Hi guys,
For me, longtime Robot developper, it is nice to see, that there is a quite big group of devoted structural engineers, who appreciate Robot software.
It is of course difficult to say anything with certainty about Robot future as far as its internal development is concerned, but I share your anxiety.
Regardless of how the future story of Robot will go, I'm quite convinced that it will be applied in practise for many years.
I would like to pay your attention to the fact, that Robot has a good and stable API, which practically has not been changed for many years and even users of old versions of Robot can benefit from it.
Robot, like all other programs, has its limitations, but I think that some of them can be solved by external approach.
I have created from scratch quite new software called IgentForm, written in C# technology and extensively profiting from parallel programming techniques, what gives fantastic user experience as far as speed of work is concerned. It is parametric modeler and is mainly planned as a tool for quick creation and visualisation of structures at the early stage of design, but thanks to its direct connection via API with Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis it can significantly extend its power. The structure is perceived as a set of masses, for which the user can define different parameters - current 3D model is automatically visualised in real time after each change and can be exported to Robot at any time.
In attached file there are a few IgentForm unique functionalities, which could be very helpful for RSA users - moreover, I try to develop this program to solve practical problems, which can accelerate the design and I'm open for any suggestions or needs.
To know more about IgentForm, please visit www.igentform.com website.
Current history of changes can be also tracked on this forum at https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/robot-structural-analysis-forum/igentform-innovative-parametric-model...
So please, consider this alternative which could extend Robot lifetime at reasonable price.
Thank you
Paweł Kociołek