Looks like Autodesk bought Naiad

[McNistor]

Another great innovation from Autodesk. Wait...

[gustavoeb]

probably related to mayafx thing... whatever that is

[rray]

Good idea Gustavo, it's very likely... Whatever MayaFX is going to become, I hope they'll make some sort of compatibility layer for ICE.

[Bellsey]

Another great innovation from Autodesk. Wait...

Whilst that's funny and I get the joke, I think that's a tune that people can only play for so long. Fact is companies like Autodesk will nearly always make acquisitions for various reasons, be it to get into expand into a market, or boost existing market share, accelerate their R&D, or acquire people and resource.
It's easy to say that Autodesk only acquire and don't innovate, but I'm not sure its that simple and where do you draw the line, as you can acquire to innovate. After all, Adobe acquired Macromedia, The Foundry didn't start Katana or Mari, and Zbrush 'acquired' Sculptris, so it's not uncommon.

[gustavoeb]

I guess both ways to work are valid (buying out and investing in R&D). SideFX did not need to buy companies in order to implement Flip fluids, brute-force raytracing, deep imaging... they seem to invest in R&D.
While it is great that AD buys things and makes them available, I get frustrated that the lack of investment in R&D keeps new inovations from coming our way until the next buyout. Another side effect (no pun) of this behaviour is that we get a pile of different unintegrated solutions...

I mean, SIGGRAPH papers are there... While it is not cheap or easy to implement, it is probably cheaper then buying a company (i think). At least it does look so when we look at SideFX.

[Bellsey]

I agree and a fair point, but there's always this assumption that there's no R&D in Autodesk and that's not true. I was merely pointing out that it's a stick that many can only beat Autodesk with, up to a certain point.

[McNistor]

Autodesk does not innovate, it assimilates. After an acquisition is made the product is being developed at such a slow pace (in the eventuality that is not axed) that the bulk of new tech is not from R&D but from acquisitions.
I'm referring to M&E here, as the rest is of little interest to me.

[Bellsey]

you are of course, fully entitled to your opinion.

[Fer]

We just want Autodesk the give us what we asked for in SIC survey, just continue to develop ICE and lay done the base for third party extinction, there where I think innovation will come.

I (We?) clearly lost faith in any major addition to Softimage...

[luceric]

I guess both ways to work are valid (buying out and investing in R&D). SideFX did not need to buy companies in order to implement Flip fluids, brute-force raytracing, deep imaging... they seem to invest in R&D.[...]
I mean, SIGGRAPH papers are there... While it is not cheap or easy to implement, it is probably cheaper then buying a company (i think). At least it does look so when we look at SideFX.

A lot of those siggraph papers are from or based on Jos Stam's work at Autodesk. He's won the Oscar for Maya fluid with Duncan and Julia. Who work on stuff like nCloth and nHair, which look a lot like R&D to me.

The founder of Exotic Matter (i.e. Naiad) is the one who introduced Flip fluid, it doesn't come from SideFX. Neither did the deep compositing or ray tracing stuff. That's implementation of stuff researched elsewhere.

Most developers work on applications that are framework to hosts great solvers or renderers done by much smarter people. There are tons of people doing R&D on the Maya viewport (which is shared technology with 3dsmax's nitrous), data management, SDK, nHair, HumanIK, heat-map skinning, gpu cache, project geppetto, etc. the list goes on. And a lot of boring under-the-hood stuff that's meant as a framework for other people to use.

[McNistor]

How about a little sharing with Softimage too? Couldn't hurt, could it?

edit: I'm referring to the viewport stuff

[Fer]

More detailed infos at FXguide:

http://www.fxguide.com/quicktakes/death ... portunity/

in short of this article, this: "the team will not re-write Naiad inside Maya. Instead, they will spearhead a much larger operation with vastly more resources and with great backing"

[t4d]

I agree and a fair point, but there's always this assumption that there's no R&D in Autodesk and that's not true. I was merely pointing out that it's a stick that many can only beat Autodesk with, up to a certain point.

it would be good to SEE some output from what AD buys out
I totally agree it is a shareholder company and well it's may be cheaper to buy a good idea then invest in making one
AD accountants have done the numbers over all the years AD have been doing business and well that's life..

But it just seems the first good place they stick the latest Asset,.. AD leaves it and moves on..
Why isn't More tech being spread across the platforms ?

CAT was purchased for XSI softimage yet ... seems all AD customers got was a free plugin for MAX ?
ICE why not add that logic to Max or Maya ? I'm sure they would love it ?

How many UV, particle, Dynamic, soft/hard body, texture, Effects, lighting, rendering etc etc anything
has had a BIG WOW Autodesk purchase X ,.. and it only being given to one platform only..?

so many purchased assets yet ( it seems from my side ) it only ever gets delivered to one platform and left..

it's seem such a waste..
and far from being to the betterment of mankind or to help humans working with they software...

[bottleofram]

An incomplete list of AD acquisitions quickly compiled from wikipedia, this article and google search:


12/10/1996 - Softdesk - Developer of architecture, engineering and construction software.

05/06/1998 - Genius CAD-Software GmbH - Related to the mechanical application business for 68 Mio Euro in cash. The assets were used to strengthen the functionality of its core mechanical products.

03/16/1999 - Discreet Logic Inc. - Undisclosed amount.

04/22/1999 - VISION* Solutions - Vendor of enterprise automated mapping/facilities management/geographic information systems (AM/FM/GIS) solutions based, from MCI Systemhouse Corp., MCI WorldCom's global information technology company, for US$26 million.

01/24/2001 - Gentry Systems - Supplier of specialized software tools and services in the electric utility industry for an undisclosed amount. The asset were used to strengthen Autodesk's position in the utility industry.

09/24/2001 - Buzzsaw - $18 million.

02/21/2002 - Revit Technology Corporation - Massachusetts-based developer of parametric building technology for building design, construction, and management, for $133 million in cash.

08/06/2002 - CAiCE Software Corporation - Developer of surveying and engineering applications for transportation agencies and consultants, for approximately $10 million in cash.

12/18/2002 - Assets of truEInnovations, Inc - Undisclosed amount. The assets were used to create the application Autodesk Vault.

03/04/2003 - Linius Technologies, Inc. and certain assets of a third software company VIA Development Corporation - Undisclosed amount.

02/24/2004 - MechSoft, Inc., - Autodesk Inventor(R) Certified Applications Program partner and developer of the MechSoft product.

02/18/2005 - Assets of COMPASS systems GmbH- European-based developer of the COMPASS family of data management solutions. The assets were used to strengthen Autodesk's position in the European product data management market.

01/10/2006 - Alias - $197 million USD.

08/06/2007 - Skymatter Inc, - Developer of Mudbox.

08/09/2007 - NavisWorks, Inc. - $26 million, plus a working capital adjustment.

08/20/2007 - Opticore AB - Opticore is specialized in real time visualisation primarily for the carmakers industry.

08/28/2007 - PlassoTech - Developers of CAE applications. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

11/25/2007 - Robobat - France-based developer of structural engineering analysis applications. The acquisition was completed 01/15, 2008.

05/01/2008 - Moldflow Corporation - Leading provider of injection molding simulation software.

05/07/2008 - Kynogon SA - Privately held maker of Kynapse artificial intelligence middleware. Paris-based Kynogon specialized in video game middleware and simulation.

05/07/2008 - REALVIZ S.A. - REALVIZ's flagship products are "Stitcher" software for the creation of panoramas and 360 degree virtual tours, and "ImageModeler" software to produce 3D models from photographs.

06/26/2008 - Square One Research and its flagship product, Ecotect.

10/23/2008 - Softimage, Co. business, developers of 3D application Softimage (formerly Softimage|XSI), for $35 million USD.

12/17/2008 - ALGOR, Inc. for approximately $34 million.

12/17/2009 - VisualTAO (also known as PlanPlatform) - Israeli start-up that developed a cloud-based Web application, enabling users to view and edit AutoCAD files online. The company also developed a mobile version of the application. VisualTAO became part of PSEB, and the product was released during 2010 as "AutoCAD WS."

07/21/2010 - Illuminate Labs - The maker of Beast (a global illumination middleware) and Turtle (a global illumination plugin for Maya) used for video game development.

02/17/2011 - Blue Ridge Numerics, Inc. - A provider of simulation software for mechanical engineering, for approximately $39 million in cash. Autodesk will use the technology to enable fluid flow and thermal simulations.

03/01/2011 - Scaleform - UI middleware for video games. Scaleform provides interface technology for game developers.

07/19/2011 - Pixlr - An online photo editing and sharing service. Pixlr will be part of Autodesk’s consumer products group.

07/21/2011 - Illuminate Labs - The maker of Beast (global illumination middleware) and Turtle (a global illumination plugin for Maya) used for video game development.

08/01/2011 - Instructables - A website and platform where users can share their ideas and collaborate with a variety of do-it-yourself projects. Autodesk put the deal price at $32 million.

08/22/2011 - Evolver - With slick character modeling tools that uses a genetic metaphor to enable users to create characters by combining body forms. The company had hoped to sell its products as high-end character development tools in the game and movie industry and when that didn’t work, it turned to avatars. Autodesk says Evolver will help the company expand its work in real-time crowd simulation.

08/24/2011 - Certain technology assets of TurboSquid for $22 million.

08/25/2011 - Numenus, which optimizes CAD and construction processes by using NURBS technology.

10/23/2011 - MAP (Micro Application Packages Limited) - Plugin tools used in the AEC industry. Autodesk has said it will help build out the company’s capabilities in fabrication.

10/13/2011 - Dutch company Alice Labs - Which has point cloud technology and a product called Studio Clouds. The acquisition will increase Autodesk’s ability to work with large point clouds.

11/06/2011 - Grip Entertainment - Which develops behavior control systems for computer-controlled characters in video games.

11/30/2011 - Horizontal Systems - A company which develops cloud based BIM tools.

03/01/2012 - T-Splines - Powerful CAD surface with special properties, which improves upon traditional CAD technology while retaining compatibility.

06/08/2012 - Vela Systems - Construction field management software for contractors and construction managers, architects and engineers and owners and developers.

07/17/2012 - Socialcam - A smartphone application and web-based service that makes it easy to capture, edit and share videos.

08/13/2012 - Naiad - State-of-the-art fluid simulation software product.

Keep in mind this is across all industries, not only M&E.
Also, it is worth noting this list would be far longer if licensed 3rd party plugins were included.


The point is, unless the sources are way off, the frequency is increasing. RND could not possibly be cheaper than muscling your way through with staff/patent/competition acquisitions. That, IMHO, is not a business practice that drives the industry forward.

[Hirazi Blue]

CAT was purchased for XSI softimage yet ... seems all AD customers got was a free plugin for MAX ?

AFAIK & IIRC CAT was never acquired by Softimage for inclusion of the plugin into XSI. CAT was very much a Max plugin. Again, AFAIK & IIRC, CAT was mainly acquired as a means to employ Phil Taylor, who apparently came to play an important role in the development of ICE (Kinematics?).

[t4d]

CAT was purchased for XSI softimage yet ... seems all AD customers got was a free plugin for MAX ?

AFAIK & IIRC CAT was never acquired by Softimage for inclusion of the plugin into XSI. CAT was very much a Max plugin. Again, AFAIK & IIRC, CAT was mainly acquired as a means to employ Phil Taylor, who apparently came to play an important role in the development of ICE (Kinematics?).

so the Current Softimage autorigger is Better then CAT ?
( I have played with Cat in Max and I would personally say I WISH CAT was in softimage.. the IP is own by all the same company ?? )