Autodesk Shows off Hardware

Folks going to the ESRI User Conference are now prepped to see cool hardware after the “Touch Table” appeared one year and the “Terrain Table” another. I believe today was the first time I saw hardware showed off that way on an Autodesk stage. Being the press we didn’t ooh and ah, but the two offerings do warrant at least a “cool” from me.

One was simply a large touch screen mounted on the wall. With familiar gestures an Autoesk “fellow” zoomed in and turned a 3D model. It was sort of the touch table, but on a wall.  Autodesk apparently has made that tool available to a few clients and is looking for partners to build it. (We first got a “we’ve not made it available” from CEO Carl Bass, then got a “no, clients have it” from CTO Jeff Kawalski. Get the story straight, guys!)

More interesting to me was the “Boom Cam” in-house only toy. Imagine a flat screen monitor hung on a boom so you can move it where you like. Now consider it your window to look at a 3D model. Move the boom low to look at the wheels of the car. Come up to see the door. A control even opened the door so you could navigate inside the car. The idea there, said Carl Bass, is to make using any software that intuitive.

Disclosure: Autodesk covered travel, lodging, food for me to attend World Press Day. I also received corporate gifts.