FARNBOROUGH, England, May 18, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

A team of British engineers relied on software from Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) to design an innovative pedal-powered boat for a 3,000-mile trans-Atlantic race to raise money for charity.

The Project Torpedalo team used Autodesk Digital Prototyping software, including Autodesk Alias Design, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Maya and Autodesk Showcase, to design, visualize and simulate the carbon fiber boat that will compete in the Woodvale Challenge Atlantic Rowing Race 2011. The race starts Dec. 4 and follows a course across the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands to the finish line in Barbados.

Sponsored by Autodesk and other companies, the project is the brainchild of Mike Sayer, 27, and Mark Byass, 24, Bentley Motors engineers who also share a passion for athletics and charity. The pair will serve as crew members for the estimated six-week journey and are competing in the race with the goal of raising more than US$400,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association and Make-A-Wish Foundation(R) UK.

"This entire project is an example of Digital Prototyping in action," said Sayer. "We've worked with a variety of Autodesk software to fully design and engineer this unique watercraft with no physical models. We've had to take ergonomics, hydrodynamics and all kinds of variables into account to ensure that we produce a boat that is strong, fast, relatively comfortable and, of course, safe."

Manufacturing of Boat Under Way, Team Seeking Charitable Contributions

With the design phase of the boat complete, manufacturing of the boat is under way at Curvature Group and Norco GRP, and the team plans to have the boat in the water for outfitting by July. The watercraft itself is more than 25 feet long and nearly 5 feet high with a carbon fiber hull and superstructure. It features a closed cockpit with an open deck front area and a sleeping compartment in the rear. The boat has full self-righting capability, which means it can roll itself upright without external intervention if capsized, when fully loaded or empty.

The watercraft is also equipped with a single pedal crank set, meaning the crew members will rotate pedal-powering it, along with a custom twin-blade, low-speed propeller. The expected cruising performance is three knots, with a maximum self-propelled performance of seven knots. Other features include solar panels, a water desalination system, 90 days of food storage and appropriate safety equipment.

"Project Torpedalo is an ambitious project launched by inspiring engineers," said Robert "Buzz" Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. "Digital Prototyping helps manufacturers develop more beautiful, economical and reliable products every day, but it is fantastic when Autodesk tools help make bold visions like Project Torpedalo a reality."

Corporate sponsors, including Bentley, Breitling and others, have embraced Project Torpedalo. In addition, the team has aggressive charitable fundraising goals. The project is dedicated to the memories of the crew members' grandparents, including Sayer's grandfather who suffered from MND. For more information on contributing to the project, visit http://www.torpedalo.com/donate/.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries - including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects - use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Editorial Note:
Videos, images and more information on "Project Torpedalo" are available at:
http://www.torpedalo.com
http://www.facebook.com/torpedalo
http://www.twitter.com/torpedalo

Motor Neurone Disease Association is a registered charity (294354).
Make-A-Wish is a registered charity in England and Wales (295672) and Scotland (SC037479).

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Alias, Autodesk Inventor, Inventor, Maya and Showcase are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 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.

© 2011 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6728118&lang=en

SOURCE: Autodesk, Inc.

Autodesk, Inc.
Clay Helm, 415.547.2425
clay.helm@autodesk.com
or
Mikael Lowenhielm, +46 31 726 0137
mikael.lowenhielm@autodesk.com