Jon Hirschtick, founder and group executive of SolidWorks presented his ideas about future needs for the CAD industry. They include:

1. Touch and motion controllers for the user interface (UI) - with postion sensors much like that used by the iPhione today and touch sensors like that used for most GPS devices today. I personally think that 3D sensing and 3D displays for interaction will take hold, maybe in the more distant future. After all, we work in 3D!

2. Online applications - particularly for remving any installation issues, but more for imagining what a vast array of supercomputers can add to the interactive environment. Obviously this depend on having sufficent bandwidth to the customer.

3. Video game techniques, which particularly excell at high speed graphics and fast physics.

4. 3D printing. Jon interviewed two users, both in the consumer products industry, New Balance (athletic shoes) and Sony Ericsson (cell phones). Both produce thousands of rapid prototype models per year. Sony Ericsson uses the RP models for visualization and to check the proper scale. Both companies have enormously shrunk their product cycles over the last several years by extensively using 3D CAD.