Future Disruptions in Automotive Design with Alias and VRED Line of Products

SAMARTH GUPTA: Good afternoon, good morning, good evening. My name is Samarth Gupta and I'm going to take you through this session on future disruptions in automotive design with Alias and VRED line of products. It's going to be an engaging session, and I hope that you like it.

So before we start, I'd like to take you through the Safe Harbor Statement. And this is very important. So I'll just spend a half a minute. Maybe you can go through this.

OK, so let's move on. So let's talk about the present scenario. As you can see on this slide, there are some of the industry trends we have already started witnessing. These trends are, we all know there are autonomous cars, connected cars, electric cars, shared mobility, and these are some of the trends that we are seeing as is in the present scenario. So why are we experiencing this disruption in the industry today?

I reckon the following factors are broadly contributing to this disruption. Climate change, which is one of the very, very important factors today. Because of the global warming, because of the polar ice caps melting, because of the greenhouse effect, there is a lot of global warming that we are witnessing. Then rising urban population, this is one of these very, very important factors.

It's well documented that from 30 years from now, by 2050, there's going to be 10 billion people. And 75% of those 10 billion people would live in urban areas. So you can imagine how many people would live in urban areas. The cities would be almost very crowded. And 5 billion, which is almost 50%, which is half of the global population, would be global middle class.

And this global middle class are the ones who are going to drive the GDPs of their respective countries, because they are the ones who will buy more cars, more products, more washing machines, refrigerators, more than ever. So there'll be a lot of consumer demand. There'll be a lot of energy requirements. There'll be a lot of challenges for the manufacturers of tomorrow. And because of technology becoming cheaper, because of technology becoming very accessible, this will actually have a serious impact or serious effect on the consumer behavior.

So consumers of tomorrow would be very, very finicky, would be more demanding. And this is going to add more opportunities, as well as challenges for the manufacturers. One of the things that we have been witnessing in the last two years is the changes in the geopolitical and other factors with the COVID pandemic, and some of the regional conflicts. We have seen that these are some of the factors which are also participating in the global trends of various industries.

So what are some of the trends we foresee, keeping in mind the present, and keeping in mind that what is happening now. So we foresee that more and more push by the regional governments, by regions, by respective countries, to give more tax sops or incentivize manufacturing of more clean mobility vehicles, so that more and more people would shift to clean mobility. There could be a rise in consumption patterns of people, because there will be more people living in cities.

So their aspirations will be more. And they'll be like buying more cars, which actually would express their true selves, because since the customers or consumers of tomorrow would be more individualistic, they would like to buy products which express their newly-found freedom. Mining activity would increase because some of the electric vehicles require the mining of rare earth metals, which means that there'll be more mining activity.

There'll be more supply chain movements. And this is going to be very, very critical going forward, because these are some of the factors which are going to impact how the industry, the automotive industry, is going to be shaped. Again, as I talked in the previous slide, that the individualism, the self-actualized customer of tomorrow, would be quite demanding. They would have a unique set of expectations, which would throw up new challenges. But at the same time, it would also help manufacturers to rethink about their strategy to design and manufacture products.

So let's discuss some of the points that I discussed in detail, that I mentioned in my previous slide in detail. Climate change is one of the very, very important factors, because of the increased government push for clean mobility. There have been instances, there have been geos, there have been countries, who are mandating consumers to buy EVs, to make them buy EVs. Or they are actually putting in place stricter policies or stricter mandates, so that some of the consumers would be discouraged to buy the fossil fuel-based vehicles.

So some of these trends we are already seeing. The manufacturing budgets are also getting revamped. So many governments are giving tax sops and giving manufacturing incentives to manufacturers to manufacture more and more vehicles, which promote clean mobility. So we have been seeing this, that how government policies actually play a very, very important role in driving innovation and re-shaping the future.

The other trend that we see, as I discussed in my first slide, is the rising urban population. And this would lead to a lot of consumption of products, which in this case would be cars. So more and more people would want to buy cars because they want to have a personal space. So small cars might gain popularity in crowded cities going forward.

Since more and more people will come to cities, there'll be a lot of issues with the cost of living. So many people would find difficult to sustain living in cities. So they would invest their money, not in big cars but small cars. So the cost of procuring a car would directly depend on the cost of living, the living expenditures.

So brand loyalty, based on benefits and based on usability, may become very important, because users may like to use the same car till the end of its lifecycle, if they find it aesthetically pleasing and functional, and whether it solves their problems. Since we have already talked about it, but we could see a scenario where manufacturers would also keep into account the local taste and resource availability.

And this is very important, because with the world increasingly getting divided into regional blocks, local design and manufacturing would gain popularity. So manufacturers would like to design and manufacture for a specific set of people. As cities will become a microcosm of local cultures, local tastes, people living with specific identities, manufacturers would like to create some additional designs, or maybe rethink their entire manufacturing lifecycle, just to cater to those set of people.

Increased traffic would also put a lot of stress on the local governments to invest more in the safety of people. So autonomous driving, which is machine-driven, might gain popularity. And it might be mandated by certain governments going forward. With the increased traffic, safety would also become very paramount to manufacturers.

So manufacturers cannot just shy away from investing in technologies which promote safety, which ensures that their consumers are safe while using their vehicle. The other trend which is very important and which can actually reshape, which has the potential to reshape everything, is the consumer behavior. And as we actually talked previously, that there would be more individual behavior by consumers, so OEMs have to cater to this trend.

There could be movements, there could be climate change movements. There could be people who would participate more and more in such movements, because consumers of tomorrow will be self-actualized. They would like to make this world a far better place. And climate change is definitely one of the things that they would participate.

Regional and national identity is going to be very important, even if we go with a one-size-fits-all approach. Manufacturers cannot ignore the importance and the richness of local cultures. So they might like to-- they might rethink their design strategy by putting in or embedding more regional specific elements, design elements, into their overall design. So these are some of the trends that are coming out.

It might be difficult to comprehend, but we have already seen this trend. Some of the cultures have already seen the massive success of small cars, both the fossil fuel-based IC engines or the electric vehicles, because there the living spaces, the culture, the cultural moorings, it actually helps them to adopt mobility, which is not big car, which is a small car, because they have constraints with space. They have constraints with parking, so on and so forth.

So regional cultures are very important. We are also seeing that there are certain regions where, for example, the truck designs are an expression of their region, their culture. Their truck designs are very colorful, and this actually is a very, very important cue to capture. And manufacturers will take note of it going forward.

Manufacturers have already started, there are certain car companies who are experimenting with bold car designs, which radically challenge the status quo. Ordinary designs which previously were comfortable to eyes, to normal people's eyes, you know, but now people have started to create designs which are not very pleasing in the first glance. But it helps them to give their customers a vision for the future.

So these trends might continue, customers would get a fair share of all the experimentation that manufacturers and designers would be doing. And I would say that with more and more design-related maturity coming along the way, this trend would pick up and accentuate even more in the future. Geo-political factors are very, very critical, going when we actually talk about the future. COVID lockdown brought the entire global automotive industry to its knees in the last two years.

Employees, who were working in the corporate, or working in shops, or working in small businesses, were asked to work from home, which actually disrupted the way they used to work before. Working remotely, leveraging all the available technology, also hugely impacted their consumption behaviors. During lockdowns, people started to consume more digital content. They ordered more using online shopping.

They did more virtual meetings. They did more work, because they had more time at their disposal to work on their work. So this led to a new normal where people realize that there are unlimited possibilities. And there are unlimited possibilities not just to work, but also to maintain business continuity.

At the same time, with the world largely, and I would say rapidly, getting divided into regional blocks, it has taken its toll on the automotive manufacturing activity. Restriction on supply chain movements, political embargo on goods, inaccessibility to key natural resources due to conflict zones, et cetera, are the realities of today, which we cannot run away from, and possibly for the future. So manufacturers have to face that these are things which can happen any time in the future. And they have to really think of plan B to keep their business running without any interruption.

So broadly we can see the contribution of Autodesk in three main areas, which is impacted by the trends we have discussed so far. The way they would be designed, the way they would be sold, and the way they will be used. And now we will actually discuss all these three things in detail. So the way they will be designed, that most of the automotive startups and the OEMs joining the race, the underpinnings of the EVs allow new opportunities opening up for designers to experiment with new designs, to play with new design elements, and to realize new creative ideas and new concepts.

So as you can see in the picture, this is just a theoretical conceptual, just to represent the representation of and platform of an EV. There is no bulky IC engine. There is no gearbox. So this actually opens up a lot of space for designers to experiment. It gives a lot of creative freedom. But I would say that, you know, apart from the form, the shape, there would be more to it. There would be like more business models coming along.

OEMs would start coming up with new business models to create new profit streams. And I believe that this is already happening. A great example of this changing trend is the platform approach, or skateboard approach, where consumers, the manufacturers have now started to manufacture just the chassis or just the platform. And they give this platform to their consumers and expect them to use it in their own ways.

So this is an example from one of our customers, pix moving, who have actually designed just a cutting-edge chassis using the technology that they liberate from Autodesk. The AI-powered generative design technology available in Fusion 360, and using their own proprietary software, pix moving was able to design more scalable, flexible, and performance-driven vehicle charging, known as pix spot, to suit each customer's requirements, be it shape or functionality.

Now such disruptions are what I reckon has the potential to change the global automotive industry, but at the same time, it has the potential to reshape our urban landscape, the way we commute, the way we work, the way we come back to work, the way we go to holidays. So this revolution is already underway, let alone the future. This really is a very, very different approach to transportation and the way Autodesk technologies like generative design, and with the help of the refinements that were done with the help of Alias and VRED.

This is being leveraged by our customers already. And we can surely see that the future of mobility is getting transformed. And we are definitely proud to be part of this journey.

What is often lost in debate over mobility, and we are actually talking about mobility a lot these days, is the importance of desirability and appeal in the future. The desirability and appeal component is going to stay. The factors that attract the customers of today to a car or an SUV or a sports car should be able to lure the customers of the future, including performance, interior space, as well as the intangibles which are subjective in nature, like the style and elegance.

Now there are elements of design and engineering specific to EVs that enhances these factors, like the front grille. Now the front grille is totally a new area now for designers to play around with, because electric vehicles-- and if we assume that we are going with electric vehicles in the future-- electric vehicles have a very different type of cooling requirements, which provide designers a lot of creative freedom for the front grille. So they can actually include a brand identity, they can add elements, brand specific elements to the front facade.

And they can also leverage some of the computational technologies already available with Autodesk. The designers can actually leverage some of the technologies which work seamlessly with the industry standard Autodesk technologies like Alias, which have the tools to conceptualize elements with minimum effort and time. So we are definitely poised to see a lot of exciting times ahead when it comes to design.

And with electric mobility involved now, everyone is actually investing in the future of vehicles. OEMs have already started entering the market by launching new, fresh, and radically different designs, but some of these designs are driven by engineering requirements. Some of the constraints, as I talked before, have been removed, like the IC engine, the gearbox. And that actually is allowing designers to experiment with designs.

So the designers can conceptualize more the vehicles which are sleek, aerodynamic. You can see that this trend is already starting to take shape. The one single glass directly moving or flowing from the A-pillar to C-pillar, so every OEM has started to give their mobility objects a distinct character and a distinct identity, and a unique style, because everyone wants to stay relevant in the future, because EV still is a very small market share. And it's anyone's market tomorrow. So every OEM is investing a lot in this space.

Another very important trend that I'm actually visualizing for tomorrow is the biomimicry of organic designs. So the future will see a tremendous resource scarcity, as we have talked about this before, that cities will become so overcrowded and there'll be less resources available at human disposal. So they'll be needing new methods to sustain assets and definitely provide hope to others, because that is very important. We all should remain hopeful, even if we don't have anything coming from Mother Earth.

So in this context, we see more and more human-driven designs getting inspired from the nature-driven designs. And these designs, you can see if you actually look closely, there is a lot of natural designs around you. So designers, they have already, you know, designers are already taking inspiration from the natural world. But this actually is going to work in their favor going forward, because it actually is going to give them the advantage of expressing their deep appreciation and connection to the elements in the natural world, and at the same time create differentiation for their brands, because everyone wants to buy something new. Everyone wants to be associated and wants to use something which is new and fresh, and which actually reflects their personal identity.

One example I would like to show here on how Autodesk is already helping designers in this area is the way they are actually designing the interiors of vehicles. Now this technology that we have already, helps designers to explore parametric designs through the rules of [INAUDIBLE]. Certain elements in the concept design stage are too parametric and sometimes it becomes really time-consuming to model them in the traditional incumbent tools like Alias.

So the Autodesk Dynamo that actually works seamlessly with Alias now is an open source platform where, based on computational design, your designers can create scripts on their own. But they can also utilize the existing scripts, because sometimes the designs become very, very critical. So they have to get it done from either outside support, or they can do it by themselves. And the final results can be easily visualized using Alias workflow.

So with Dynamo integrated with Alias, the workflows would help. And it's already helping designers to iterate designs much more quickly. And this trend is going to continue. We already see this technology creating wonders for designers. And definitely going forward, there will be more developments happening, assumably.

We have already talked about this customer of ours which is pix moving. And in the future, organic designs could be further in motion and some of our customers are already there. But the whole idea of this biomimicry is very, very futuristic, because in the future, there could be too much technology, which might overbuild or take over the aesthetics of the mobility products. Or maybe customers might want to experience something different, something radical, something unique, something chaotic, even, but something which is functional.

So human design solutions would give way to natural designs, you know, the designs which are inspired by nature. So you can see the chassis is definitely inspired by nature. You can see the organic design. Customers would like to see a chassis which looks more organic.

Autodesk is already helping manufacturers to realize this, to reduce their carbon footprint, because this was very carbon neutral to manufacture, and definitely, you know, give their customers a unique proposition. So with generative design technology, this customer could realize the design. And with advanced additive technologies, it was very difficult, very easy to manufacture these designs which are superior functionally and aesthetically pleasing to our customers.

One another example that I would like to take is the Lightning Motorcycle, which had a distinct advantage over others because it started from scratch, unlike its competitors. So it really wanted to give its customer something new. So it was not constrained by the traditional preconceptions or traditional manufacturing processes. And using a collection of Autodesk software and 3D printing technologies, Lightning Motorcycle was able to be agile in its iterating process.

So one of the areas in the bike chosen to optimize was the swing-arm, with clear goals to reduce weight and improve performance, under varied load conditions. So generative design tools allow users to explore a multitude of design solutions based on goals and constraints, unlike optimization software, which only allows refinement of existing designs. So Lightning Motorcycle engineers teamed up with Autodesk research scientists and Autodesk team to achieve these quantitative goals.

The new generative design swing-arm also helped restore the elusive feel or elusive right feel, which was more of a qualitative goal for the bike manufacturer. This example also shows that in the future, automotive OEMs may find the combination of generative design and additive manufacturing quite relevant to give their customers a new kind of experience. This is centered around customization, because these technologies could also allow customers to order custom trim packages or custom bike parts, or personalize their vehicles with their names or the logos of their favorite sports team. So these applications are poised to greatly reshape the customer experience in the future, and add added profit streams for the OEMs.

OK, so moving forward, we talk about sustainable aesthetics. And this is a term which is coined by me. And what I feel is that, even if AI gets too advanced in the future, assumably and presumably it won't be able to capture these objective notions of style and beauty and aesthetics, and how they impact customer buying decisions. So with increased pressures on resource availability, energy to manufacture, and stricter government regulations, OEMs of the future might shift their tactic to draw customers to their products.

Having sustainable aesthetics of their mobility objects, which are easy to eyes and instantly familiar, we have already talked about that. In the future we see increased diversity. But at the same time, individual options, opinions latent, OEM for investing in culture-specific design elements or develop culture specific design language, which expresses their customer's unique sense of style and taste, but this strategy could alienate some of the other potential buyers. So on the other hand, there could be an attempt by OEMs to design fast, design for all, and more importantly, that continue to satisfy the aesthetic sensibilities of a larger set of people for a longer duration of time.

More and more timeless designs would be sought that would remain relevant for the next 25 or even 50 years, because that could be one of the desirable attributes by both the customer and the manufacturer. And this way, this could also benefit the buying process or the buying decision of consumers. This would directly help mitigate the global climate changes.

It will help to lower the greenhouse impact because of the manufacturing of more cars. So it would enable OEMs to show their commitment to mitigate climate crisis and also provide visual delight to their customers, which would, you know, lost this. In this endeavor, Autodesk Alias tools are already known to OEMs and automotive community the world over. But they will continue to stay relevant as the development of exterior or interior skin will become more relevant than ever, because it's going to directly influence the customer's buying decision.

Investing in the development of glassy surface would also indirectly permit OEMs to charge premium on their offerings, thereby increasing their average profit per vehicle numbers. So Alias from Autodesk has been incumbent as I said. But it's going to stay relevant. There could be more tools which would help designers to stay relevant, and the value it would create to their manufacturers purely from the aesthetic perspective.

So let's talk about the third aspect of the "how," which is the way perhaps would be sold in the future. Knowing the future belongs to automotive OEM startups, new entrants, tech players, venture capitalists, who are already attempting to build three, you know, to capture the market share or build strongholds in the mobility ecosystem. As a result, we foresee increased competition in the mobility market.

And everyone would strive to build brand loyalty to stay ahead of the competition, ahead of the curve. So apart from product differentiation in terms of functionalities, design, aesthetics, new engagement models will emerge during the selling phase. How do OEMs design customer experience journey itself would get disrupted. Now customers of future may not like to be pampered or cajoled to make a purchase. Rather, they would like to experience technologies as part of a joyride, which would further enable their participation into decision.

I'd like to give one example. Loyal customers might be invited to participate in concept vehicle journeys, or new or upcoming designs. And these journeys can be based on using real data. So customers would participate in designing real data, designing concepts for the manufacturers. Where AI-based technologies take over in the future, customer touchpoints need to be disrupted. And designing customer journeys, which are both thrilling, unique, and delightful, would become an added challenge for OEMs.

Giving customers an experience which doesn't have an end goal would empower them to participate in the future offerings of the product as the journey itself becomes the destination. It will definitely help OEMs or manufacturers to build brand loyalty in the industry, which is littered with cutthroat competition. And at the same time, it will help disrupt the entire selling process. The manufacturers would seek to disrupt this product journey. And this is going to throw up additional challenges and new set of opportunities for them.

As discussed, we are already there. Automotive companies have already been using our solutions. The slide that I'm sharing is one of our OEMs already engaging their potential customers, and the design teams with advanced technologies like AR, VR, and now XR, which is short for extended realities. And this is maybe the first step towards merging the virtual and the real world, leveraging VRED's rendering process.

But presently I would say that it is largely used by designers to compare digital and physical prototypes and make informed decisions much earlier in the design phase, and for remote design reviews. In future, we would see such experiences entering the customer journey phase. And it's going to be really exciting.

So to visually appealing rendering data, its priority for designers and marketing professionals, there is always a need to do more with the data. So organizations want to make the data available to every person on every device, and anywhere possible. And this is already possible with that Autodesk VRED code, which utilizes the VRED's advanced rendering capabilities and delivers to a server-based solution run on either cloud or a local server. And this can become accessible through the VRED code API, on any device, like a laptop or a small tablet or a mobile phone.

And it can be streamed to any front end device, as a business. Another benefit that is quite apparent is that VRED code can take care of repetitive tasks, so designers can actually spend more time doing more important work. So when the high quality rendered data is available on Android devices, more and more people can actually make more relevant and informed decisions while purchasing their next car or mobility objects.

This can also throw up new opportunities for OEMs, because they can think of more means of collaboration between the salespersons or the customers using this technology, and any queries thereof, any product queries, or any clarification. So it has a tremendous potential to further disrupt the customer buying process going forward in the future.

So let's talk about the way the products will be used in the future. In the future, as I said, that OEMs will have to cater to a customer who is very finicky, who is self-actualized, who has individual opinion, has a unique set of expectations, and is going to be very challenging as we have already discussed. But more and more, OEMs might shun the one-size-fits-all approach. Customers' unique experiences would be valued. And you can actually see that these are some of the colorful things which are available in different parts of the world.

I discussed about the current designs, and in my part of the world and the country where I live in, you can see trucks being embellished. They are decorated because it is like a personal space for a truck driver. So even if we see the advent of autonomous technologies in mainstream fleet operations going forward, truck designers or truck users will continue to embellish it and make it very personal. So there'll be added opportunity for truck designers to design the cabins according to the aesthetic, cultural, and functional requirements of that particular space.

This would be a very, very unique way to capture value for those truck drivers. Local craftsmanship will remain critical to realize such colorful and contextual things. And manufacturers can think of providing their customers to participate in creating design elements which are very, very user-specific, or offer them the products or objects, which can be retrofitted into their existing designs, which can help customers to stay relevant.

OK, so providing potential buyers an opportunity to co-create their own design elements may really become a trend going forward. And with technology becoming more accessible, cheaper, and which requires lesser skills are required to use them, more and more consumers would like to participate in the design journey of the products they are going to use. We would see the advent of cloud computing technologies into our mainstream social lives. And they would become more simple to utilize, and they would be more adaptable for new and established businesses.

So we have some important leverage, cloud to engage their potential customers. At Autodesk, there are tools like create VR and design collaborator. As you can see, on everyday devices via cloud can further boost this concept. These are technologies that might come in into the future development process.

And currently we only have a certain set of technologies that we support. But the consumer is becoming more empowered by participating in the design journey. Manufacturers can formulate new business strategies as I talk and create new revenue streams.

OK, so continuing, so the city is becoming overcrowded, leading to high cost of home-ownership, as listings would be available for housing. There could be scenarios going forward where the mobility object itself would serve multiple functions, with some of the design constraints removed, as I talked before.

Mobility objects can double up as living capsule for temporary inhabitants, or even serve as a fun place for you know, friends to enjoy beer in the evenings. So in the future cities would become more crowded. Resources would be scarce. So designers may have to address these challenges. They cannot just sit and just design beautiful products.

The mobility objects of the future may perform multiple functions, like become like a power generator for houses, for the places where power is a problem, the power supply is a problem, or maybe provide electricity to other needs. The possibilities are unlimited. And hence it would be quite a challenge for designers, but at the same time, an opportunity for them in creating something which helps reduce the impact on earth's natural resources.

With vehicles becoming mobility spaces, designers can also explore opportunities to cover all aspects of creative design. They can experiment with graphic textures, use of bold and jazzy colors to reflect the cultural moorings of the community, of the user community, or anything which elevates the intrinsic value of this space. And this can be possible using some of the industry standard visualization products that we currently have.

With the end of human-driven vehicles in sight and more and more reliance on autonomous vehicles to achieve greater levels of safety on roads, we foresee a scenario, we can see a scenario where designers have more and more opportunities and more and more creative freedom with respect to the mobility spaces. Vertical interiors, which would become very, very critical going forward, a good pace for very good, through new opportunities for designers to create new lighting experiences.

So digitization opportunities would mean technology explosion, but at the same time you have more opportunities to design experiences for the customers. OEMs of the future can think of more customized lighting experience for its users to reflect the mood of the consumers, give it a more realistic experience, and sometimes simulating sci-fi, you know, totally imaginative, but very, very engaging. VRED is already capable of visualizing physically accurate light data, lighting data from other companies.

And this is already helping light designers and industrial designers in their quest to provide the ultimate user experience. It is already supporting surrounding technologies to provide full product experience to its customers. And one of the media who was attending a two week course with the support, [AUDIO OUT] just the animations, interactive content, design, and cute design studios can be directly streamed into VRED digital dashboard.

The data can be consumed in the immersive environment using one of the head-mounted devices with a touch sensor capabilities for UI interactions. And this is already helping designers with more realistic interactive experience of the digital content dashboard in this case. And this is the trend that we see that the mobility objects of the future will become the mobile phones on wheels, going forward. And we, as technology providers from Autodesk, are already there.

We have already taken the first step. And we are quite excited to see how things go on. But we really feel that we are already poised to help designers and manufacturers in their quest to design the ultimate mobility object. So the future of mobility is here and the technology to realize it is available right now from Autodesk.

As we move into the future overwhelmed by unprecedented changes, driven by global warming, people, society changes, cultural changes, nations, you know, there is an impending need to envision changes to the mobility industry and be ready for its radical disruption, disruptions which have the potential to impact our daily lives, disruptions which have the potential to impact the everyday use of things, the open spaces definitely are going to be.

The mobility revolution is already underway. And we at Autodesk are proud to be part of this journey. Thank you so much and you have a splendid day ahead of you. And I hope you found this presentation helpful and insightful. Thank you so much.