Who would have thought… that back in 2000, you would have made it to 2010 and, in doing so, are now able to buy a 32 GB thumb drive for under $100 to store all your cat pictures and design files on? Or, that you would meet online with a customer in Switzerland for a 5 hour design review? A lot has happened and it’s usually nothing like what we thought it would be or necessarily want it to be. Nevertheless, there are some cool advancements that happen along the way. These are a few of my guesses of what a few of them may be over the next ten years.

1. SolidWorks will release a CATIA translator/converter
2. 3D Design apps on Windows, Mac, Linux or Mobile
3. More apps via (your head in) the cloud
4. Thumb-drive and web upgrades
5. Devices for 3D Product Specs/Design guidelines
6. Print replacement parts
7. People will realize 3D is more than in the movies
8. A big merger between a 3D Design and a Rendering company
9. A major partnership between a 3D Design and a game console company
10. We will design airplanes via Facebook

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2009 saw the growth of some trends and interest that will most likely carry over into 2010. In addition, I took a look at what were the most popular feature stories published by AECWeekly over the past year.

1) Cloud computing.
2) 3D laser scanning.
3) Visualization/simulation/analysis.
4) Social Networking.
5) Multi-core computing.
6) Doing more with less.
7) Project collaboration tools that enable the BIM process.
3D printing.
9) Building Product Manufacturing.
10) Energy and Building Performance.

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