Autodesk Research at AU 2026: Exploring the Future of AI for Design & Make

What happens when AI moves beyond generating answers and begins helping people explore possibilities, understand complex environments, and make better-informed decisions?

At AU 2026, attendees will have several opportunities to explore these scenarios and the future of Design & Make with Autodesk Research. Our team will share their work through talks and panels and welcome attendees to an interactive experience exploring how AI, intelligent agents, and spatial computing could transform the way teams work together.

Hear from Autodesk Research

Across three days of sessions, Autodesk Research speakers will explore some of the biggest questions emerging at the intersection of AI and Design & Make. Explore how agents can help teams navigate design decisions, emerging research with real-world applications, how to translate fragmented information into useful design intent, and more.

Tuesday, September 15 (all times PDT) 

• 11:30 a.m. – Noon: Lessons from AI-Driven Software Engineering that can Improve Design and Make Productivit
• 11:30 a.m. – Noon: From Fragmented Inputs to Actionable Design Intent
• 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Why AI Struggles in Real-World Making – and How to Make it Work
• 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Agentic Design Exploration: How LA28 and Autodesk Research Partnered to Lower Carbon and Cost
• 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Connected Buildings at Scale: From Construction to Operations

Wednesday, September 16 (all times PDT)

• 11:30 a.m. – Noon: Why Construction Needs World Models
• 12:30 p.m. – 1 p.m.: From Capture to AI: How Data Enrichment Unlocks the Value of Motion
• 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.: From Reality to Simulation: Capturing, Predicting, and Replaying the Experience of Design with APS and AI
• 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Beyond Design: The Evolving Role of Architects and Engineers in the Age of AI

Thursday, September 17 (all times PDT)

• 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Collaborative Multi-Agents for AEC: A New Way to Navigate Design Decisions

Step into a possible future of Design & Make

If you’re attending AU in person, you can also experience Autodesk Research beyond the sessions and on the Expo floor. Stop by for an interactive experience exploring a vision for the future of Design & Make that looks at how AI, intelligent agents, and spatial computing could come together to help teams collaborate in new ways, make decisions with greater context, and stay connected throughout the entire process.

Explore our research, meet the team, and step into possible futures for Design & Make with Autodesk Research at AU. And if you’re not attending in person, be sure to register for a digital pass to follow along from wherever you are. We’ll also share digital sessions after the event, enabling you to share in the learning well after AU.