New Conceptual Design Tools and Consistent User Interface Highlight Updates to Four Key AEC Product Lines

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a virtual press conference on Friday, Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) announced new versions of its software products for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries, which are designed to help increase industry adoption of the building information modeling (BIM) process. Updated software in Autodesk's BIM portfolio includes Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 software, Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 software, Autodesk Revit MEP 2010 software, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 software and Autodesk Navisworks 2010 software solutions.

In Friday's live webcast, Jay Bhatt, Autodesk senior vice president for AEC Solutions, and Jim Lynch, AEC Solutions vice president of marketing, addressed technology's crucial role in the development of infrastructure and transportation and the urgent need for more energy-efficient building practices across the construction industry. The pair spoke about the company's new product portfolio for the AEC industry and the effort to help project teams across disciplines innovate, analyze energy performance and increase productivity.

"In today's economic climate, firms need interoperable and flexible technology tools for building information modeling that can help them deliver projects more quickly and cost-effectively," said Bhatt. "The 2010 versions of our software continue to deliver on the promise of BIM by further bridging communication between extended design and construction teams. These powerful tools will help our customers more efficiently and productively solve their design and construction challenges and do so with reduced environmental impact."

Autodesk's 2010 software portfolio for building information modeling will help enable building designers, civil engineers, contractors and the clients they serve to more easily create and profit from digital design data and better communication across extended project teams. By investing in BIM, AEC firms can more accurately visualize, simulate and analyze project performance, appearance and cost, to create more resource-efficient buildings and infrastructure, as well as renovate or replace aging infrastructure.

2010 Autodesk Revit Platform

The Autodesk Revit platform based products for BIM feature an aligned user interface, giving the entire range of products a consistent look and feel. The updated Autodesk Revit platform also allows a greater level of interoperability for green building analysis, providing support for the green building extensible markup language (gbXML) format. Updates to the products based on the Autodesk Revit platform include:

    --  Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 software (BIM for architects and
        designers) enables customers to more accurately capture early design
        concepts with improved conceptual design functionality via:
        --  An intuitive conceptual design workspace to create complex
            geometry more easily.
        --  A new user interface (UI) that works the way designers think,
            providing a smoother and more continuous design workflow.
        --  Improved interoperability with programs such as AutoCAD Civil 3D
            2010 software, Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 software and Autodesk
            Inventor 2010 software.
    --  Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 software (BIM for structural engineers,
        designers, and drafters) integrates a multi-material physical and an
        independently editable analytical model, to help provide for more
        efficient, more accurate documentation, analysis and design.  Users
        will experience:
        --  Enhanced conceptual design, modeling and analysis to handle more
            complex architectural forms.
        --  Improved user interface with a new customizable ribbon toolbar.
        --  Improved performance and interoperability, including native 64 bit
            support.
    --  Autodesk Revit MEP 2010 software (BIM for mechanical, electrical and
        plumbing engineers) provides customers with optimum tools for system
        design and building performance analysis helping engineers to make
        better informed decisions. The 2010 release provides new functionality
        including:
        --  Native heating and cooling loads analysis enabling MEP engineers
            to determine the energy demands of the building.
        --  Enhanced gbXML export with the ability to examine an analytical
            model of the project before exporting to a gbXML file.
        --  Improved performance of the application enabling users to see
            significant performance enhancements while handling and working on
            large project files.

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 software, a powerful BIM solution for civil engineering, helps project teams explore transportation, land development and environmental projects digitally before they are built. New functionality featured in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 includes:

    --  New application menu, ribbon UI and quick access toolbar provide an
        easier-to-use workspace for better productivity.
    --  Improved design and analysis functionality enables users to automate
        design tasks while analyzing project conditions to optimize
        performance.
    --  BIM workflow is now easier, with broad support for popular formats and
        interoperability standards, making collaboration with an extended team
        smoother and more effective.

Autodesk Navisworks 2010

Autodesk Navisworks 2010 software -- including Autodesk Navisworks Review 2010 software, Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2010 software, Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2010 software and Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2010 software -- enables design and building professionals to unite project contributions into a synchronized model for building information modeling. By enabling team members to more reliably share, combine, review and perfect detailed 3D design models of any size or format, Autodesk Navisworks applications are an important part of the BIM workflow. Updates to the Autodesk Navisworks portfolio include:

    --  Improved usability gives customers a more productive working
        environment, and new measuring tools and sectioning enhancements help
        improve workflow.
    --  Greater level of interoperability allows for enhanced collaboration.

Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010

Autodesk 3ds Max Design software enables architects, designers, engineers and visualization specialists to explore, validate and communicate their creative ideas -- from initial concept models to final, cinema-quality presentations. 3ds Max Design offers digital continuity with the AutoCAD, Revit and Autodesk Inventor software families of products enabling the reuse of design data for visualization. New features in Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 include:

    --  More than 100 additional modeling tools help designers explore form
        making, while refining their designs with a new render-quality
        viewport display.
    --  Interactive lighting analysis helps users to iterate more quickly,
        validate sustainable solutions and avoid costly mistakes early in the
        design process.
    --  An extensive library of particle effects and flickerless rendering
        improvements to simplify communicating a compelling vision.

Autodesk expects to announce Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 software for entertainment professionals in March 2009.

Availability

Product availability will vary by country. Details and purchasing options will be accessible starting March 24, 2009, at www.autodesk.com/purchaseoptions. An archive of Autodesk's AEC virtual press conference is available.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Civil 3D, Inventor, Navisworks, Revit, Robot and 3ds Max 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 offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

(C) 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

CONTACT: Paul Sullivan, 603-289-8987
Email: paul.sullivan@autodesk.com

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SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.

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