Autodesk went with a different press strategy this year with it’s annual Autodesk University (AU). Instead of an extensive press presence at the event, they’re holding off announcements for a World Press Day that’s scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.
I’m missing the event this year, and was pleased to learn that there are a series of “AU Beat” podcasts to give a bit of insight into the event.
The first brief podcast that I listened to was from Carl Bass with overall impressions of this year’s event. To paraphrase, “We’re facing challenges on global scale right now, and technology and design innovation will help people solve those problems.”
I also listened to the podcast from Lynelle Cameron, director of sustainability (a new position). Autodesk’s take on sustainability is ‘meeting the needs of the present while improving the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’
There are many efforts at the show that focus on sustainable design and how this contributes to make the world a better place. There’s a booth with demos on how tools such as Civil 3D and Revit contribute to green building. There’s also a conscious effort to reduce the impact of the event, with Clean Canteen water bottles instead of a sea of one-use plastic water bottles.
The impressions from the general session, “Designing the Future: A Technology Preview of Design Visualization,” was an interesting listen. There’s discussion of gaming, real-time rendering and animation from attendees that just watched the show.
I’m eager to learn more about what Autodesk has in store for its users. I’ll be anxiously awaiting World Press Day, and will keep you informed as I learn more.
