Singh, Prahlad - Reflection

This course was one of the few interesting courses that explored the current state and the future of the industry in a very “futuristic” way.  It combined the various new technologies and ones that could possibly be witnessed by our generation in the future. I would have preferred the class to be split into 2 classes of 1.5 hours each as they did end up becoming pretty tiring. On originally signing up for the class I was expecting it to be more BIM and Revit oriented. Through the various assignments and blog posts I learned a lot over the short 10-week class.

The Weekly blog posts allowed for in depth research into specific topics while also brushing up in general topics other classmates read up on. This was extremely educational as there were many topics I had not even heard about. It also provided for a few different views on each topic due to each group working on it individually. Each classmates’ personal experience helped she da new light on their topics. On the other hand, the projects were in depth projects of two important aspects of Intelligent Buildings (BIM and Database’s). Being fairly new to databases, I was still like learning new aspects about what goes into them and how they are used in the industry. It showed the capabilities of databases and how big corporations use them to achieve greater efficiency. The guest lecturers also helped highlight certain software’s and how they are used and to what affect within their firms. They also spoke about the changes the industry is undergoing and what we as future employees can and should expect in a couple of years.

The class had a huge impact on me personally. I hope to, in the future, take back all that I have learned in this course and help in the installation of some new “Intelligent buildings” back home in India. I am sure that I will be using software’s such as Revit and Access to help provide and efficient and “Smart” building. Overall, I learnt a lot from this class, be it within the classroom or during my research for the various assignments.

Comments to others

Abdulaziz: Even I thought that this was going to be more of a designing course at first. I am also of the same mind as in I share your idea of travelling back home to further integrate myself with “Intelligent Buildings” as they are the future.

Abdullatif: I too like the Whiting-Turner presentation and the way they spoke about BIM and modelling in regards to construction management. I also find it very interesting that you incorporated this class into your senior design project. I hope to do the same and incorporate what I learnt into my other classes.

Maissoun: I like how you related your personal goals to your final project. You are right that green building are not necessarily intelligent buildings and vice versa. I look forward to reading your paper of the differences between Intelligent and Green buildings. I agree with you on how this class was both creative and technical at the same time.

B7 Blog Post - Hovey

Course Reflection

Personally, I really enjoyed this course as it allowed me to not only think about what the industry consists of, but also where it is going. I learned about the role AI has in design as well as the influence BIM has on the industry in today’s world. Prior to this course, I had zero idea about the role databases play in the design and overall functionality buildings have in today’s world. I am currently leaving the class with an interest in databases as I was previously against having anything to do with them due to not particularly enjoying MATLAB. However, being able to go into a lunch and learn being delivered by a programming company and understand what they are pitching to you can be extremely valuable. In previous coops, lunch and learns have really just been about the free meal, but progressing in my education has led me to understand that there is always an opportunity to learn or contribute in every scenario.

One of my favorite presentations this term was about NavisWorks and the processing power it contains. I have never used it on coop but I knew of it due to conversations I have had with my peers, but learning more about it in depth is extremely informative. Personally, I’m not excited for the progression robotics has in the design industry due to the amount of jobs it could possibly take from thousands of skilled workers across the country. Bill Gates recently came out to say that if robots are taking our jobs, they should also pay taxes.

I really enjoyed the final project as we were allowed to choose the topic and our group partners. This influenced us to find a partner we work well with and do a project that allowed us to focus on what we found most applicable to what we wanted to do in the future. By doing so, I’m more informed on the differences between green and intelligent buildings as well as where they cross over.

All in all, the best part of this class was completing and commenting on our peers blog posts. This allowed us to educate ourselves and classmates on a particular subject. Ultimately, this course put me in a position to look forward into what is next, instead of what’s currently happening in the industry as having this kind of mindset will take you places where dreams can come true!

Nick P - I also had a preconceived idea that this course was going to be about how to analyze case studies. This course covered a much wider spectrum than I had anticipated and I was extremely happy about that fact! I also agree that the greatest take away I can say from this course is the knowledge of databases that I'm leaving with. As I discussed in my blog post, I didn't know anything about databases and only the role they play in buildings. Now I am able to speak the lingo and know what I need when I go to a software engineer looking to design a database.

Maria R - I found the Revit part of this course necessary but not an extremely interesting part as it covered essentials in the industry and not particularly the innovated role it plays. Revit allows multiple disciplines to come together on the same model to create a building that doesn't exist in the real world yet. The power of putting a representation in a three dimensional software can be looked over in today's world as it has become common or part of 'the process' of completing the design process. However, thinking about the past and how engineers used to convey their ideas to clients is a mystery to today's young innovative individuals.

Brandon M - By being in your AE 391 design group, I have had the luxury of seeing your final project first hand and I loved it! While I think about each of my coops, I haven't used Revit in the facet that involved creating multiple elements to put into a single family as you did. Do you think Revit will stop at making families at just kitchens? What happens when the 'ideal' net zero energy residential home becomes a family and all the different engineering design firms want to get ahold of that file because of the previous success it has had in terms of providing more energy than its creating. I also agree that the BIM aspect of this course will be the best take home part of this course but you shouldn't ignore the other aspects as they are extremely important. Being able to understand the future will only be able to put you in a better position to design buildings that will change the industry going forward.

Assignment B7 - Group B - Maria Raggousis

Reflection of the Course and its impact to my Profession and Future

This is an extremely loaded question but one that we are always asked to answer. 

This course was worthwhile to me because it opened my eyes to new things that I had never seen before. I understood the sensors and how we use them for temperature control and window blind rotations and I actually thought this class would be more about that aspect because my definition of intelligent buildings tends to fall under intelligent operation. 

The other reason it was worthwhile to me is because I was able to speak with more sophistication on topics that I otherwise would have stammered about and not known anything about. I applied to a scholarship and they asked us to write a technical paper on an innovation in construction and honestly I was so ready to answer that question because of all the things that we were exposed to in this class! I typically am skeptical of the future but after seeing proof that this stuff works and then researching it for the paper was the most valuable part. The research portion allowed me to set aside time for this class and digging in more about what I was mostly interested in. I am glad that I chose to do a research topic as opposed to a project because I was getting frustrated with the different programs we were using at the end of their respective assignments. The paper almost felt like a creative outlet that was somewhere between opinion and research - taking the facts and formulating thoughts relevant to them. As someone who is both creative and technical, it was a nice part of my daily routine that was not of the ordinary math problem or computer project type. 

The other aspect of this course was the hands-on projects with the database and the Revit model and while I really enjoyed working with both of those - it is hard to see those new tools particularly impact my career outlook. I understand the need for databases but it is not something that I believe will ever be asked of me and even if it were I would still choose Excel, even after this class introduction (although I am thankful for the introduction). 

What I liked about this class is now I have the ability to talk the language of Revit and communicate to someone else what I would need in Revit if at all - based on the families and the models and the schedules and the database component, I now know what it is capable of. Communication is key in this industry as a professional and I think that is the best take-away form this course. The guest speakers only added to this benefit because hearing from a professional that is immersed in this technology gives us the empowerment of oh I can do this, too! 

In general, I feel that although the details of this class will not help my future - the over arching themes and what we discussed will and has already helped my professional career and future. I see much research and development in the technologies discussed and I think I would be interested in becoming involved in that aspect! 


Responses to Other Students:
Nick Pawlikowski: I think what we got out of this course was different because of personal preference and past experiences. I had dabbled in MS Access before and the material that was brought to this class was not new based on what I already knew and it still didn't fulfill my needs as a database program. I think your last summation sentence is valid in that it depends what the students brought to the table as existing knowledge to make the difference of if the value of the course expanded on that or did not. 


Brandon Mengel: It is easy to see that most people's favorite part of the class was the personal project because afterall, we were the ones who set the scope and decided what would be in it based on our interests! I have to agree with you though, this class is such an overview that it is fulfilling to go deeper into one particular area. To me, BIM and 3D Printing stood out the most although we did discuss other technologies in this class. I think it had to do with the guest speakers and our ability to visualize how it actually works and makes a difference in the world. 


Peter Dannemann: I love the great comments you have about Professor Mitchell's drive. I completely agree - some professors do not use any original material or offer any discussion and the fact that this class was more seminar based and discussion based with real world examples and content from Professor Mitchell's actual interests made it that much more impactful. I didn't realize you were an environmental engineering major but I think that while your points are valid about not actually using the database and Revit families, I think you will be able to better talk to people who do use them in the data collection processes which are all around us. 

B7 - Sanchez - Group E

Introduction:

Last October, I was selecting courses for my last term at Drexel University. Being a business and engineering major, I was given a short list of courses to choose from. All of the courses on the list were electrical, mechanical, chemical, and civil engineering courses. None of the courses interested me or I had taken that course already. I wanted to select a course that is going to help me moving forward in my career in real estate and construction. While researching for through the college of engineering course catalog for winter term, I discovered the course, read the description, and registered for the course. During the course, I have learned a lot about the use of technology in this industry such as BIM, sensors, databases, and AI.

Effect on My Profession Career and Future:

As stated above, after graduation I will be working in real estate redevelopment as a project manager on the owner's side. I know that the company I will be working for use BIM extensively to the management of projects from all aspects. Learning about and understanding the benefits of BIM will give me a leg up on learning how to use it went I beginning working for them after graduation. In addition, I know our company recently started to use BIM heavily and there is opposition to transitioning over. As discussed in class, helping with that transition by showing the benefits to my co-workers will help with that transition.  

In Conclusion:

In this course, I learned a lot more than I thought about technology in this industry. I had no idea about the extensive use of BIM, database, sensors, and AI in the construction industry. My favorite part of this class was the projects and discussion board post we completed. From the discussion board post, I enjoyed hearing what other students had to say about the information we were learning in class. Next, the Revit and Microsoft Access assignment helped me connect topics discussed in class that I only understood in theory into practical information I could understand. I hope in the future I can take the information learned in this class and apply it practical to my career or create organizational change by leading my company into a more technological environment.

Week 5 Class Discussion - Group B - Opportunities in BIM

Opportunities in the Future of BIM

• Virtual Reality Building Modeling with simulation and real world & hand drawings turns into the computer model

• Scanning of 2D drawings and turning that in to a Computerized plan

• Specifications - the ability to create and edit specs based on Revit models

• Better interaction between modeling and analysis software

• Room scanner that doesn't just do geometry - identifies objects and models them automatically

• Glasses for construction workers that can show and tag items while they are on the site

B4 - Brennan Connolly - Robotics in Building Operation

Robotics in Building Operation

              Advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence have led to a number of opportunities for buildings to operate without the need for human interaction. Currently, HVAC, lighting, and security systems all can be controlled through a central system by a human. With time, newer and more effective systems will allow building owners to control other aspects around their facility in order to increase daily efficiency. In this paper, I will discuss current and potential robotic systems, list the ways in which they could change how buildings operate, and lastly talk about the limitations of each robotic system.

               Some of the robotic systems I plan to discuss in my paper include kinetic façades, automated lighting/HVAC systems, and partner robots that help with simple tasks. Kinetic façades are being combined with photovoltaic panels on some buildings in order to maximize the amount of energy saved on the project. In the RMIT Design Hub, architects designed a façade that not only responds to the amount of natural light hitting it, but can also use that light to power some of its systems. (Sean Godsell Architects, n.d.) In terms of lighting, Philips’ Hue is a product line which allows you to customize you’re the look of your space and be in complete control of it from any device you want, including your smartphone. (Philips, n.d.) This allows the owner of the space to set the mood, and be more in control of how clients/customers/visitors/etc. react to the space. Smart HVAC systems work in similar ways in that they will allow the owner to define how they want the space to feel.

              What I am calling “interactive robots” are just robots that are physical, moving robots that utilize AI to interact with humans in some form. Today there are several various examples of them but none of them are  very common to see. One of the ones that is most frequently discussed is the hospital robot that is called, “Tug”. Tug helps nurses and doctors out by carrying things in a hospital from one place to another using a simple computer system. (AETHON, n.d.) A similar robotics company used that idea to create a robot that acts as room service in a hotel, delivering anything you order right to your room. “Botlr” can act both as a tourist attraction, and as an employee for hotels with its ability to efficiently travel from the front desk to any room while carrying anything a hotel guest could need. (TechCrunch, 2014) My last example of an interactive robot is made by the company, Vespa. It acts as your personal companion, carrying things like groceries or luggage. This robot is more personal to one person and not necessarily to a building but it’s easy to see how the technology could help in buildings like nursing homes, engineering offices, and medical facilities. (McFarland, 2017)

References

AETHON. (n.d.). Tug Healthcare. Retrieved from AETHON: http://www.aethon.com/tug/tughealthcare/

McFarland, M. (2017, January 31). Vespa's new robot will carry your groceries. Retrieved from CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/31/technology/vespa-robot-gita/

Philips. (n.d.). Meet Hue. Retrieved from Philips: http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/

Sean Godsell Architects. (n.d.). RMIT Design Hub. Retrieved from Sean Godsell Architects: http://www.seangodsell.com/rmit-design-hub

TechCrunch. (2014, August 22). Botlr The First Hotel Robot. Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIK-_VDPbps

Responses 

Prahlad - I find your project to be interesting since you seem to be focusing on how drones can be used during construction. In my opinion, the use of drones in the near future will be for surveying and capturing what sites look like from any angle. Although I do see other potential benefits when drones are able to lift smaller objects, maybe they can deliver tools/materials to workers on high levels. 

Andrew - This project is one that I would be the most excited to read and learn about. VR is really starting to take off right now and it seems once it can be fully integrated into the construction industry that it can provide the user with an incredible experience. You mention that finding enough research may become an issue. One tip I have is to be also look at Augmented Reality (AR), this may provide more results useful for your project.

Rachel -  I think our projects have similar challenges since there are so many different types of robotics being developed today. I think robotics, if used appropriately, will change the way buildings are designed. If we know that a building is going to be designed near perfectly, architects can show more "exciting" designs.

B4 - Sanchez - Group E

AI and the Future of Construction

Why it was chosen, relation to Intelligent Buildings, & Challenges

For our term project, David and Aziz will be writing about AI and its present and future integration into the construction industry. We will be doing this by looking at different facets of within the industry such a BIM, physical manpower, and other areas in the field.

Why it was chosen

In the construction industry, AI has the potential to help re imagine how processes are done such as BIM. AI will identify true collisions versus false ones in BIM, for new building design as an example, AI will identify missing elements like waterproofing for specs for stadiums and help improve the design to a more comprehensive one.

AI knowledge can update itself whenever new data is introduced, creating a full daily report, schedule, project progresses and more to help engineers and designers. As many predict that this AI knowledge will be proactive and will be able to interact with both voice and visuals. Furthermore, a bigger step will enable robots using this knowledge to fetch tools and know where they are and how assemble them in the task given.

Relation to Intelligent Buildings

Artificial Intelligence will create the next industrial revolution as many experts are predicting. As AI architect and author George Zarkadakis once said "It's really important that we take AI seriously. It will lead to the fourth industrial revolution and will change the world in ways we cannot predict now". His mention of the "fourth industrial revolution" refers to the computerization of the manufacturing industry. The fourth industrial revolution is the vision of smart factories, where cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, thus creating a virtual copy of the physical world and make decentralized decisions.

Challenges

Our greatest challenge will be finding factual information from reliable sources. Artificial intelligence in relatively new to the construction industry and because of this there isn’t a great wealth of information out there on everything we want to write about. A lot of information and websites I saw about information we need were written by independent bloggers so verifying this information credibility will be tough.

Additionally, a big challenge in the AI knowledge will be creating and obtaining the data of every detail in small or even mid-sized firms, it will cost tons of money and effort, I can easily be done by very big and recognizable companies now until the technology becomes easier to use by smaller companies in the industry.

Sources:

1-    http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2408538/artificial-intelligence-will-create-the-next-industrial-revolution-experts-claim

2-    https://www.aem.org/news/october-2016/how-artificial-intelligence-could-revolutionize-construction/

Taryn Francischetti - A-Team - Blog Post 3

As discussed in class Revit is a major part of the construction industry and its place seems to keep growing. However, there are many problems that are beginning to arise as Revit, and BIM in general advance in their software. There are also rising problems in how dependent different industries are becoming on Revit and BIM software in general. 

It is becoming more common to exchange files between companies as electronic files. This poses a problem in both the amount of information that is exchanged as well as how to protect that information. Salman Azhar speaks in hist article about how one of the risks of BIM currently is, "the lack of determination of ownership of the BIM data and the need to protect it through copyright laws and other legal channels" [1]. He continues on to state that there is no simple way to determine who owns the data. If this is an issue now, it can only become more severe as time goes on. I don't believe that it is currently in Revit's plan to include ownership on their files as it is not technically their responsibility to protect the data. As BIM becomes more popular, companies need to be careful legally in how to protect their files and building plans. 

Another concern that was expressed in class was the fact that as BIM becomes more popular, many people may become too dependent on it and not have the basic skills to function without it. The article from Architectural Ellipsis speaks about how many companies that are looking to hire interns are looking only for people who have work experience in Revit [2]. This seems to be becoming an easier thing to fill as most companies already have as many senior staff as they need, but are lacking employees who have experience in new technology. The problem that many companies are going to run into if they continue this practice is that their newer employees aren't going to have work experience beyond that of BIM modeling. This is going to create a sort of bottleneck in the company where completing projects outside of BIM will become nearly impossible. It is important to continually educate the younger generation in how to not rely on software if companies are going to stay out of trouble. 

One last concern that was expressed is that Revit may not be able to keep up with all of the updates it needs to go through. The program could theoretically run into Moore's law and not be able to keep up with itself. This concern was even expressed by our speaker last week, Kayleigh Houde from BuroHappold Engineering. She expressed how difficult it was to update Revit each year currently. This problem could easily compound itself as the years continue. In the article Is Revit Dead?, the author discusses seven future updates that Revit currently has planned. These include Revit in the Cloud, Revit interoperability with fabrication, and revit collaboration to name a few [3]. With so many updates planned, Revit might not be able to compete even wth itself. 


[1] Azhar, S. (n.d.). Leadership and Management in Engineering. Retrieved January 31, 2017, from http://ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/(ASCE)LM.1943-5630.0000127

[2] Want to be an Architect?; Don't Learn Revit. (2013, February 5). Retrieved January 31, 2017, from http://archinect.com/arch-ellipsis/want-to-be-an-architect-don-t-learn-revit

[3] Is Revit dead? (2014, March 29). Retrieved January 31, 2017, from http://www.seandburke.com/blog/2014/03/29/is-revit-dead/

Comments
Yosep Bak - I think it is very interesting that one model could easily be used to create 10 apartment buildings in several different places. It makes it extremely efficient to not have to create 10 separate buildings but simply edit one. This type of modeling is very helpful for buildings such as franchises where the buildings are nearly identical.  Thousands of dollars can be saved due to less time in creating new buildings. 
URL: https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/01/yosep-bak-w3-p3.html

Zhijing Zheng - I agree with you that there is an extreme pressure on time and expenses in projects. If the entire project can be built at once then there is an extreme amount of time saved. This is one of the reasons that firms with all different industries in house are really enjoying the Revit collaborate feature. This allows architects and engineers to work on a model at the same time. I have to disagree a bit though as I think this is beneficial to create intelligent buildings that have less coordination issues. 
URL: https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-current-issue-with-revitbim.html

Brennan Connolly - I agree that Revit is headed in a direction that will allows users to easily model energy performance. There are already a few things in revit that can help with this. With improvements it would be very easy to calculate how much natural daylight a building will receive and how much energy the building will save. With future advancements, almost every building will be able to receive LEED gold standards.
URL: https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/01/b3-group-c-brennan-connolly.html

B3 - Group C - Andy Dinh - Possible future advantages of Revit/BIM

As we have seen through the few weeks so far from in class discussion and through research of our own, we can gather many advantages that Revit and other BIM software can already offer. compared to the days of hand drawings, Revit and other software offer much more accessibility to designing buildings and other structures without the need of such practice. This helps streamline projects more and allow for better turnarounds on design. Such simple tasks like drawing a straight line is made a lot easy without the need for needing a tool to keep your pencil straight. In the early days there are certainly kinks that needed to be worked out, but seeing how the technology has developed thus far gives high hopes to what the future can hold.

Time, as noted before, is a key factor in the turnaround of projects. There are always deadlines to meet, and the development of BIM is certainly helping reach those deadlines at a much better rate. Coordination and collaboration is a part of this as well. I believe that through better accessibility, even for owners and facility mangers, information on the design of the building can get to those who need it in a much more proficient way with greater ease. Not only is collaboration between those involved is important, but coordination between the user and the program or software is as important. Revit can already detect clashes within the design itself between objects. With adapting AI that has started to get better over the years, these clashes could possibly be fixed without needed human interaction, or at least what the recommended solutions are given for a problem that the user might run in to. Such solutions are already being worked on like ClashMEP [1].

Another future advantage we can look into is cost analysis. This topic can cover a wide variety of items, such as lighting, materials, energy use, and other items that play into how much a structure costs. Being able to gather and display how much everything will cost will help eliminate costly components for more sustainable alternatives. Also, having developing technology in covering maintenance requirements, and with the possible development of AI building maintenance, this technology can help mitigate both short term and long term costs. Different solutions can help solve different problems, so being able to collect all these solutions together and compare them in a much more efficient manner can help push things along.

References:

[1] Calvert, Neil. "10 Points and the Benefits of BIM." VDC and BIM Construction Blog. Synchro Software, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. <http://blog.synchroltd.com/10-points-and-the-benefits-of-bim>.

[2] Digital School Technical Design College. "Advantages of Revit's Building Information Modeling." Digital School. Autodesk, 17 Oct. 2016. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. <http://digitalschool.ca/advantages-of-revits-building-information-modeling/>.

[3] Zeiger, Mimi. "The Future of BIM." Architect. N.p., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. <http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/the-future-of-bim_o>.

Comments:

Arthur McCloskey (link): It was interesting being able to read your post and comparing what the other side thinks about Revit in the future. Your drawbacks that you posted certainly do have ground to it and make sense. We can already see how over reliant we are as a society on technology, even with technology outside of BIM like our evolving smartphones and social media and such. Hopefully, we can learn on how technology can help us innovate more rather than be hindered by it, but we will have to see what the future holds in store for us. Also, with ever evolving technology in most fields, I hope we have computers that can handle such demanding tasks from the software we use, but that depends on whether the computer or software has a leg up in development.

Zhijing Zheng (link): Seeing what current issues we have with BIM software was an insight into how it is perceived today. Many can say how much it has helped in a project, but some do not really give much on how it hinders certain aspects. The point that stood out to me from your post was about the cash flow involving the program. Seeing how fees are being lowered through the ease of what the program can provide is a little depressing. Hopefully there is a better demand for it later on that will increase interest, effectively increasing competitiveness and more proportional costs for the work demanded for.

Ray Powell (link): Reading your post about what current advantages we already have for BIM gives me more credence into what I hope to see for the future of BIM. BIM is advancing as much as it can, and being able to see how it has changed from my first involvement with it back in high school about 5 or 6 years ago, there is hope that BIM can stay on that track of rapid development or it may even evolve faster than the current rate it is going right now. It would be good to see the current advantages stay true in the future.

B3 - Group C - Peter Dannemann

Future Advantages of Revit

One possible future advantage of Revit is incorporating geotechnical surveying collected by drones. Importing the geotechnical data would give the Revit modeler a plethora of information about the immediate surroundings that would allow them to construct the building in accordance to the environment. Using a drone would make the data collection process quick, easy, accurate and cheap, and would not require many people to be involved in the process. The data may need to be interpreted by GIS before it would be ready to import to Revit, but in the new few years I'm sure the world will have figured it out (Snow).

Revit has come a long way since the later 90's and early 20's. Revit started as a tool for architects and has evolved to become a program that is used by architects, MEP engineers, and structural engineers. For large firms that deal with all three disciplines, it is a no brainer to purchase licensing from Revit as it allows for project integration and the ability to check that each design does not conflict with each other. It is likely that in the future, even more applications will be added to Revit such as HVAC, biological modeling for air quality, and compatibility with AutoCAD or Solidworks. These features would allow engineers from every field to work together on the same platform and reach a higher level of understanding of the project as a whole ("The Future of Revit").

The next logical step for the advancement of BIM is responsive environments. The ability to test for structural strength, results of natural disasters, crowd control, and other countless scenarios would be the perfect complement for the already multifaceted programs such as Revit. Running simulations in Revit would allow the project designers to see exactly how their building environments would react in worst case scenarios and would allow them to alter their designs to make them as safe and well designed as possible. Seeing how the entire project functions as a whole will be very necessary as people often cannot understand how work from other disciplines with effect their own work, and with a simulation everyone will be able to see the effects in real time (Davis).

Works Cited

Davis, Daniel. "What’s Next for Autodesk Is What’s Next for Architects." Architect. N.p., 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2017. <http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/whats-next-for-autodesk-is-whats-next-for-architects_o>.

Snow, Colin. "The Truth About Drones in Mapping and Surveying." The Business of Drones. SUAS News, 02 Aug. 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2017. <https://www.suasnews.com/2016/07/truth-drones-mapping-surveying/>.

"The Future of Revit." YouTube. CADLearning, 18 May 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v>.

Comments

Drew Hovey- Drew - I agree the legal and technical issues that may come to the surface from the rise of BIM may lead to a lot of problems. A lot of companies are implementing strict intellectual property policies, and with people collaborating on a large BIM project, this may lead to people using ideas from the building in the future unknowingly and being reprimanded for it. In a scenario like this it will hard to tell what kind of action will be taken, but it could certainly end in innocent people being arrested.

Brandon Mengel - Brandon - Your comment on the lack of processing power of the common computer creating issues in BIM software really resonated with me. When I was trying to render a PDF from Revit for our first assignment I had a lot of difficulty and I suspect the slow rendering speed was due to the computer's low processing power. Your point on largescale projects becoming too large to handle could definitely hold true. With more and more disciplines being added to Revit (MEP, structural, etc.) it is certain that the models will be clustered with data and may end up too filled to function. Certainly backups could be used, but further progress on the project will be at a standstill. It is hard to figure out how to combat this scenario without purchasing supercomputers for the whole staff..

Maria Raggousis - Maria - Your points on the conservative nature of the construction field getting in the way of BIM implementation made a lot of sense to me. Often the people at the top of the totem pole have quite a few years of experience under their belt and may not be willing or interested in learning how to use new technology. This makes it very difficult for full technological implementation under their management and definitely does not provide a conducive environment for someone eager to learn as much as possible about BIM.