Research and Development plus Risk and Determinism

Our team is part of Autodesk’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO). At Autodesk, the role of OCTO is to tell stories about the future and make them come true. OCTO’s charter is to explore, distill, and apply what’s next for Autodesk and explain why it matters. Our job is to stay one or two time horizons ahead of the company and create or prevent strategic surprise.

Autodesk’s Innovation Continuum is our way to demonstrate the critical value of experimentation.

Continuum
Autodesk Innovation Continuum

The continuum shows us that every innovation in human history passes through five very distinct phases in the course of its evolution. When considering our innovation efforts, it is important for us to consider where technology is in this innovation lifecycle.

  1. Impossible

    At first, the innovation is thought to be “impossible” — meaning it simply can’t be done or hasn’t even been conceived of yet.

  2. Impractical

    Next, the innovation enters the “impractical”…

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