Let's ReCap. No, not that ReCap, let's recap: The Elf on the Shelf, a scout for Santa as to who's been naughty or nice, snuck into my laptop bag and was on the loose in the office. See blog article with pictures. The Elf made his way to the Autodesk Gallery. See blog article with pictures. Although there is an all-points bulletin out for his capture, he remains on the loose. Knowing this, he was able to hide by blending into the Media & Entertainment section of the gallery: Although not as widely publicized, Autodesk is a dominant player in the film, games, and television industries. For the last 22 years in a row, all Oscar nominees for the best visual effects category have used Autodesk software for the films that were nominated. For example, using a device representing a "virtual camera" puts "what a movie looks like" in the hands of the director, in this case, James Cameron, instead of the animator. As such, Autodesk MotionBuilder is the software behind the process used for Avatar. Being on the run must be a tiring process as the Elf was seen resting on a chair: Using software that mirrors the design process of Nature, the resulting chair design (far right) is of equal strength but dramatically reduced weight — requiring less material. The Living, part of Autodesk, has been working on research and development projects in the fields of architecture, art, industrial design, aerospace, computer science, engineering, manufacturing and synthetic biology to create new types of buildings, public installations, prototypes, and architectural environments. As his little sit-down was obviously not enough to fully recharge, he took a nap in a warm location: Unsatisfied that 450 low-birth-weight and premature babies die each hour, many in developing countries, two Stanford students developed a low-cost (only $200) incubating blanket for newborns. Autodesk provides its software free to faculty and students as part of our Educational programs. We also have a foundation. The Elf can't keep this up forever, so tune in next week... Christmas magic is alive in the lab. Go to the original post...