CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

13 April 2009

Company News

Autodesk Brings Historic Designs to Life in New Discovery Channel Series DOING DAVINCI

The team of 21st century builders, engineers and historians tasked with recreating Leonardo daVinci's inventions for the new Discovery Channel series DOING DAVINCI are using Autodesk Inventor 3D design and engineering software to virtually test the inventor's designs.

With the first of 10 high-definition episodes premiering on Discovery Channel on April 13, DOING DAVINCI puts a modern twist on daVinci classics by taking viewers through the build process to determine whether daVinci's designs really work. Using materials available only in daVinci's time, the program team works to reconstruct his inventions--everything from a futuristic armored tank to a towering three-story siege ladder--to determine the viability of each design and whether some ideas are better left in the history books.

"Autodesk Inventor is an awesome program. It is the most intuitive program out there, and it allows us to easily design and perform what-if studies to figure out the best option for daVinci's designs," said Valek Sykes, designer, sculptor, special effects expert and one of the team's builders. "Inventor software gives us the most realistic simulation, so we know that when we design and test it in the computer, that's it, it's going to work in the real world. I can't say enough good things about Inventor. I absolutely love creating with it."

The DOING DAVINCI team chose Autodesk Inventor software to digitally design, visualize and simulate their projects before they are built, reducing the need for physical prototypes. Inventor software is the foundation of the Autodesk Digital Prototyping solution. With Digital Prototyping engineers can create a complete digital representation of their end product. To view video footage featuring Inventor software in action on the show, visit http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/doing-davinci-improving-leonardos-design.html.

Airing on Mondays on the Discovery Channel at 10pm ET/PT, the program team consists of four experts that work each week to create the never-before constructed inventions. Flash Hopkins is a popular large-scale industrial artist. Valek Sykes is a special effects expert and mechanical designer who has worked on motion picture features including G.I. Joe, I Am Legend, A.I. and Minority Report. Bill Duggan is a carpenter and is the host of HGTV's Curb Appeal. The fourth role of the builder is shared by Jurgen Heimann and Bovinett. Heimann has worked in several areas of filmmaking, including animation, special effects, performance and writing, and is a designer, builder and puppeteer. Bovinett is a mechanical engineer and entrepreneur who specializes in design.

The team also works closely with Dr. Jonathan Pevsner, a published expert on Leonardo daVinci. He advises the team throughout the build process, providing them with insight into history and daVinci's intent.

On the April 13 premiere episode, the team takes a shot at constructing one of daVinci's most futuristic designs--the armored tank, a design that could rival even modern-day inventions. Additional designs featured in the series include a machine gun, a self-propelled cart and a catapult. For more information about the program, visit http://www.discovery.com.

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