Autodesk Philippines earlier hosted one of its biggest industry conferences in the country, “Autodesk Solutions Day”. Throughout this day, architects, engineers, constructors, and manufacturers were treated to the latest trends in their industry as Autodesk showcased its 3D design solutions. The conference served as an avenue for practitioners to share their knowledge and insights in order to boost their businesses and improve the industry as a whole.
One of the key event highlights was the keynote presentation by prominent Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen. Talking about the “Future of Design”, Allen shared the current developments and future of design technology while discussing Autodesk’s innovative solutions for the market.
Teddy D. Tiu, Autodesk Philippines Country Manager, said that Autodesk Solutions Day is a proof of Autodesk’s commitment to developing its Philippine market. He also shared that through having guest speakers like Lynn Allen and other design industry and technology experts, local practitioners are armed with the knowhow to better their practice and their businesses.
Trends in Design Technology
Talking about trends in design, Allen expressed her excitement on the growth of infinite computing. Gone are the days when people had to build a design then afterwards analyze it. With infinite computing, people can use internet-based cloud storage in order to analyze different options at once to come up with the best possible designs. Tiu added that computing, one of the world’s least expensive resource used to solve a problem, can be made cheaper by allowing hundreds and even thousands of computers to work on one problem simultaneously thereby also lessening the time it takes to overcome design challenges. Simulations, renders, and analyses of designs are made simpler and faster – from a few hours to a few minutes – thanks to the globalization of technology.
Further, Allen stated that mobile, cloud, and social technologies are leading a fundamental shift in computing, as information can now be accessed, modified, and solved anywhere and everywhere with an almost infinite amount of computing power. With this trend, she said that emerging markets like the Philippines will, without a doubt, see further investments into cloud computing technology as more and more people are connected with smart devices.
Cloud computing also enables users to bring their designs anywhere with them. Allen and Tiu said that it is now possible to bring feet upon feet of plans and blueprints directly onto the field in the form of data on tablets. In addition, the cloud allows real-time collaborative editing with many users simultaneously working on a project, with each one aware of what the others are doing.
There is also a trend in manufacturing as more and more individuals are taking advantage of 3D printing. Allen shared that the idea of “Everyone’s a Designer” is impacting the design, building and manufacturing industries. Autodesk anticipates that local manufactures will ride this trend as any concept can be turned into reality overnight. Allen added that as 3D printing becomes an industry standard, the distinction between individual artists, hobbyists, and entrepreneurs, and the professional, large scale manufacturers will continue to blur. With this, they anticipate that consumers will be ultimately offered better products in the marketplace.
Autodesk in the Now and the Future
Tiu highlighted that Autodesk will continue to deliver the best solutions and design tools to the professional and consumer Philippine markets. In fact, Autodesk released earlier this year its 2015 Design Suites, each of which includes the latest and most advanced AutoCAD 2015. The software’s improved user interface and improved productivity tools enable customers to experience the newest standard in design. An example of improvement in user experience is the new grey interface which lessens eye strain for people looking at their screens for a long time.
Autodesk 2015 also seeks to expand accessibility to the software as it now has something for everyone involved in product and project development. Their “360 Glue” technology allows users working on different project levels to merge up to 50 different file types together to develop a working model which shows how effective their design is. “Reality Capture”, meanwhile, lets people use 3D scanners to scan their environment in order to produce a manipulable software model with XYZ coordinates.
Autodesk also seeks to make financial access to their software easier through “desktop subscriptions”. Companies can now rent Autodesk software for just as long as they need it, this being particularly beneficial to small firms selling their design services. Lastly, students, professors, and people in the academe can now avail of full Autodesk software free of charge. Tiu said that ideas and inspirations more often than not come to students outside of class. By having their own Autodesk software, students can continue designing on their own.
Being optimistic about the future of design, Allen stated that Autodesk will continue to go with industry trends to better serve their markets by providing innovative sets of tools for practitioners, empowering them for work and enabling them to successfully compete in the global design scene.