New technologies such as machine learning, virtual reality, generative design and robotics are disrupting multiple industries, especially for designers in those industries.

That’s the word from Jeff Kowalski, chief technology officer at the engineering and 3D design software giant Autodesk Inc. Kowalski laid out the new world for design today at the company’s annual Autodesk University event in Las Vegas, which runs this week.

The rise of machine learning

During his talk, Kowalski noted that machine learning in particular is having an enormous impact on business, and he believes it will only advance faster and faster in the future. As an example, he highlighted the progression of artificial intelligence’s ability to conquer games, starting with tic-tac-toe in the early days of AI research and progressing all the way up to AlphaGo’s victory against the world’s top Go player earlier this year.

“If you look at the time frames of these milestones, you see something really amazing. There’s something exponential happening here,” Kowalski said. “In less than a single human lifetime, computers have gone from learning a simple child’s game to mastering the game recognized as the pinnacle of strategic thought.”

Kowalski pointed to two main factors that have led to the recent advancements in artificial intelligence. One is the availability of massive computing power thanks to graphics processing unit chips and the cloud. Even more important is the development of programming methods that allow an AI to teach itself rather than relying on human designers.

Machine learning is already changing the way Autodesk designs its software, Kowalski explained. By analyzing the projects users create and the ways in which they use Autodesk’s programs, machine learning is shaping what features are added and how the development process moves forward for those tools.

Virtual reality is more than visual

Design and collaboration are two of the biggest use cases of virtual reality in the enterprise, and Kowalski explained that VR offers more than simply a different way to look at a digital design.

“When you’re in VR, you’re more connected to your data,” Kowalski said. “It’s more detailed. It’s more emotional and meaningful. You can see your data at human scale. If you’re designing a chair, you interact with it at a chair size. If you’re designing a building, you interact with it the way its occupants will when it’s built.”

He added that VR goes beyond visualization into the realm of emotions. “It’s about exploring and feeling and experiencing. It’s about building a richer connection between you, your work and your customer.”

Aside from sharing to-scale designs in full 3D, Kokalski said that VR is especially useful for collaboration between colleagues that are separated by distance, which in turn is especially important to the ever-changing modern workplace.

Exploring new ideas with generative design

One of the ways in which machine learning is affecting design and manufacturing in particular is generative design, which uses algorithms to create designs that are optimized for specific requirements. These designs have a distinctly organic appearance, and Kowalski noted that this is no coincidence.

“The software isn’t filling the void by repeating the same patter,” he said. “It actually mimics bone by adding material only where it is needed and removing it where it is not.”

Autodesk has even turned to generative design to create the layout of its new office being built in Toronto with the goal of maximizing human comfort and productivity and minimizing distraction. Kowalski said that the generative design was not “just pushing cubicles around,” but was instead creating thousands of potential floor plans that were all based on optimal human experiences.

How robots enable new designs

The last disruptive innovation Kowalski covered was robotics, and while he admitted that robots are nothing new, he explained that when combined with developments such as machine learning and generative design, they are capable of far more than they ever were before.

“As generative design gives us new forms, we need new ways to make things real,” Kowalski said. For example, MX3D is currently using robots to 3D print a full-sized metal bridge, as shown in the concept art above. This method allows the bridge to be manufactured rather than built, and it enables a generative design created through machine learning that maximizes the strength and durability of the completed structure.

Tech superpowers

Because these technologies are advancing so rapidly, Kowalski concluded his keynote by highlighting the importance of continuing education and training. He said designers and engineers should not be afraid of these changes, but rather that they should embrace them.

“These technologies are not a threat. They’re more like superpowers,” he said. “So what’s the real threat? It’s any competitor that adopts these superpowers more quickly than you do.”

He added that one of the main considerations for many companies in light of these new technologies is talent, which he says is now all about mobility. “If your education stops when you get that one monolithic degree, you’re doomed. In this dynamic environment, you can never stop learning because ongoing learning is the antidote to fearing technology and new talent and embracing and using it instead.”

This year’s Autodesk University event showcases a number of companies working in each of the fields mentioned by Kowalski, including a few major players like Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packer, Lenovo and others.

Image courtesy of MX3D