Autodesk
Encyclopedia
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation
that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker
, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's flagship CAD
software product AutoCAD
, and 12 others. Autodesk software has been used in the design of everything from the New York Freedom Tower to Tesla electric cars. Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California
and features a gallery of its customers' work in its San Francisco building. In March 2008 Autodesk was named number 25 on Fast Company's
list of "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies." The company is often seen as a bellwether for the broader economy because its software is used in many major global construction projects and the manufacturing of new products.
Autodesk became best known for AutoCAD
but now develops a broad range of software for design, engineering, and entertainment as well as a line of software for consumers, including Sketchbook, Homestyler, and Pixlr. The company makes educational versions of its software available free to qualified students and faculty through the Autodesk Education Community. Autodesk's digital prototyping
software, including Autodesk Inventor and the Autodesk Product Design Suite, are used in the manufacturing industry to visualize, simulate, and analyze real-world performance using a digital model during the design process. The company's Revit
line of software for Building Information Modeling
is designed to let users explore the planning, construction, and management of a building virtually before it's built.
Autodesk also provides digital media creation and management software
for film and television visual effects, color grading, and editing as well as animation, game development, and design visualization. Autodesk media and entertainment software has been used to construct scenes in every Academy Award Best Visual Effects winner for the last 16 years.
The company has announced plans to transition most of its software into cloud services over the next three years. In 2011, Autodesk was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the fourth consecutive year. The same year, Glassdoor.com listed Autodesk as one of the top 25 companies for work-life balance.
The PSEB division develops and manages the product foundation for most Autodesk offerings across multiple markets, including Autodesk's flagship product AutoCAD
, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD for Mac, and AutoCAD WS. Autodesk Suites, Subscription and Web Services, which includes Autodesk Cloud, Autodesk Labs
, and Global Engineering are also part of PSEB. In what was seen as an unusual step for a maker of high-end business software, Autodesk began offering AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac through the Apple Mac App Store. Also part of PSEB is the Autodesk Consumer Product Group, which was created in November 2010 to generate interest in 3-D design and “foster a new wave of designers who hunger for sophisticated software.” The products from the group include 123D, Fluid FX, Homestyler, Pixlr, and SketchBook. Users range from children, students and artists to makers and DIYers.
(Old name – Architectural Desktop), AutoCAD MEP (Old name -Autodesk Building Systems), and AutoCAD Civil 3D, as well as technology for relational building modeling such as Revit Architecture (Old name – Revit Building), Revit Structure, and Revit MEP (Old name – Revit Systems). The AEC division also develops and manages software for the Construction industry, including Buzzsaw, Constructware, and the NavisWorks (acquired 2007) product tools; the Infrastructure industry, including AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Map3D, and AutoCAD MapGuide Enterprise; and the Plant industry, including AutoCAD P&ID and AutoCAD Plant 3D. Projects that have used software from the Autodesk AEC division include the NASA Ames building, the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Shanghai Tower, and New York’s Freedom Tower.
Suite, Autodesk Inventor Professional Suite, AutoCAD Mechanical, Autodesk Vault
, Alias Products and Moldflow
.
are the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites, which include Maya, Softimage, 3ds Max, Mudbox, Smoke, Flame, and Lustre. These products have won Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for 16 consecutive years.
Much of Avatars visual effects were created with Autodesk media and entertainment software. Autodesk software enabled Avatar director James Cameron
to aim a camera at actors wearing motion-capture suits in a studio and see them as characters in the fictional world of Pandora in the film. Cameron directed the action as if capturing live scenes instead of animators. Autodesk software also played a role in the visual effects of Alice in Wonderland
, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Inception
, Iron Man 2
, King Kong
, Titanic
and other films.
In November 2010, Ubisoft
announced that Autodesk's 3D gaming technology was used in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
.
Autodesk's first notable product was AutoCAD
, a CAD application designed to run on the systems known as "microcomputers" at the time, including those running the 8-bit
CP/M
operating system
and two of the new 16-bit
systems, the Victor 9000 and the IBM Personal Computer (PC). This CAD tool allowed users to create detailed technical drawings, and was affordable to many smaller design, engineering, and architecture companies.
Release 2.1 of AutoCAD, released in 1986, included AutoLISP
, a built-in Lisp
interpreter initially based on XLISP
. This opened the door for third party developers to extend AutoCAD's functionality, to address a wide range of vertical market
s, strengthening AutoCAD's market penetration.
Subsequent to AutoCAD Release 12, the company stopped supporting the Unix
environment and the Apple Macintosh platform. After AutoCAD Release 14, first shipped in 1997, Autodesk discontinued development under MS-DOS
, and focused exclusively on Microsoft Windows
.
AutoCAD has grown to become the most widely used CAD program for 2D non-specialized applications. The native file formats written by AutoCAD, DXF
and DWG
, are also widely used for CAD data interoperability
.
In the 1990s, with the purchase of Softdesk in 1997, Autodesk started to develop specialty versions of AutoCAD
, targeted to broad industry segments, including architecture, civil engineering
, and manufacturing
. Since the late 1990s, the company has added a number of significant non-AutoCAD-based products, including Revit
, a parametric building modeling application (acquired in 2002, from Massachusetts-based Revit Technologies for $133 million), and Inventor
, an internally developed parametric mechanical design CAD application.
In Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.
, Autodesk was sued in 2007 by Timothy Vernor, who alleged that he was entitled to sell on eBay "used" copies of AutoCAD software he had obtained at an office liquidation sale from an Autodesk licensee. A federal district judge in Washington State denied Autodesk's initial motion to dismiss in early 2008. In February and March 2009, both sides filed motions for summary judgment addressing the issue whether the First Sale Doctrine applies to previously licensed software. The Court ruled in Vernor's favor, holding that when the transfer of software to the purchaser materially resembled a sale (non-recurring price, right to perpetual possession of copy) it was, in fact, a "sale with restrictions on use" giving rise to a right to resell the copy under the first-sale doctrine. As such, Autodesk could not pursue an action for copyright infringement against Vernor, who sought to resell used versions of its software on eBay. The decision was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
, which reversed the lower court ruling, denying Vernor the right to resale Autodesk software on eBay due to Autodesk's nontransferable licensing restrictions. In October 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.
allow designers, manufacturers and engineers to design more sustainably by reducing the amount of physical prototypes required for a project, or eliminating the need for them entirely.
The Building Information Modeling
(BIM) capabilities of Autodesk software help the architect, engineering and construction (AEC) industry create more sustainable buildings and optimize building performance. Autodesk created the notion of BIM seven years ago but it has only recently become popular.
The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program provides design and engineering software to early-stage clean technology companies in North America and Europe, helping to accelerate development of solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Each year, Autodesk gives hundreds of clean tech companies $150,000 worth of software to cut start-up costs. Pi Mobility is a clean tech partner of Autodesk’s. Using digital prototyping software to build the company’s bike, it realized one of the frame components could be cut by a half-inch, saving Pi Mobility more than $300,000 in production costs.
The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free on-line tutorial that covers sustainable design concepts such as light-weighting and whole systems thinking. These videos instruct viewers how to make sustainable design decisions early in the design process. It is aimed at students, “giving them easy access to free digital content that can supplement traditional engineering education.”
Autodesk introduced C-FACT, an open-source, science-driven approach to setting greenhouse gas
reduction targets, which calls for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions to be made in proportion to a company’s gross domestic product (GDP). Unlike other carbon accounting methods, Autodesk’s C-FACT measures carbon dioxide emissions that are proportional to a company’s global GDP contribution. Autodesk will derive its own targets using this approach through 2020.
Through the use of telepresence
, Autodesk has reduced its travel by 16 percent in three years as part of its overall carbon emissions reduction strategy.
In 2006 Autodesk sponsored a PBS
program named e2 Design
, which focused on going green in building designs around the world. Narrated by Brad Pitt
, viewers learn about the leaders and technologies driving sustainable design.
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker
John Walker (programmer)
John Walker is a computer programmer and a co-founder of the computer-aided design software company Autodesk, and a co-author of early versions of AutoCAD, a product Autodesk originally acquired from programmer Michael Riddle...
, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's flagship CAD
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
software product AutoCAD
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...
, and 12 others. Autodesk software has been used in the design of everything from the New York Freedom Tower to Tesla electric cars. Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
and features a gallery of its customers' work in its San Francisco building. In March 2008 Autodesk was named number 25 on Fast Company's
Fast Company (magazine)
Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...
list of "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies." The company is often seen as a bellwether for the broader economy because its software is used in many major global construction projects and the manufacturing of new products.
Autodesk became best known for AutoCAD
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...
but now develops a broad range of software for design, engineering, and entertainment as well as a line of software for consumers, including Sketchbook, Homestyler, and Pixlr. The company makes educational versions of its software available free to qualified students and faculty through the Autodesk Education Community. Autodesk's digital prototyping
Digital prototyping
Digital Prototyping gives conceptual design, engineering, manufacturing, and sales and marketing departments the ability to virtually explore a complete product before it’s built. Industrial designers, manufacturers, and engineers use Digital Prototyping to design, iterate, optimize, validate, and...
software, including Autodesk Inventor and the Autodesk Product Design Suite, are used in the manufacturing industry to visualize, simulate, and analyze real-world performance using a digital model during the design process. The company's Revit
Revit
Autodesk Revit Architecture often referred to as simply Revit is a Building Information Modeling software developed by Autodesk. It allows the user to design with both parametric 3D modeling and 2D drafting elements...
line of software for Building Information Modeling
Building Information Modeling
Building information modeling is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle.BIM involves representing a design as objects – vague and undefined, generic or product-specific, solid shapes or void-space oriented , that carry their geometry, relations and attributes...
is designed to let users explore the planning, construction, and management of a building virtually before it's built.
Autodesk also provides digital media creation and management software
Autodesk Media and Entertainment
Autodesk Media and Entertainment, formerly Discreet, is based in Montreal, Quebec as the entertainment division of Autodesk. This division produces software used in feature films, television commercials and computer games. It also provides products for management and distribution to complement its...
for film and television visual effects, color grading, and editing as well as animation, game development, and design visualization. Autodesk media and entertainment software has been used to construct scenes in every Academy Award Best Visual Effects winner for the last 16 years.
The company has announced plans to transition most of its software into cloud services over the next three years. In 2011, Autodesk was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the fourth consecutive year. The same year, Glassdoor.com listed Autodesk as one of the top 25 companies for work-life balance.
Platform solutions and emerging business (PSEB)
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...
, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD for Mac, and AutoCAD WS. Autodesk Suites, Subscription and Web Services, which includes Autodesk Cloud, Autodesk Labs
Autodesk Labs
Autodesk Labs is an online development collaborative where users can see new technologies and utilities from Autodesk and shape their development...
, and Global Engineering are also part of PSEB. In what was seen as an unusual step for a maker of high-end business software, Autodesk began offering AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac through the Apple Mac App Store. Also part of PSEB is the Autodesk Consumer Product Group, which was created in November 2010 to generate interest in 3-D design and “foster a new wave of designers who hunger for sophisticated software.” The products from the group include 123D, Fluid FX, Homestyler, Pixlr, and SketchBook. Users range from children, students and artists to makers and DIYers.
Architecture, engineering and construction (AEC)
The AEC industry group is headquartered in Waltham, MA in a LEED Platinum building designed and built using Autodesk software. Autodesk's architecture, engineering, and construction solutions include AutoCAD-based design and documentation software such as AutoCAD ArchitectureAutoCAD Architecture
AutoCAD Architecture is a version of Autodesk's flagship product, AutoCAD, with tools and functions specially suited to architectural work....
(Old name – Architectural Desktop), AutoCAD MEP (Old name -Autodesk Building Systems), and AutoCAD Civil 3D, as well as technology for relational building modeling such as Revit Architecture (Old name – Revit Building), Revit Structure, and Revit MEP (Old name – Revit Systems). The AEC division also develops and manages software for the Construction industry, including Buzzsaw, Constructware, and the NavisWorks (acquired 2007) product tools; the Infrastructure industry, including AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Map3D, and AutoCAD MapGuide Enterprise; and the Plant industry, including AutoCAD P&ID and AutoCAD Plant 3D. Projects that have used software from the Autodesk AEC division include the NASA Ames building, the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Shanghai Tower, and New York’s Freedom Tower.
Manufacturing (MFG)
Autodesk's manufacturing industry group is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The company's manufacturing software is used in various manufacturing segments, including industrial machinery, electro-mechanical, tool and die, industrial equipment, automotive components, and consumer products. Products include the Autodesk Product Design Suite, Autodesk Factory Design Suite, Autodesk InventorAutodesk Inventor
Autodesk Inventor, developed by U.S.-based software company Autodesk, is 3D mechanical solid modeling design software for creating 3D digital prototypes used in the design, visualization and simulation of products...
Suite, Autodesk Inventor Professional Suite, AutoCAD Mechanical, Autodesk Vault
Autodesk Vault
Autodesk Vault is a data management tool integrated with Autodesk Inventor Series, Autodesk Inventor Professional, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical, and Civil 3D products. It helps design teams track work in progress and maintain version control in multi-user environments...
, Alias Products and Moldflow
Moldflow
Moldflow Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Autodesk, Inc. that produces high-end plastic injection molding computer-aided engineering software. Moldflow was founded in Melbourne, Australia as Moldflow Pty. Ltd. in 1978 by Colin Austin...
.
Media and entertainment (M&E)
Autodesk’s media and entertainment solutions are designed for digital media creation, management, and delivery across all disciplines, from film and television visual effects, color grading, and editing to animation, game development, and design visualization. Autodesk’s Media and Entertainment Division is based in Montreal, Quebec. It was established in 1999 after Autodesk, Inc. acquired Discreet Logic, Inc. and merged its operations with Kinetix. In January 2006, Autodesk acquired Alias, a developer of 3D graphics technology. In October 2008, Autodesk acquired the Softimage brand from Avid. The principal product offerings from the Media and Entertainment DivisionAutodesk Media and Entertainment
Autodesk Media and Entertainment, formerly Discreet, is based in Montreal, Quebec as the entertainment division of Autodesk. This division produces software used in feature films, television commercials and computer games. It also provides products for management and distribution to complement its...
are the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites, which include Maya, Softimage, 3ds Max, Mudbox, Smoke, Flame, and Lustre. These products have won Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for 16 consecutive years.
Much of Avatars visual effects were created with Autodesk media and entertainment software. Autodesk software enabled Avatar director James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
to aim a camera at actors wearing motion-capture suits in a studio and see them as characters in the fictional world of Pandora in the film. Cameron directed the action as if capturing live scenes instead of animators. Autodesk software also played a role in the visual effects of Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and first published in Colliers Magazine on May 27, 1922. It was subsequently anthologized in his book, Tales of the Jazz Age, which is occasionally published as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz...
, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Inception
Inception
Inception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.-Track listing:# "Primitive Tekno Jam" – 3:23# "Bee Sting Sickness" – 8:04# "Weed Acid Techno" – 8:19...
, Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, the second film in a planned trilogy and is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon...
, King Kong
King Kong (2005 film)
King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....
, Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
and other films.
In November 2010, Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
announced that Autodesk's 3D gaming technology was used in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2010, Microsoft Windows in March 2011 and Mac OS X in May 2011...
.
Discontinued products
From time to time Autodesk discontinues some of the products in their portfolio. Some of Autodesk's "retired" products are listed here:- Volo View was a web-enabled review and markup tool from Autodesk for engineering data, including support for Autodesk’s DWG, DXF, and DWF formats. Volo View enabled design teams to communicate ideas and review designs without access to AutoCAD software. Autodesk discontinued sales of Volo View on May 1, 2005. The latest version of the software, Volo View 3, worked with the following file formats: AutoCAD 2004, DWG and DXF; Design Web Format (DWF 6); Autodesk Inventor 7 IPT, IAM, and IDW and raster files. The functionality of this product is largely replaced by Autodesk DWF Composer (versions 1 and 2) later replace by the free Autodesk Design Review. Autodesk has also released a free product called DWG TrueView. This product enables users to view and plot AutoCAD DWG and DXF files, and to publish these same files to the DWF file format.
- Autodesk Animator Pro (DOSDOSDOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
) and Autodesk Animator Studio (WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
) were products designed for cell based animation produced between the early to mid 1990s. At the time Autodesk was also advertising an Autodesk Media product similar in description to Macromedia Director but this product was never released to the public.
- Cyberspace by Autodesk was an early real-time 3D environment capable of producing basic phong shadedPhong shadingPhong shading refers to an interpolation technique for surface shading in 3D computer graphics. It is also called Phong interpolation or normal-vector interpolation shading. Specifically, it interpolates surface normals across rasterized polygons and computes pixel colors based on the interpolated...
walkthroughs of DXF format models in "realtime". No textures were supported, and the system was able to support a maximum DXF model size of around 35 KB. A popular demo model of the Parthenon in Greece was shown around the US in a tour of the portable demo system – complete with virtual reality goggles.
History
Autodesk's first notable product was AutoCAD
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...
, a CAD application designed to run on the systems known as "microcomputers" at the time, including those running the 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
and two of the new 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
systems, the Victor 9000 and the IBM Personal Computer (PC). This CAD tool allowed users to create detailed technical drawings, and was affordable to many smaller design, engineering, and architecture companies.
Release 2.1 of AutoCAD, released in 1986, included AutoLISP
AutoLISP
AutoLISP is a dialect of Lisp programming language built specifically for use with the full version of AutoCAD and its derivatives, which include AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD Mechanical...
, a built-in Lisp
Lisp programming language
Lisp is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized syntax. Originally specified in 1958, Lisp is the second-oldest high-level programming language in widespread use today; only Fortran is older...
interpreter initially based on XLISP
XLISP
XLISP is a family of Lisp implementations written by David Betz.The first version was a Lisp with object-oriented extensions for computers with limited power. The second version moved toward Common Lisp, but was by no means a complete implementation. After a long period of inactivity, the author...
. This opened the door for third party developers to extend AutoCAD's functionality, to address a wide range of vertical market
Vertical market
A vertical market is a group of similar businesses and customers that engage in trade based on specific and specialized needs. Often, participants in a vertical market are very limited to a subset of a larger industry...
s, strengthening AutoCAD's market penetration.
Subsequent to AutoCAD Release 12, the company stopped supporting the Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
environment and the Apple Macintosh platform. After AutoCAD Release 14, first shipped in 1997, Autodesk discontinued development under MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
, and focused exclusively on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
AutoCAD has grown to become the most widely used CAD program for 2D non-specialized applications. The native file formats written by AutoCAD, DXF
AutoCAD DXF
AutoCAD DXF is a CAD data file format developed by Autodesk for enabling data interoperability between AutoCAD and other programs....
and DWG
AutoCAD DWG
DWG is a binary file format used for storing two and three dimensional design data and metadata. It is the native format for several CAD packages including AutoCAD, IntelliCAD and Caddie. In addition, DWG is supported non-natively by many other CAD applications...
, are also widely used for CAD data interoperability
Interoperability
Interoperability is a property referring to the ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together . The term is often used in a technical systems engineering sense, or alternatively in a broad sense, taking into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system to...
.
In the 1990s, with the purchase of Softdesk in 1997, Autodesk started to develop specialty versions of AutoCAD
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...
, targeted to broad industry segments, including architecture, civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
, and manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
. Since the late 1990s, the company has added a number of significant non-AutoCAD-based products, including Revit
Revit
Autodesk Revit Architecture often referred to as simply Revit is a Building Information Modeling software developed by Autodesk. It allows the user to design with both parametric 3D modeling and 2D drafting elements...
, a parametric building modeling application (acquired in 2002, from Massachusetts-based Revit Technologies for $133 million), and Inventor
Autodesk Inventor
Autodesk Inventor, developed by U.S.-based software company Autodesk, is 3D mechanical solid modeling design software for creating 3D digital prototypes used in the design, visualization and simulation of products...
, an internally developed parametric mechanical design CAD application.
In Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.
Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.
Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc. was a case in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington regarding the applicability of the first-sale doctrine to software sold under the terms of so-called "shrinkwrap licensing." The court held that when the transfer of software to the...
, Autodesk was sued in 2007 by Timothy Vernor, who alleged that he was entitled to sell on eBay "used" copies of AutoCAD software he had obtained at an office liquidation sale from an Autodesk licensee. A federal district judge in Washington State denied Autodesk's initial motion to dismiss in early 2008. In February and March 2009, both sides filed motions for summary judgment addressing the issue whether the First Sale Doctrine applies to previously licensed software. The Court ruled in Vernor's favor, holding that when the transfer of software to the purchaser materially resembled a sale (non-recurring price, right to perpetual possession of copy) it was, in fact, a "sale with restrictions on use" giving rise to a right to resell the copy under the first-sale doctrine. As such, Autodesk could not pursue an action for copyright infringement against Vernor, who sought to resell used versions of its software on eBay. The decision was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, which reversed the lower court ruling, denying Vernor the right to resale Autodesk software on eBay due to Autodesk's nontransferable licensing restrictions. In October 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.
Corporate acquisitions
- On May 6, 1998, Autodesk acquired assets of Genius CAD-Software GmbH related to the mechanical application business for 68 Mio Euro in cash. The assets were used to strengthen the functionality of its core mechanical products.
- On March 16, 1999, Autodesk acquired Discreet Logic Inc. (Nasdaq: DSLGF)for an undisclosed amount.
- On April 22, 1999, Autodesk acquired VISION* Solutions, a vendor of enterprise automated mapping/facilities management/geographic information systems (AM/FM/GIS) solutions based, from MCI Systemhouse Corp., MCI WorldCom's global information technology company, for US$26 million.
- On January 24, 2001, Autodesk acquired Gentry Systems, a supplier of specialized software tools and services in the electric utility industry for an undisclosed amount. The asset were used to strengthen Autodesk's position in the utility industry.
- On September 24, 2001, Autodesk acquired Buzzsaw for $18 million.
- On February 21, 2002, Autodesk acquired Revit Technology Corporation a Massachusetts-based developer of parametric building technology for building design, construction, and management, for $133 million in cash.
- On August 6, 2002, Autodesk acquired CAiCE Software Corporation, a developer of surveying and engineering applications for transportation agencies and consultants, for approximately $10 million in cash.
- On December 18, 2002, Autodesk acquired the assets of truEInnovations, Inc for an undisclosed amount. The assets were used to create the application Autodesk VaultAutodesk VaultAutodesk Vault is a data management tool integrated with Autodesk Inventor Series, Autodesk Inventor Professional, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical, and Civil 3D products. It helps design teams track work in progress and maintain version control in multi-user environments...
.
- On March 4, 2003, Autodesk acquired Linius Technologies, Inc. and purchased certain assets of a third software company—VIA Development Corporation, for an undisclosed amount.
- On February 24, 2004 Autodesk acquired MechSoft, Inc., an Autodesk Inventor(R) Certified Applications Program partner and developer of the MechSoft product.
- On March 2005, Autodesk acquired the assets of COMPASS systems GmbH for 13 Mio Euro, a European-based developer of the COMPASS family of data management solutions. The assets were used to strengthen Autodesk's position in the European product data management market.
- On January 10, 2006, Autodesk acquired AliasAlias Systems CorporationAlias Systems Corporation , headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was a software company that produced high-end 3D graphics software. The company was formed in 1995 when Silicon Graphics bought Alias Research, which was founded in 1983, and Wavefront Technologies, founded in 1984, then merged...
, with its automotive styling and digital content creation applications, for $197 million USD.
- On August 6, 2007, Autodesk announced the acquisition of Skymatter Inc, developer of MudboxMudboxMudbox is a computer-based 3D sculpting and painting tool. developed by Autodesk, Mudbox was created by Skymatter, founded by former artists of Weta Digital, where it was first used to produce the 2005 Peter Jackson remake of King Kong...
.
- On August 9, 2007, Autodesk Completes Acquisition of NavisWorks, Inc. for a purchase price of $26 million, plus a working capital adjustment.
- On August 20, 2007, Autodesk announced that it has completed the acquisition of technology and product assets of Opticore AB, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Opticore is specialized in real time visualisation primarily for the carmakers industry.
- On August 28, 2007, Autodesk announced the acquisition of California-based PlassoTech, developers of CAE applications. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
- On November 25, 2007, Autodesk announced the intent to acquire Robobat, a France-based developer of structural engineeringStructural engineeringStructural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....
analysis applications. The acquisition was completed on January 15, 2008.
- On May 1, 2008, Autodesk announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Moldflow CorporationMoldflowMoldflow Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Autodesk, Inc. that produces high-end plastic injection molding computer-aided engineering software. Moldflow was founded in Melbourne, Australia as Moldflow Pty. Ltd. in 1978 by Colin Austin...
, a leading provider of injection moldingInjection moldingInjection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
simulation software.
- On May 7, 2008, Autodesk announced that it has completed the acquisition of KynogonKynogonKynogon was a computer software company that provided AI middleware to the video game and the simulation industries. The company was acquired by AutoDesk in Feb 2008, and it's flagship product is now titled Autodesk Kynapse.-History:...
SA, the privately held maker of KynapseKynapseKynapse is the artificial intelligence middleware product developed by Kynogon, which was bought by Autodesk in 2008, and is since called Autodesk Kynapse.-Kynapse main functionalities:Kynapse includes:*An automatic AI data generation tool...
artificial intelligence middleware. Paris-based Kynogon specialized in video game middleware and simulation.
- The same day, Autodesk also announced the acquisition of REALVIZ S.A. REALVIZ was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Sophia Antipolis, France. REALVIZ's flagship products are "Stitcher" software for the creation of panoramas and 360 degree virtual tours, and "ImageModeler" software to produce 3D models from photographs.
- On June 26, 2008, a press release announced the acquisition of Square One Research and its flagship product, EcotectEcotectAutodesk Ecotect Analysis is an environmental analysis tool that allows designers to simulate buildingperformance right from the earliest stages of conceptual design...
.
- On October 23, 2008, Autodesk announced the acquisition on Avid's Softimage, Co. business, developers of 3D application SoftimageSoftimageSoftimage, Co. was a company located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that produced 3D animation software. Their flagship products, Softimage 3D and Softimage XSI, are used in the creation of computer animation for films, television advertisement, and video games...
(formerly Softimage|XSI), for $35 million USD.
- On December 17, 2008, Autodesk signed a definitive agreement to acquire ALGOR, Inc. for approximately $34 million.
- On December 2009, Autodesk announced the acquisition of VisualTAO (also known as PlanPlatform), an Israeli start-up that developed a cloud-based Web application, enabling users to view and edit AutoCAD files online. The company also developed a mobile version of the application. VisualTAO became part of PSEB, and the product was released during 2010 as "AutoCAD WS."
- On July 21, 2010, Autodesk announced the acquisition of Illuminate LabsIlluminate labsIlluminate Labs is a Swedish software company based in Gothenburg, founded in 2002 and specializing in video games lighting. The company produces two middleware products called Beast and , based on their proprietary LiquidLight technology. Autodesk, Inc...
, the maker of BeastBeast (software)Beast is a content pipeline tool used for advanced global illumination and dynamic character relighting. Beast is developed and sold by Swedish games lighting technology company Illuminate labs...
(a global illumination middleware) and Turtle (a global illumination plugin for Maya) used for video game development.
- On February 17, 2011, Autodesk announced the acquisition of Blue Ridge Numerics, Inc., a leading provider of simulation software, for approximately $39 million in cash.
- On March 1, 2011, Autodesk announced the acquisition of ScaleformScaleformScaleform Corporation is a developer providing middleware for use in the video game industry. Their most recent software, Scaleform GFx, is a vector graphics rendering engine used to display Adobe Flash-based user interfaces, HUDs, and animated textures for games for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X,...
, a UI middleware for video games.
- On July 19, 2011, Autodesk announced the acquisition of Pixlr, online photo editing and sharing service.
- On August 1, 2011, Autodesk announced the acquisition of InstructablesInstructablesInstructables is a website specializing in user-created and uploaded do-it-yourself projects, which other users can comment on and rate for quality. It was created by Eric Wilhelm, a mechanical engineer, and launched in August 2005. Instructables is dedicated to step-by-step collaboration among...
, a website and platform where users can share their ideas and collaborate with a variety of do-it-yourself projects.
- On August 25, 2011, Autodesk announced the acquisition of Numenus, which optimizes CAD and construction processes by using NURBS technology.
- On November 6, 2011, Autodesk announced the acquisition of Grip Entertainment, which develops behavior control systems for computer-controlled characters in video games.
Sustainability
Autodesk solutions for Digital PrototypingDigital prototyping
Digital Prototyping gives conceptual design, engineering, manufacturing, and sales and marketing departments the ability to virtually explore a complete product before it’s built. Industrial designers, manufacturers, and engineers use Digital Prototyping to design, iterate, optimize, validate, and...
allow designers, manufacturers and engineers to design more sustainably by reducing the amount of physical prototypes required for a project, or eliminating the need for them entirely.
The Building Information Modeling
Building Information Modeling
Building information modeling is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle.BIM involves representing a design as objects – vague and undefined, generic or product-specific, solid shapes or void-space oriented , that carry their geometry, relations and attributes...
(BIM) capabilities of Autodesk software help the architect, engineering and construction (AEC) industry create more sustainable buildings and optimize building performance. Autodesk created the notion of BIM seven years ago but it has only recently become popular.
The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program provides design and engineering software to early-stage clean technology companies in North America and Europe, helping to accelerate development of solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Each year, Autodesk gives hundreds of clean tech companies $150,000 worth of software to cut start-up costs. Pi Mobility is a clean tech partner of Autodesk’s. Using digital prototyping software to build the company’s bike, it realized one of the frame components could be cut by a half-inch, saving Pi Mobility more than $300,000 in production costs.
The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free on-line tutorial that covers sustainable design concepts such as light-weighting and whole systems thinking. These videos instruct viewers how to make sustainable design decisions early in the design process. It is aimed at students, “giving them easy access to free digital content that can supplement traditional engineering education.”
Autodesk introduced C-FACT, an open-source, science-driven approach to setting greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
reduction targets, which calls for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions to be made in proportion to a company’s gross domestic product (GDP). Unlike other carbon accounting methods, Autodesk’s C-FACT measures carbon dioxide emissions that are proportional to a company’s global GDP contribution. Autodesk will derive its own targets using this approach through 2020.
Through the use of telepresence
Telepresence
Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location....
, Autodesk has reduced its travel by 16 percent in three years as part of its overall carbon emissions reduction strategy.
In 2006 Autodesk sponsored a PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
program named e2 Design
Design e2
e2 is an eighteen part documentary-style PBS television series investigating sustainable living and green design from New York City to rural Mexico. It was narrated by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman...
, which focused on going green in building designs around the world. Narrated by Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, viewers learn about the leaders and technologies driving sustainable design.
See also
- AutoCADAutoCADAutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...
- Autodesk Developer NetworkAutodesk Developer NetworkThe Autodesk Developer Network is a developer program, run by Autodesk, for companies and individuals who develop software that use Autodesk technology.- Benefits of membership :ADN member benefits include:...
- Digital PrototypingDigital prototypingDigital Prototyping gives conceptual design, engineering, manufacturing, and sales and marketing departments the ability to virtually explore a complete product before it’s built. Industrial designers, manufacturers, and engineers use Digital Prototyping to design, iterate, optimize, validate, and...
- GstarCADGstarCADGstarCAD is a CAD software platform based on IntelliCAD technology, using the Open Design Alliance DWG libraries to read and write the DWG file format made popular by the AutoCAD CAD package....
External links
- Autodesk Official site
- Autodesk Official Store
- Autodesk and AutoCAD History Site
- Between the Lines AutoCAD Blog by Autodesk employee
- Autodesk Blogs
- Autodesk Student Community
- Autodesk AutoCAD Exchange
- AUGI Autodesk User Group International
- All Autodesk product usability, research, and beta testing
- Autodesk Labs
- Autodesk Seek
- Autodesk Partners With Leading Audio Technology Provider
- Autodesk Communities totaling over 1 million registered users
- Autodesk YouTube Channel
- Early AutoCAD information
- The Autodesk File, a History of Autodesk
- AutoCAD Civil 3D's Official Page
- Autodesk Moldflow, Injection Molding Simulation
- Autodesk User Communities
- Steve Wolfe Asks: Is Autodesk a Bubble Stock?
- Autodesk Sustainable Design Center
- Autodesk Sustainability Workshop