Autodesk shows off 2010 line; launches software for building energy efficiency

The Autodesk Imagine Tour came to Toronto on April 21, making one stop in a series across North America.

The event is a follow-up to the launch of the Autodesk 2010 line in March and included technical sessions on all the major products used by building and civil engineers, including Autodesk Solutions for Civil and Structural Engineering, for MEP (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) Engineering, and for Engineering & GIS Professionals.

In the Engineering & GIS session, for example, the presenter took the audience through the latest version of AutoCAD Map 3D, showing its considerable new capabilities with the click of the mouse on a big screen. New features include the addition of a “Ribbons” user interface (a combination of toolbar and tabs), and the ability to export to PDFs and to have full layer control in PDF (something that’s been requested for 10 years, said the presenter). He also demonstrated how users can integrate a drawing to geographical coordinates (Google Earth), and add parameters like shadows, etc.

The Autodesk Imagine Tour’s other Canadian venues include Montreal (May 6), Vancouver (May 7), Quebec City (May 12), and Edmonton (June 3).  See http://experience.autodesk.com

Autodesk is also moving in on the green building design specialist area.  It has just launched the Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2010 software developed in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its Energy Star program.

The software is a “whole building performance analysis tool” to help designers understand early in the design process how environmental factors such as solar, thermal, shading, lighting and airflow will affect the building’s performance.  It uses simulation and analysis, and it can be used in conjunction with building information modeling (BIM).