All the Announcements from AU 2024

AU 2024 in San Diego was an incredible week of learning and connection—and there was a lot of news for Design and Make professionals that came from the main stage. We’ve gathered all the announcements here for your reading pleasure—thank us later! 

• Cross-Industry
• AECO 
• Autodesk Platform Services
• Construction
• Design & Manufacturing
• Media & Entertainment 
   

• We recently released new Data Model APIs for both Manufacturing and AECO, which provide access to granular data, simplifying tasks like searching across the contents of multiple models at the same time, comparing changes between different versions of a design, and giving you the opportunity to delve into your historical project data, so you can use AI to build new value from it. 
   
• We’re investing big in end-to-end Design and Make solutions powered by Autodesk AI, connecting the entire lifecycle of your projects. 
   
• Progress on Project Bernini continues. It’s a research project, but it shows the considerable progress we’ve been making with AI for design. You can prompt Project Bernini using natural language, imagery, and sketches, and from this it will synthesize real 3D designs, helping you rapidly generate concepts.  
   
• The new AI-powered Autodesk Assistant is your virtual natural-language assistant that gives you timely insights when and where you need them. It understands your industry and the context of the product that you are in. And from the start, this virtual assistant is designed to be open and pluggable, so you can bring your own plugins. 
   

• We are building Autodesk Forma, our AECO industry cloud, to connect your data and applications, whether from Autodesk or third parties, across the entire BIM lifecycle. With these data capabilities, your information will get to the right person at the right time, with your IP protected. With Forma, architects, engineers, construction professionals, and owner/operators can know the cost and schedule impact of their decisions up-front and throughout the process. 
   
• Forma saw a whole suite of intelligence tools added this year, including AI-powered embodied carbon analysis, now in beta, which provides rapid, site-specific environmental design insights at the earliest phases of a project.  
   
• Autodesk Forma's connection to Autodesk Docs will enhance the integration between Forma and Revit, enabling you to reference Forma designs directly in Revit via a seamless, cloud-based workflow. This connection will also enable a highly requested feature from our Revit users: the ability to leverage Forma’s powerful Site Context capability in Revit, enabling you to easily pull relevant data about the site, such as terrain, existing roads and buildings, into Revit.  
   
• With the recent Fenestra Pro extension for Forma, users have more analysis capability for exploring and simulating facade design options.  
   
• This year we took an important step toward enabling open and extensible data across our portfolio with the commercial release of the AEC Data Model, accessible to all customers with Autodesk Docs. This granular, object-level data is accessible through easy-to-use APIs.  And we are now making Revit geometric data available in a new AEC Data Model Beta.   
   
• The AEC Data Model breaks up monolithic files into valuable bits of granular data that are managed on a secured cloud and structures data in Autodesk Docs so that it can be read by all kinds of software. It gives that data form at the object level, so that it can then be used by APIs, enabling you to work in new ways. 
   
• Autodesk Docs has powerful features that let you connect, organize, and secure your data.  
   
• Some of the recent releases within Docs include supporting multiple naming standards, as well as the ability to create 'packages’ of files.  
   
• There have been more than 100 new features released into Docs, from automated workflows to mobile upload, all designed to keep your project teams aligned and your design deliverables coordinated.  
   
• In August, we released the first version of Autodesk Content Catalog, now available to all Docs subscribers. Content Catalog centralizes BIM content, like Revit families and AutoCAD blocks, in one cloud-based location, making it easier to find the most up-to-date content, enforce firm-wide standards, and stick to design best practices.  
   
• Autodesk AI is powering an intelligent Autodesk Assistant within Autodesk Construction Cloud which is currently in beta supporting questions around specification documents. Using normal, everyday language, you can ask the assistant to answer specific questions, generate lists of items, or create project updates.  
   
• With Revit 2025, you can export to PDF in the background, without stopping your work. And newly released: an add-on manager that allows you to control which add-ons load upon start-up, enabling you to start working sooner. 
   
• In July, a new substitution feature in Twinmotion for Revit was released. This new feature makes it easier to assign and sync content from Revit families to the photoreal assets in Twinmotion, making visualization of Revit models less manual and more automated.   
   
• We’ve connected Revit and Dynamo to Forma so that you can be more productive in conceptual design.  
   
• For design-to-fabrication workflows in Revit and the Fabrication Suite, MEP Content Editor provides a smarter way of working. It’s a modern, cloud-connected experience for creating and sharing detailed model data for pipe fabrication.  
   
• Informed Design for Revit and Inventor helps architects and fabricators collect, manage, and productize design data into manufacture-ready parts, components, and assemblies. By connecting design and fabrication workflows through better exchange of data, we’re making it easier for you to design with the certainty that the parts and components you specify can be made in the factory and installed onsite.  
   
• We’re supporting a granular understanding of embodied and operational carbon with Autodesk Insight, derived directly from your Revit data. In September, we released a direct data exchange workflow from Insight to support more automated reporting for your AIA2030 commitments. 
   
• Last year, we established Revit integrations with McNeel Rhino and Testfit to round out site design workflows for more holistic modeling and analysis. 
   
• A new digital whiteboard tool, Forma Board, lets you pull in visuals from other Autodesk products through Docs. For example, you can demonstrate the impact of sun or noise, ask for feedback on specific design concepts, and more. 
   
• We were the first software provider to achieve IFC4 certification for Revit across all major disciplines, and the first to adopt IFC4.3 in Civil 3D and now in Navisworks. Today, Revit handles IFC formats with greater fidelity and speed than ever before. And we continue to invest in interoperability agreements with Nemetshek and Trimble, to better support the workflows you need to get the job done. 
   
• We are building better, more granular data pipelines supported by Autodesk Platform Services. This includes not just data exchange connections between Revit, Inventor, Civil 3D, Dynamo, Navisworks, and now ACC Bridge, but also for Rhino and Grasshopper, Power BI and Power Automate, and Solidworks.  
   
• In Collaboration for Civil 3D, we have enhanced the existing capabilities in the Autodesk Viewer, enabling key infrastructure measurements, sectioning, and interrogation of 3D models. And we also beefed-up Sheet Set Manager for the Web, bringing its capabilities more in line with the desktop version. 
   
• We’ve introduced powerful capabilities like Cost Budget Snapshots in Autodesk Build. By easily comparing budgets to actual performance, project managers gain the ability to analyze trends and see the impact of their decisions.  
   
• Our recent acquisition of PointFuse has enabled us to add new capabilities to Autodesk ReCap Pro. Now, you can convert point cloud data into easy-to-use segmented 3D mesh models for use in BIM and ReCap Pro can automatically extract features from point clouds. With these solutions, you will be able to capture real-world data and connect it to Revit via Docs in scan-to-BIM workflows, using machine learning to automatically extract features from the point clouds. 
   
• We are excited to expand our partnership with Esri, allowing Autodesk users to enjoy enhanced integration between those platforms. In addition to the existing Esri terrain data available within Autodesk Forma, there are now plans to incorporate a wide array of contextual geographic data from ArcGIS, including data for buildings, zoning, roads, property boundaries, imagery and more. 
   
• With Autodesk AI built into InfoDrainage, you can place a pond or swale on your site and immediately see the impact on overland flows, flooding hotspots, and the surrounding flood map. Drainage designers and engineers can achieve up to a 60-fold speed improvement in flood analysis enabling faster design iterations and optimizations.  
   
• For facility operators and owners, we’re also improving end-to-end asset management through our partnership with Eptura, where we are integrating BIM and facility management workflows to create more insightful digital twins with Autodesk Tandem.  
   
• With Autodesk Tandem Connect (beta), it’s simple to bring all your building management systems together, empowering owners and operators with actionable insights, helping them improve efficiency, reduce utility costs, and achieve net-zero performance. 
   
• Autodesk Workshop XR is now generally available to all users. With Workshop XR, teams can review 3D models and associated data from Autodesk Construction Cloud via Docs—together, in a real-time immersive workspace.  
   
• Another way we’re providing secure, always-on access to your data is through data regionalization. This year we added an Australian server to our always-growing portfolio. We now cover three continents. And we’re actively working to add more regions and countries to meet you where you operate. 
   
• Autodesk for Government cloud offerings achieved FedRAMP Authorization at the Moderate Impact level. Meeting this stringent governance and compliance standard is a huge milestone. It means that if you’re working on U.S. government or public sector projects, you will soon be able to modernize your workflows using Autodesk Docs for Government and BIM Collaborate Pro for Government.  
   
• In June, we added intelligent management of engineering information and asset data to our data ecosystem with Datum 360. Datum360 enables seamless integration and collaboration across various systems and teams, making it easy for you to find data you can rely on. 
   
• On average, AutoCAD 2025 is twice as fast at opening 2D DWG files as AutoCAD 2024. 
   
• In the latest release of AutoCAD, you’ll see new Smart Blocks capabilities for automated object search, detection, and conversion. These features improve design efficiency, encourage reuse of the content you already have and trust, and save you time cleaning up drawings.  
   
• For Civil 3D, we’re pleased to announce the development of a new integration with GeoDin, a Fugro Company. Civil Engineers working in increasingly urbanized environments need a clear picture of ground and subsurface conditions so they can mitigate risk at a project’s early stages. Fugro and Autodesk are bridging this gap by making rich, contextual, and timely ground data available with a new plug-in called GeoDin Ground for Civil 3D, now in private beta. 
   

• The Autodesk Flow Graph Engine API is now generally available so you can build custom compute services for media and entertainment.  
   
• The Autodesk Data Model frees up data to automate and breaks down silos for simultaneous collaboration. The AEC data model and MFG data model APIs are now generally available.  
   
• Power BI connector is generally available. It allows access to granular design data inside of Power BI. This connector supports Autodesk Data Exchange as a data source which allows subsets of design/model data to be shared seamlessly between various applications.  
   
• The new integration with ACC Bridge streamlines Work Packaging by making it easier to sync model subsets using Data Exchange and Bridge together, enhancing project efficiency and collaboration.  
   
• Autodesk DevCon Europe will be in Amsterdam on May 20-21, 2025. Get involved: you can express interest in sponsoring or featuring a project. Call for proposals to teach a class is open now through November 15. 
   

• We’re giving you faster, better access to your data with our new AI-powered Autodesk Assistant in ACC, now in beta. No more spending hours sifting through hundreds of pages of specifications—just drop in a prompt and get the relevant answer, along with links to other contextual documents. 
   
• For preconstruction teams, we've added a new PlanRoom to BidBoard Pro. This helps subcontractors win more work and build new relationships with general contractors. 
   
• For VDC teams, we're making it easier to unlock rich data within models for use in construction, so BIM managers can quickly decode complex models right in BIM Collaborate. 
   
• For the field, our new mobile model viewer is five times faster than before.   
   
• Autodesk Construction Cloud is now available for free educational access.  
   
• We acquired Payapps and GCPay earlier this year, adding a robust payment management solution to the ACC Portfolio. Together, they mitigate late payments and cash flow constraints and improve transparency, which builds trust.  
   
• Today, shared access to models and shared issues mean changes can flow seamlessly between Revit, Navisworks, and ACC—from design teams to construction and back.  
   
• We’ve released the ability to connect your ACC data into Microsoft Fabric by leveraging our Data Connector tool.  
   
• We’ve delivered the beta of our new Insight Builder tool. With Insight Builder, you are no longer limited to the reports and dashboard templates in ACC. Now, you can pick the data, layouts, visualizations and level of detail that captures what you need to report on and represent it in a dashboard or shareable report. This gives you the power of custom analytics in ACC without sacrificing the permissions and standards you use to run your projects. 
   

• Our Manufacturing Data Model allows you to access and share granular data down to the component level.  
   
• Version 2 of our APIs are now generally available, offering improvements and enhancements that further streamline your workflows. You can now write data directly to the manufacturing data model, thereby increasing visibility across the entire product development lifecycle, connecting stakeholders at every step in the process. 
   
• Soon, AutoConstrain, powered by Autodesk AI, will analyze design sketches to identify likely connections, like symmetry and size proportions, then suggest the best constraints and dimensions to maintain design intent. This reduces the need for your designer or engineer to spend hours adding relationships and dimensional constraints to a sketch. 
   
• Our Drawing Automation features identify and streamline design details, speeding up the creation of drawings. With the addition of Autodesk AI, it will intelligently decide what details are necessary and what can be left out of a drawing. For instance, it will identify fasteners or other components that don’t need to be included in the final drawing.  
   
• Soon, we’ll be rolling out associative mirror assembly. Once an assembly is completed, for example on a vehicle, you can instantly mirror that assembly to the other side, and any changes made to one side of the design will automatically be applied to both sides. This dramatically reduces the manual work required.  
   
• We’ve brought Vault data to the cloud. With our new cloud APIs, built on Autodesk Platform Services, you can now access and share Vault data across all the software and systems you use, connecting your design and manufacturing data with ERP systems and other custom SaaS apps. The beta launches this month.    
   
• With Project Sync, we have unlocked the flow of both big and small data. Everything from organizational operations all the way down to model level data is connected in Vault.  
   
• In just the last 12 months, we have increased Fusion’s performance, reducing latency by 300% in some cases, allowing engineering teams to work collaboratively on larger projects. 
   
• We’ve improved our admin capabilities in Fusion, ensuring your teams, external vendors, and contractors have the right access to the right data at the right time, and meaning your IP is only accessible by the correct resources, both internally and externally. 
   
• Soon, we’ll introduce our Autodesk Assistant in Fusion. This on-demand expert allows users to ask questions like, “How can I program my toolpath to avoid slot milling?” or “What manufacturing methods should I consider for this part?” And Autodesk AI will respond with Fusion-specific manufacturing answers—even G-code! 
   
• Next year, we’ll offer Form Explorer in Autodesk Alias, our new AI tool designed specifically for automotive exterior concept designers. This tool enables you to explore and evolve vehicle concepts quickly, generating and refining realistic 3D designs in seconds. Soon, we’ll be expanding its capabilities to include consumer products, making it an even more versatile tool for design innovation. 
   
• We announced signing a definitive agreement to acquire NAVASTO, a company focused on the use of AI to accelerate design and engineering, to bring AI-informed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions to Alias. This enables you to simulate a wind tunnel at the CAD stage, telling you how aerodynamic your vehicle design is and providing recommendations for spots on the vehicle you may consider redesigning earlier in the process. Available to select customers this quarter, it will be broadly available alongside Form Explorer in the Alias 2025 release. 
   
• With Paperless Parts, we’re building a more seamless experience for customers to quickly generate quotes, incorporate design changes, and store quotes for reuse.   
   
• Our partnership with CloudNC has cut toolpath programming times in Fusion by 80%, and this year, we’ve integrated CNC machining with a natural language AI assistant, making it even easier to use.   
   
• This year, we’re adding the ability for FlexSim to consume native Autodesk file types directly, whether you’re using AutoCAD, Revit, or Inventor.   
   
• We have introduced more than 140 functional enhancements that make Inventor easier to use. 
   
• We’re enabling the use of native drawing and Revit data for complete factory modeling.  This means you can connect directly to machine tools on the shop floor, gathering telemetry to create machining strategies, post-process them, and optimize the entire product creation process from start to finish.  
   

• We’re building Autodesk Flow, the industry cloud for Media and Entertainment. Flow will unify workflows and data across the entire production lifecycle from earliest concept to final delivery. It harnesses the power of an open ecosystem, open standards, and connected data to help studios big or small work more efficiently and collaboratively. 
   
• Wonder Dynamics recently joined Autodesk. They are doing incredible things with AI that democratize storytelling and augment existing workflows in VFX and animation. 
   
• Their tool, Wonder Studio, helps artists and animators use AI to place characters into live-action scenes doing away with many of the manual steps this usually requires.  
   
• Motion Prediction, a new AI capability in Wonder Studio, anticipates character poses even when the view of an actor is obstructed by an object and anticipates movement to produce more natural poses with less shaking and noise. 
   
• We also added four new Flow capabilities accessible in Maya and 3ds Max that transform traditional workflows for artists and production teams. 
   
• Flow Graph Engine API lets you run Bifrost for Maya graphs in the cloud and develop custom compute solutions for your studio. With the Flow Graph Engine API, pipeline teams will be able to develop their own capabilities to fit their studio’s unique needs and workflows.  
   
• Flow Retopology introduces new cloud-based model mesh processing to Maya and 3ds Max, streamlining modeling workflows so modelers can deliver professional results in record time.  
   
• Flow Wedging capabilities in Maya, currently in technology preview, allow FX artists to run multiple cloud-based simulations, based on different parameters ranges and settings.  
   
• Flow Animate in Context, currently in beta, empowers shot-based Maya artists to view their work within the broader context of a production. Whether you’re an animator, an effects artist, or a layout artist, you can easily see the entire editorial timeline in Maya and make adjustments directly to an asset while working visually on a shot. What’s more, you can see alternate representations of your shot while others collaborate on the same scene.  
   
• Flow Production Tracking includes real-time project tracking and AI-powered scheduling capabilities, now with Flow Generative Scheduling. With Autodesk AI, you can take control of ever-changing project variables, quickly compare multiple schedule scenarios, evaluate tradeoffs, and create resource-optimized and balanced schedules for even the most complex projects.  
   
• In Maya, you now have the ML Deformer. The algorithm uses Autodesk AI to learn how a complex character moves just from the data that’s provided, enabling animators to interact with their characters more intuitively. 
   
• We have launched an AI research project called Neural Motion Control in Maya, which simplifies character animation. Animators can direct the behavior of their character by setting just a handful of keyframes and the tool generates the motion automatically for them. 
   
• We’ve put a Flow Capture panel inside of Avid, meeting the editor right where they are. You can drag and drop footage into Avid and drag and drop cuts and timeline from Avid into Flow Capture, our camera-to-cloud and collaboration solution. 
   
• In Flow Capture, your media assets are now front and center. We reimagined the user experience so that you can easily find your assets like a specific take from one of your shoots and organized them with new drag-and-drop capabilities. 
   
• Shared playlists automate the secure transfer of playlists and associated content from Flow Production Tracking to Flow Capture. No more time-consuming manual downloads, uploads and processing of playlists. 
   
• We have redesigned Dope Sheet in Maya. A dope sheet is a chart that helps artists keep track of what’s happening in their animation. Now they can make changes like adjusting the animation timing of this complex character in a much more intuitive way. The Dope Sheet Editor gives you an easy way to work with dense keyframes, letting you make large-scale timing edits. This compliments the Graph Editor, where you can tweak individual keys on curves,  
   
• For modelers, we introduced the innovative Smart Extrude feature, now available in both 3ds Max and Maya. This lets you interactively extrude faces in the viewport and eliminates the need to manually repair double faces and unwelded results that occur during a traditional Extrude operation. With Smart Extrude, faces that are fully, partially cut-through or overlapped by the operation results are interactively rebuilt and stitched together, creating new manifold geometry, eliminating the need to manually repair hidden faces or geometric data. Therefore, you can freely explore and modify polygonal mesh topology on your object. 
   
• We’re also continuing our investment in open standards like OpenPBR. Together with Adobe, we’re doubling down on this standard because it allows you to transfer materials of different elements in your scene between applications. 
   
• In rendering, getting less noisy images takes a lot of computing power. We used AI in Arnold to solve this problem so that you can quickly denoise images every time you render a scene. 
   
• Golaem has recently joined Autodesk. Golaem provides animation tools that help artists populate 3D worlds with directable characters. It enables affordable and accessible crowd simulation capabilities for artists, whether a scene involves a few characters or hundreds of thousands.