A while back we had a technology preview on Autodesk Labs called Project Showroom. The technology preview simulated a shopping experience where consumers could mix and match appliances, wall colorings, and furnishings to customize kitchens and bathrooms. How many of you remember this?

Project Showroom helped perfect our rendering technology and then moved to another Autodesk Labs technology preview, Project Neon, where Autodesk customers could upload their drawings and building information models to get them rendered. This technology graduated from Autodesk Labs to become the basis for the A360 cloud-based rendering that we offer today.

So about 2 weeks ago I got this email from Dunn-Edwards.

Check it out. There is a color visualization tool:

Visit the Dunn-Edwards site.

Using the site, I was able to upload a picture of our recently modified powder room:

and see what it would look like with a different paint color. Since our modification was to add Stikwood boards made from reclaimed wine barrels, I decided to see what the room would look like if we painted the walls Dunn-Edwards' Merlot color.

I spent only a few minutes on it. For example, I did not draw around the toilet paper holder. I just went over it. It's great to see a customized room that is part of a shopping experience, but this is merely an overlay of painted computer screen regions. The rendering offered by A360 is visually correct based on physical conditions. At least the Dunn-Edwards solution is a step in the right direction.

Visualization is alive in the lab.