It’s official—AU Las Vegas 2016 is a wrap. And what a week it was. We hope everyone who attended is already embracing the learning and inspiration you gained and using it to drive change in your own work. Let’s take a quick look back at this year’s AU highlights.
Future of Making Things Experience
At the Future of Making Things Experience, AU attendees experienced the 3 biggest trends we see coming down the pipeline: immersive design, generative design, and robotic fabrication.
There were a number of examples of all these new technologies, including immersive design where folks strapped on virtual reality headsets and got to work designing a car body around a virtual chassis.
We had the Hackrod car, which used machine learning and generative design to shave off hundreds of pounds. Plus the super sleek, lightweight, yet sturdy Elbo chair was on display. Created with Fusion 360 and Project Dreamcatcher, the chair uses 18% less material while decreasing stress and displacement (bending) by about 90% and 80% respectively. (It looks pretty cool too.)
And we were excited to watch a couple examples of robotic fabrication, including a 5-axis 3D printer at work. Compared to traditional 3-axis 3D printers, this baby takes additive manufacturing to a whole new level—and some new angles. It won’t be long until this technology changes the additive manufacturing game for everyone.
Exhibit Hall
While the FOMT Experience was the place to see what’s coming, the rest of the Exhibit Hall was the place to try out all the groundbreaking technology that’s available right now. We introduced a new way to explore the Exhibit Hall this year, with a guided tour available in the AU mobile app. It’s an easy way to find and get the inside scoop on our most inspiring exhibits.
We hope you got a chance to check out technology that’s driving change in your industry including SAM (Semi-Automated Mason), the bricklaying robot; the DAQRI augmented reality helmet, which overlays data or imagery depending on what you’re looking at; the Volta electric motorcycle, designed in Fusion 360 by the guys from American Chopper; and so much more.
Keys to the future
In the Opening Keynote, Carl Bass and Jeff Kowalski discussed the importance of ongoing learning to the future of making things and the future of work, but it was 16-year-old engineer Anna Nixon who really got folks talking when she challenged Autodesk to design products for her generation. (Carl accepted the challenge.) Christian Benimana of the African Design Centre also offered an inspiring look at how dignified design and creative advocacy are changing lives in Rwanda.
During Wednesday’s Product Innovation Keynote, Amar Hanspal shared the latest Autodesk product and platform innovations, from AutoCAD to Vault. We also heard more about 3 important Autodesk products: Fusion, Shotgun, and BIM 360. The bottom line: we’re getting more connected every day, and Autodesk is making sure you have the software you need to design, make, and create for the future.
In the Closing Keynote, Andrew Anagnost drove home the message about driving change in your own work with special guest, the extremely funny (and extremely hungover), Rob Corddry. You can watch or re-watch all the keynotes on demand at AU online anytime.
New networking opportunities
We offered a whole host of new networking opportunities at AU this year, from Monday’s Welcome Reception to Wednesday’s Women at AU Networking Reception. The Meet-Up Café was a huge success, The Hub was buzzing, and let’s not forget the Party at the Promenade where crab claws and cocktails were consumed by thousands. We hope you went home with your address book, your brain, and your belly full.
700+ sessions
The main attraction was 700+ sessions completed in 3 short days. Tips, tricks, discussions, solutions, questions, answers—you name it, we covered it. All of these sessions, including hundreds of hours of media to support them, are already available at AU online.
10,000 thanks
We want to express our gratitude to everyone who attended AU and helped make this an incredible event, especially the speakers who worked so hard to make classes memorable, impactful, and useful. And thanks to everyone who tuned in to the live stream and followed along with our social media channels as well. We couldn’t do it without you, and we’re thankful for each and every 1 of you.
We’ve already re-set the AU countdown clock for next year—mark your calendars for November 14-16, 2017. Let’s see what we can make in the next 355 days.
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