Advancing the Future of Design and Make with AI, Data, and Sustainability

At Autodesk Research, we’re focused on shaping the future of design and make. Across animation, product design, architecture, and construction, our work has explored how AI can extend creative intent. From MotionMaker, an AI-powered animation tool in Maya, to new ways large language models help preserve design intent in Fusion through intelligent sketch constraints, we’ve been advancing systems that work with designers’ instincts. In AEC, neural CAD approaches that reason directly with 3D objects and architectural systems are opening new possibilities for how buildings and geometry are conceived, including text-driven design workflows that reimagine how ideas move from concept to form.

At the same time, our research has centered on sustainability, data, and human experience. We’ve explored how AI can help assess material conditions hidden inside walls to identify reusable building materials, and how greener construction techniques like 3D-printed floor slabs can reduce waste and carbon emissions. By integrating sensor-collected performance data into product design, convening architects and researchers to study well-being in the built environment, and expanding our work in robotics with autonomous assembly from CAD to finished products, we’re connecting insight to action. And we’ve shared these ideas widely – through our publications library, in blog stories, via interactive experiences, and conversations.

Check out our video highlighting how Autodesk Research drove the future of AI, helped design and make a sustainable world, unlocked the power of data, and shared our work with customers and industry.