DEVELOP3D - Technology for the product lifecycle

Project Pandora: cloud based rendering for 3ds Max using Nvidia GPUs

Imagine being able to render models in a snap when all you own is a low powered PC, laptop or tablet. Well, that’s cloud rendering. Send the model up to the cloud and back comes a shiny new render for you to show off to your colleagues and clients.

Autodesk’s latest Labs project, Pandora, does just that. With the help of graphics specialist Nvidia, 3ds Max models can now be rendered in the cloud. But instead of doing this on CPUs (Central Processing Units), Pandora’s cloud servers use Nvidia GPUs (Graphics Processing Units).

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Uncle Carl, CEO of Autodesk, teases the assembled masses with Autodesk’s PLM offering before the mother lode is delivered later this afternoon

This has been talked about for sometime, ever since Autodesk’s CEO, Carl Bass, turned around his views on Product Lifecycle Management (this is the gentleman that said “the only people with a PLM problem are PLM vendors”) sometime around this time last year (see our interview with Carl here).

The last few weeks have seen tantalising snippets coming out in the mainstream media about where Autodesk is spending its development revenues and some teasers from the Autodesk Twitter Massive (If you’re interested, that would be @MikeWaktins and @robcohee)  and a couple of things were pretty clear. Firstly, that Autodesk was getting into the PLM game. Secondly, that Autodesk was looking at the cloud to expand its offering in that space.

But it’s today, at Autodesk University, that we get to finally see what the company has been scheming up. And quite a thing it is. So let’s break it down.

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Slimmed down from the original prototype, the production ready zSpace device is brining holographic display and 3d interaction to low-cost, portable (ok, portable-ish) devices

Consider the term Virtual Reality. What do you think of? The Matrix, Star Trek’s Holodeck or go forbid, Lawnmower Man? Something like that. For the mainstream, Virtual Reality is something that’s more sci-fi than practically usable.

But for those working in the automotive and aerospace sector, the VR cave, the immersive environment is commonplace. Let’s face it, when you’re working on a product of that scale (think, car upwards), then a 24” monitor really isn’t going to cut the mustard. As a result, a whole industry as been built to support the integration of all manner of devices, of technology, of large scale displays, of head or hand mounted motion tracking devices - to create full scale visualisation facility. Look at the fantastic work that the likes of Virtalis or Holovis do (there are some interesting stories on both Holovis and Virtalis from previous issues).

These types of facilities are a large capital cost and unless you’re working for the larger organisation, then you’re pretty much stuck with the 27” LCD and maybe a pair of stereographic goggles if you’re lucky. What if there was something that was much more cost effective. Something that allowed you to interact with 3D data in a 3D manner. Something that didn’t require sectioning off a corner of the office and could be used by everyone?

This is the challenge that Infinite Z are looking to overcome.

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I’ve been waiting for this for some time, but it’s good to see it finally happen. Inventor Fusion is Autodesk’s take on the direct modelling movement. The ability to dynamically and directly manipulate 3D geometry. I’m pretty sure we’re all aware of how it works and the benefits you can derive by now.

From the demonstration and the discussion that followed, it’s clear that this has been in the planning for a while. This is a Mac OS X Native application. No Parallels, no virtualisation, no nothing. Native app. As a fan of the Mac, it’s good to see vendors taking the platform seriously and from just a cursory glance, it’s clear that Autodesk is doing this properly. The user interface isn’t a hacked about Windows UI stuffed into a DMG; it’s slick and effective. Some of the new tools within the next Technology Preview of Fusion are looking interesting too. So do you fancy a look?

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Last night I wined and dined at The Dorchester. No, not a usual Wednesday night out for me - the occasion was the Manufacturing Excellence (MX) awards ceremony, a prestigious awards organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

DEVELOP3D cracked a nod to the black tie soiree as we were invited as one of Autodesk‘s guests, who sponsored this year’s awards. I was also sat at the table with representatives from Planit, a provider of CAD/CAM solutions, who had designed and developed the awards for the evening. They looked pretty impressive (below) and rather solid.

The award ceremony was compered by Alistair Campbell, perhaps best known for his work as director of communications and strategy for Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003. He was a rather entertaining host keeping us amused with anecdotes and stories not to mention congratulating all 18 finalists on the great work they have undertaken in the past year despite the difficult economic climate.

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We rather like surfing, despite none of us being surfers - the crashing of waves; the salt-air; the ill-fitting and hardly flattering wetsuits – but it’s the boards we like best.

We also like sustainability in our design, and few products are as sustainable as cork (a reason why wine producers are returning to the wooden stoppers of old), so a marriage of both is this British creation.

Cork Surfboards are setting out to provide affordable, environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional surfboards without sacrificing performance or durability.

Natural benefits of cork include its low density (light weight compared to other types of wood), high compressibility and flexibility
(capable of being compressed to about half its width without losing any flexibility – it is the only solid that can be compressed in one dimension without increasing in another dimension), elastic memory
 (the closed cushion-like cork cells display excellent elastic memory), and it performs well in water (practically water resistant, even when it does get wet, it maintains its strength and stiffness).

Click on the image to see the make-up of the boards… or squint harder

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I think I’m just going to post this video and see what people think..

But its also worth remembering that this type of technology has been around for a while. There was the I Love Sketch project, but also Autodesk demo’ed a version of it a few years ago. What the hell’s happened to those two projects?