This made me recall our work on Autodesk Showroom.

Autodesk Showroom was a technology preview where we used photorealistic rendering as part of a simulated shopping experience. Using on-demand rendering allowed potential buyers to configure a kitchen and see what combination of flooring, cabinets, and appliances would really look like. The results were so realistic that it was hard to distinguish a computer rendering from a photograph.

Photograph:
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Click to enlarge

Rendering:
http://labs.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341caed853ef01156f791880970c-pi" style="display: inline;">
Click to enlarge

Showroom was a mix and match where the elements were known in advance. For Project Neon, we let users upload their own files.

Autodesk customers could upload their AutoCAD drawings or Revit models and allow computers in the cloud to render photorealistic images. This technology preview was even more popular than Showroom.

Today we have Autodesk cloud rendering.

• With photorealistic rendering, you can produce stunning, high-quality renderings from designs and models with cloud rendering.
• Since cloud rendering is accessible anytime, anywhere, you can submit render jobs to the cloud directly through your product and access them online anytime in the Gallery.
• In addition to realistic imagery, you can perform solar study renderings, simulate illuminance, and navigate through 360-degree panoramas.

The technology certainly has come a long way since its preview days.

Rendering is alive in the lab.