Autodesk,
Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) unveiled several exciting new technologies for Building
Information Modeling (BIM) today at its annual user conference, Autodesk
University. With today’s announcements and numerous other recent
innovations, Autodesk continues to extend BIM value across the full
lifecycle of the built environment for Architecture, Engineering and
Construction (AEC) professionals in the building and infrastructure
industries.
Autodesk FormIt for iPad now includes features that enable simple indications of potential building energy performance costs. (Photo: Business Wire)
“We are expanding the reach of BIM on multiple fronts -- into conceptual
design on one end of the spectrum and into construction on the other.
Our advancements are empowering professionals to move from designing
objects and simply representing their ideas in 2D and 3D to designing in
context while optimizing and better predicting the performance of their
designs,” said Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior vice president of
Information Modeling and Platform Products. “Autodesk is helping to
drive higher levels of productivity into the building design,
infrastructure and construction industries both in the office as well as
in the field with our expanding desktop, cloud and mobile portfolio.”
Today’s announcements span all facets of the BIM process -- from
conceptual design all the way through construction -- for both buildings
and infrastructure:
-
Autodesk Dynamo and Autodesk FormIt Updates– For
building designers, Autodesk announced a major update for
computational design with the merger of Autodesk
Dynamo and Autodesk
DesignScript. Dynamo is an open source visual programming
environment for BIM. It can be used stand-alone, or allows users to
extend the parametric capabilities of Autodesk Revit software
products. Autodesk DesignScript is a unique programming language,
intended to help designers build and analyze complex geometric models
that would be difficult to model with interactive techniques. Now both
are coming together in Dynamo to deliver a clear confluence of the
best of both worlds: a clean and modern UI that combines DesignScript
responsiveness and visual feedback with Dynamo's tight integration
with Revit.
Also today, Autodesk announced that the
BIM-based conceptual design tool, Autodesk FormIt, now includes a
web-based application that runs on a choice of browsers for Windows
and Mac (currently available in beta at autodeskformit.com).
On all platforms – including previously released iPad and Android
versions – Autodesk FormIt gives architects and designers easy-to-use
tools to create, collaborate and share early-stage design ideas and
continue their BIM process by taking models straight into Autodesk
Revit. FormIt for iPad has been updated to take advantage of iOS 7 and
also includes new energy analysis features that enable users to get
simple indications of potential building performance – valuable
insight at the beginning of the BIM process that can reduce rework
later.
Looking ahead, Autodesk demonstrated a forthcoming
feature in the FormIt family of applications that supports real-time
collaboration, enabling future designers to simultaneously access and
collaborate on design models using their FormIt application of choice.
For
more on the Dynamo and FormIt updates, please see a related blog post here.
-
Graitec Acquisition – Expanding its capabilities in the
structural detailing stages of BIM, Autodesk also today announced the
close of its acquisition
of Graitec’s Advance Steel and Advance Concrete product lines and
associated employees. Building on Autodesk’s current portfolio for
structural engineering, the acquired product lines offer modeling,
detailing, and fabrication solutions to support BIM-based steel and
reinforced concrete workflows.*
-
Autodesk Structural Bridge Design - For bridge designers and
engineers, Autodesk recently launched Autodesk
Structural Bridge Design. Resulting from the August acquisition of
technology assets from UK-based Bestech Systems, the new software is
an important addition to the Autodesk BIM for infrastructure
portfolio. Autodesk Structural Bridge Design gives engineers greater
flexibility and efficiency in their small- to medium-span bridge
design processes by integrating loading, analysis and code checking in
a single environment. By using this unique approach, more consistent
data can be used throughout the bridge design process allowing
projects to be more quickly and accurately brought to completion. For
more on Autodesk Structural Bridge Design, please see a related blog
post here.
-
Azalient Technology Acquisition - Also today Autodesk announced
the acquisition of technology assets from UK-based Azalient Ltd. The
acquisition helps support the evolution to BIM-based design workflows
among traffic engineers and transportation planners working on roads,
highways and railway projects. The acquired traffic analysis
technology enables designers to simulate how people travel -- whether
by automobiles, busses or trains -- in isolation and in series. It
also provides transportation customers with tools to help predict
demand for new infrastructure projects, forecast how to handle future
demand and predict traffic disruptions caused during construction,
with the addition of cost and benefit analysis of alternative
infrastructure designs. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.*
-
Topcon Collaboration – Building upon Autodesk's existing
collaboration with Topcon, the two companies are working together to
further improve the integration of BIM workflows and field layout to
support greater predictability, productivity and profitability.
Autodesk is developing a new BIM 360 mobile app for iPad that further
simplifies the process of precisely locating BIM coordinates on a
construction site. Designed for general contractors and MEP trades,
the app controls a robotic total station – as well as the new LN-100
3D positioning system from Topcon announced yesterday -- that can
accurately position control and layout points on the construction
site, and as-built data can be fed back into the design model via BIM
360 for quality assurance.
These announcements follow numerous other major investments Autodesk has
made in recent months to expand BIM for infrastructure and construction.
In infrastructure, Autodesk recently launched Autodesk
InfraWorks 360 Pro, Autodesk Roadway Design for InfraWorks 360 Pro
and Autodesk
Vehicle Tracking (based on the acquisition of technology assets from
Savoy Computing).
In construction, Autodesk BIM
360, cloud-based mobile-accessible tools for pre-construction
coordination through field execution, has seen dramatic uptake in the
past year. Autodesk adds about 50 new users per day for BIM 360 with
approximately 15,000 monthly active users, up 65 percent year-over-year.
Autodesk has gained numerous construction customers among the global top
100 firms. For example, Gilbane Building Company, a top 25 contractor
and top 10 construction management firm in the US1, recently
made a major new investment in Autodesk BIM 360 Glue and Autodesk BIM
360 Field web services thanks to the productivity gains the company sees.
“BIM 360 Glue has really enabled us to improve our on-site workflow,
because we can now bring a three-dimensional model into the field with
us. And our quality control has gone up threefold, just by being able to
walk with a model and seeing how the building is supposed to be built
before it's actually constructed. So we can more effectively identify
problems before they actually become problems in the field by being able
to see more clearly how it's supposed to be built, and using that model
to enable us to construct it correctly,” said Daniel Raimer, Senior
Project Engineer and Quality Manager, Gilbane Building Company.
Added Hanspal, “The product updates, innovations and acquisitions we’re
showing at AU clearly demonstrate that we are keeping our foot on the
gas and continuing to invest in and expand our BIM portfolio to meet the
evolving needs of the industry. No other provider can come close to
delivering the kind of value up and down the BIM spectrum that Autodesk
does. We intend to continue extending our advantage in 2014 and beyond.”
Business Outlook
*These transactions are expected to have no impact on guidance issued on
November 21, 2013.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding: the impact of
the acquisition and acquired technologies on Autodesk's product and
services offerings, and Autodesk’s expansion of BIM in the AEC
industries. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
include the following: Autodesk’s ability to integrate Graitec and
Azalient technologies and employees; costs related to the acquisitions;
whether certain market segments grow as anticipated; the competitive
environment in the software industry and competitive responses to the
acquisitions; our success developing new products or modifying existing
products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance; general
market and business conditions; the timing and degree of expected
investments in growth opportunities; pricing pressure; changes in the
timing of product releases and retirements; failure of key new
applications to achieve anticipated levels of customer acceptance;
failure to achieve continued success in technology advancements; and
unanticipated impact of accounting for acquisition.
Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial
results of Autodesk are included in the company's annual report on Form
10-K for the year ended January 31, 2013, and Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended July 31, 2013, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Autodesk does not assume any obligation to update the
forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or
circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.
About Autodesk
Autodesk helps people imagine, design and create a better world.
Everyone—from design professionals, engineers and architects to digital
artists, students and hobbyists—uses Autodesk software to unlock their
creativity and solve important challenges. For more information visit autodesk.com or
follow @autodesk.
Autodesk, BIM 360, FormIt, Glue, InfraWorks and Revit are registered
trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries
and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand
names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and
specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not
responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in
this document.
© 2013 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
1 Source: ENR Top 400 Contractors: http://enr.construction.com/toplists/Top-Contractors/001-100.asp
& ENR Top 100 Construction Management/Design Build Firms: http://enr.construction.com/toplists/Top-CM-Risk-Firms/001-100.asp
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