CAD: Digital Natives to drive next-generation Visualization and Design Tools?

Consumer technologies are driving what is happening in enterprise IT.  Gartner analysts have identified a trend where ‘digital natives’, workers with high levels of exposure to sophisticated consumer technologies, demand and expect comparable technologies to be available from their workplace IT.  These high-tech users expect technologies like blogging, podcasting, VoIP and video on demand.

Consumer technology is making available very low-cost software and hardware to the masses, and this has lowered the barrier of entry for many activities.  This trend has created huge numbers of hobbyists dabbling in many areas like high-quality video and photography. 

Another area being affected is high-end modeling and visualization.  Creating and modeling virtual worlds has generated incredible interest.  A good example of what is happending is Linden Lab’s Second Life, the on-line 3D virtual world now with 2.5 million users.  Second Life’s ‘metaverse’ allows users/residents to create realistic virtual worlds in which people can interact to do business and communicate.

3D visualization had long been the domain of high-end CAD sytems and graphic modeling systems like those developed at Pixar.  High quality software modeling and rendering software is becoming more readily available and at much lower cost.

For example, yesterday Google announced an updated version of their SketchUp product, 3D modeling software that allows designers and planners to create complex realistic 3D models from photographs.  Unlike most of Google’s software, SketchUp needs to be run on either a Windows or Mac, and it comes as a free or for-fee Pro version.

For being able to produce high-quality virtual visualizations SketchUp has built a strong following, especially in the AEC market.  Can it replace CAD?  No, not yet.  AutoCAD is still king and in fact some feel that AutoDesk borrowed some of SketchUp’s look and feel in their recent AutoCAD 2007 release.  SketchUp lacks the precision of the model data available in a true CAD product.  But SketchUp is moving closer to CAD.  For example, Bentley and Google have teamed up in the latest release of the Microstation V8 product.

But products like SketchUp are sure to transform the CAD market by simplifying the interface, improving the rendering and visualization capabilities, and driving down prices.