the demo didn't work. Oops. The demo was to show from sketching to geometry to visualization.

Intelligent 3D

The final speaker of the day is Jay Bhatt, vp of AEC. He's starting off with topics of sustainability, since buildings are the worst impact on the earth of all the designs created with Autodesk software.

 

Jay Bhatt telling us about sustainable infrastructure, such as in Brazil.

And that's all for today. More coverage on Tuesday.

Live from Autodesk University 2010

Alright, so here we are at Autodesk University. I'm at my second session this morning; I can't tell you about the first one, since it was under NDA [non-disclosure agreement].

The wireless Interenet at AU is really uneven, screwing up a cloud demo this morning.

DCS

This was the second year for the Design Computation Symposium at AU -- the second year, because that's how long it's been since Robert Aish moved from Bentley Systems to Autodesk. You might be aware that Bentley used to have the same sort of events when Mr Aish was still with them. (For all I know, BS might still have them, but I wouldn't know, because of Bentley's boycott against me. Honest! I had nothing to do with Mr Aish no longer being a colleague.)

DesignScript is a new programming language for AutoCAD that will allow formulas to generate designs and multiple iterations of varying designs. A few years ago we saw a demo that created variations on building shell designs in Inventor, but I don't think that's gone anywhere. DesignScript will perform associative, parametric, and computational modeling.

This year's DCS theme is "Digital Craftsmanship," with Carl Bass being the keynote speaker, talking about "making stuff." Since he likes to make stuff (he showed us photos of his baseball bats, a child's rocketship, and a garden bench) he has a personal interest in linking handmade craftsmanship with modern CAD/CAM software and machines. I think he question he is addressing was, "How can we give a hand-crafted elegance to machine-produced products?"

I wish my daughter were hear to hear the presentation by Mr Bass, because his history of craftsmanship is fascinating. (She is in third-year fine arts at TWU.) For exampel, some designers got disgusted with the perfection of craftsmanship that they would deliberately damage the final product, or make it poorly. The "IKEA hack" is a worldwide movement that takes Ikea furniture and hacks it with wood and other parts from other sources -- deliberating destroying what the Ikea designers meant.

Does there need to be risk in designs, he asks. I think so. For instance, I think cars are becoming too safe, and so  drivers are no longer aware that driving a car is inherently dangerous.

Mr Bass's last topic is on scale: managing complexity. He shows a photo of an old door key next to an electronic car key from Mercedes. He could make the first one in his shop; he has no idea how to make the second. I see, he point is that tools [ie, software that Autodesk sells] are needed to handle design complexity. He thinks we have treated computing as a scarce resource, which is the wrong way to treat it. (I think today's Android cell phones make computing pervasive.)

He thinks we are missing the point with cloud computing. Cost: parking in San Francisco is $8 an hour and going up; cloud computing is 50 cents an hour, and going down. We should think of cloud computing as infinitite computing.

Back to ADN

I've walked back to the ADN seminar to hear Andrew Agnost talk about some future technology that will "appear sooner than you expect." I am finding that this new stuff is pretty interesting to me. "This will build up over time," says Mr Agnost,who now has a new title: vp of suites, web services, and subscriptions. The fact that he is in charge of these three areas must mean that they are linked.

Now we are into Q&As from third-party developers. Actually, many of the developers here are in-house ones, who customize AutoCAD and other Adsk software for their firms. Sitting behind me are two from Boeing, who happen to also read upFront.eZine.

Media Day

Now I gotta drop down one floor in this convention center to take in the Media Day that Autodesk has for us CAD journalists. Lunch, speeches, one-on-one interviews, and an event at the House of Blues in the evening. Later tonight, Cengage Delmar is hosting dinner at the StripSteak restaurant for its authors. My count for today:

• Breakfast = 0
• Lunch = 1
• Supper = 2

...more to come.

[Disclosure: Autodesk provided me with airfare, hotel, corporate gifts, and meals.]

Live from BIM Symposium day

So here we are a BIM symposium in snowy Abbotsford, my home town. It is snowing steadily here,with about three inches on the ground as I carefully drive to the other side of town. About 20 others also managed to make it here; surprisingly to me, about half are contractors. The rest are a smattering of 1 or 2 architects, structural or electrical designers, and so on.

What is BIM?

Bob Heyman of Summit BIM introduced us to BIM [Building information model] by describing three stages of design: Pen - CAD - BIM = horses, cars, airplanes.

(During the break, Mr Heyman and I recalled our early involvement in the Vancouver AutoCAD User Group, back in the late 1980s.)

BIM is not software; Revit is an example of software that enables BIM, although he has found that some clients  use Revit to create just a model (a graphical representation of the building), but not take its data further. The "I" (information) in BIM is the most important part. The data is used for the building after it is designed and built -- mostly of interest to owners.

(The purpose of this seminar is not so much about introducing BIM, naturally; the aim is to sell licenses of Revit.)

If you can model it first, then you can build it right -- better than running into problems in the field with trad methods.

While it takes more time upfront to prepare the model,  the architect will have savings during the contract administration phase, which is typically 25% of the project cost.

Multiple engineers working in their own models, such as architectural, structural, and MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing), and then bring them together. One model, all deliverables. View the same drawings in many different ways through views, such as fire plans.

Able to do analyses,such as structural (with an external program), sun analysis, mechanical systems, building performance. Choose what you want to get out of the model before you start. You cannot just decide to do building analysis; have to decide to do this ahead of time so that the data is entered as the design is created.

As a consultant, he finds that many architects want drawings to look exactly the same as before, such as specific lineweights. This is a chance to ask, "Why do we need to keep doing things the same way."

Cost of handing on drawings:
    - should not charge just because they come from a BIM program
    - handing on drawings = no charge
    - handing on model for facilities management = charge

The CAD expert is not the BIM expert.

Structural Design

The structural engineer is Michael Sullivan from Bush Bohlman + Partners. He is showing us quite a few projects that are add-ons to existing buildings: add-ons to airports, hospitals, community centers, and so on.

The toughest one was the new Prostate Cancer Center at Vancouver General Hospital. He first modeled the interface to the existing building, and then figured out how to fit in the new structure. The tricky part was avoiding underground tunnels, typical for huge hospitals like VGH. Nevertheless, structural design for a hospital is easy compared with MEP, which really shines with a BIM modeller like Revit.

The construction company used the Revit drawings to locate their cranes, and determine the number of concrete trucks needed -- based on the quantity takeoff derived from the model.

Because he knows that his firm will be doing more buildings for VGH in the future, his staff is already modeling existing drawings in Revit -- so that they do not need to hunt down paper drawings made in the 1960s at the start of the next project.

A building he designed for Bermuda was project managed remotely using Revit; he didn't need to fly there (darn!).

(Sitting in front of me are two attendees from the regional hospital administration. They are wanting to implement Revit, but since healthcare in Canada is run by provincial governments, the implementation process is slower than they like.)

Mechanical Design

Graham Hyde is now talking about Revit MEP. Clearly, the big advantage is the ability to check for conflicts. No more columns through heating ducts.

A question about coordination between "subs" (sub-contractors). You can install a piece of Autodesk software onto Revit that allows social-media-like real-time commenting between designers.

For the contractor, they can see problems in the Revit model before going onto the site. For the client, they will be able to use the Revit model for facilities management. It's all about data being passed around from phrase to phase.

He is showing use a project he began a week ago, doing the MEP for the third floor of a new school building. (It does seem odd to be designing a new school for our city, when the school board is looking to close four others.) He switching between Navisworks, which displays all of the project's models at the same time, and Revit MEP.

Q&A

I am interested to hear the kinds of questions attendees will have. Most of the questions, so far, are asking about coordination. In answer, Mr Hyde showed a $2 billion hospital project from England in Navisworks. Nine stories. $1.5 million alone was budgeted for MEP coordination. He pointed out the plastic drain pipe from a simple sink. Because it relies on gravity to drain the graywater, the pipe's route forced an HVAC duct down a couple of inches, which then forced other lower pipes to move.

Q: Do all consultants need to be on the same software, need to use the same model?

A: Definitely.

He points out that he, as an MEP engineer can notice errors made by other subs, and then redline them for correction by the approved designer.

Thanks to Wes Macauley of CHP Architects for inviting me.

[Disclosure: The BIM Symposium provided attendees with lunch.]

USA celebrates Thanksgiving; WorldCAD Access celebrates two million page-views

As of 5am this morning, the stats for WorldCAD Access looked like this:

• 2,001,332 page-views since December, 2003
• 2,605 posts
• 4,022 comments
• 5,421 daily readers (RSS+direct, yesterday)

 Two million page-views is a big number, but it does not tell the full story. The number represents those who read this blog directly (at worldcadaccess.typepad.com) -- about a thousand people a day. Another 4,100-4,500 read this blog through RSS readers, and so aren't counted by TypePad. If they were, then the page-view count would be bumped up by an additional 1.5 million page-views a year. So, roughly five million might be more accurate.

Whatever the number, I am grateful that you find this blog interesting enough to stop by, read, and respond.

(Thanks also for sending some Google AdSense dollars my way. In case you were wondering, this blog makes $90 - $110 a month through your clicks.)

Dassault ticked off at Daimler's "dämlicher" switch

Dassault Systemes issued a brief press release today, expressing their ticked-off-ed-ness at Daimler's decision to switch its CAD design software from Catia to NX (by Siemens PLM Systems). Well, not so much ticked-off as shocked and horrified:

This decision came as a surprise to Dassault Systèmes as no CATIA V6 evaluation has been performed by Daimler A.G. We were informed by Daimler A.G. that, as CAD application portfolio was not their priority, its decision was based upon CAD integration in its home grown PDM system “Smaragd”.

The announcement by Daimler, who makes the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles, was a downer after Dassault's jubilant announcement just the day before of its latest release of PLM V6, named "R2011x."

V6 openness to other PDM systems is part of PLM V6 R2011x, which was announced yesterday.

So, Daimler had said nothing to Dassault; had made the announcement the day after R2011x; could it get worse? Yes, says DS, it gets worse:

On September 20, 2010, Daimler A. G. renewed its CATIA contract with Dassault Systèmes for five years. In addition to CATIA, Daimler A.G. uses the Company’s DELMIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, and 3DVIA brands. At this stage, we have no information as to which CATIA specialized applications would be replaced and which ones will have to remain in use.

So, DS can enjoy another five years of maintenance revenues while Daimler ramps up integration and replacement by NX.

The key to Daimler's decision is in Dassault's admission that "CAD application portfolio was not their priority" but that "its decision was based upon CAD integration in its home grown PDM system." As CAD writer Randall Newton noted earlier today, CAD today is a mere appendix to the PLM system.

(The headline is a pun. Daimler sounds a bit like the German word "dämlich," which means stupid. I'm not calling the switch stupid, but I wonder if the French may be muttering "imbécile" during the frantic board meetings that are sure to be taking place this week.)

 

Daimler to shift all product development from DS to Siemens PLM

Ken Versprille of CPD Associates has a pretty interesting story about a significant shift at a car maker:

The Board of Directors-level decision at Daimler AG to shift all their product development to the Siemens PLM Software tool stack has dramatically shattered the complacent mindset that had been growing in automotive product lifecycle management (PLM) circles these past few years. The belief that Dassault Systèmes had captured and would retain a lion's share of European automotive OEMs was held by many executive insiders and industry observers alike.

 He lists recent decisions by auto manufacturers upon re-evaluating their PLM systems:

• Nissan - stayed with Siemens PLM Systems
• GM - stayed with Siemens
• Chrysler - switched from Dassault to Siemens
• Ford - switched to Dassault
• Daimler - switched from Dassault to Siemens

 Mr Versprille wonders if Daimler's switch away from Dassault will become the norm for most other car makers. This, coming on top of the condemnation by Autodesk ceo Carl Bass, who last week described his primary competitor's growth "by obfuscating":

 [Dassault] are trying to grow by obfuscating financial results. They are not really growing, and they are kind of losing in the market.

 

In upFront.eZine this week: For Autodesk, Happy Days are Here Again

In this week's upFront.eZine, we have for you...

Happy Days are Here Again: Autodesk Reports on 11Q3

Plus letters from readers. You can read all about the business of CAD this week at www.upfrontezine.com/2010/upf-668.htm

PS: Next week's upFront.eZine will arrive late next, because I will be attending Autodesk University 2010 in Las Vegas, USA. I hope to blog some of the events live here on WorldCAD Access and on www.twitter.com/ralphg

Out of Thick Air: Water from Fog

by Roopinder Tara, Tenlinks.com

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (Bentley Be Inspired Conference) -- If you've heard of Namibia, you may be into diamonds. South Africa's neighbor to the north, Namibia is a great source of gem quality diamonds. They say once you could walk along Namibia's beautiful beaches and find diamonds washed up by the waves. Though such finds may now be just legend, Namibia is fortunate to have not just great beaches, but access to Africa's big game for picture safaris and is blessed with great weather -- relatively mild temperatures. Judging from an inflight magazine I read over Africa recently, a tourist trade has developed. Not only is it a favored destination with the well off in South Africa, but it may be catching on with globe trotters.

But the very conditions favored by tourists (sunny skies, hotel pools, scenic dunes) run counter to the needs of the local population. Namibia is home to the Kalahari Desert, the second largest desert in Africa. Though sparsely populated, Namibia strains to meet its water needs, often competing for surface water with neighboring countries.

(courtesy Atlas Industries)

Matt Parkes of Atlas Industries has a creative solution: extracting water from the coastal fog, which can be counted on to roll in every morning for most of the year. The fog yields a remarkable amount of water, which ordinarily does nothing but condense on natural plants and the coastal range.

Research in Peru and other ares with fog says that 1 square meter of fine nylon net is capable of extracting 3 litres a day. Add electricity and the yield is 6x as much. Of course electricity must be bought or created, but Atlas has the answer: use Namibia's abundant solar energy. Atlas pictures a string of fog catchers along the coast, along with an edutainment center meant to foster awareness among tourists and locals of the unique water resources in the desert.

Inspiration for such an idea came from the humble Namib desert beetle (Wikipedia link). The little fella stands on its head in the fog and manages to extract 37% of its body weight daily in water. The design employs this hard-shell/soft-body biomimicry in the internal design of its fog catcher apparatus.

Another example in my neck of the woods (no pun intended) are the Redwood forests north of San Francisco. Not only is the Redwood's fog-catching ability good enough to create the tallest living creatures on Earth in an area that sees no rainfall all summer, but often results in precipitation under the branches no different from rain. Quite a treat after biking up Mt. Tam, I must say.

Fog on Mt Tamalpais, in California's Marin County, may have resulted in this redwood grove.

 [Reprinted with permission from CAD Insider.]