B1 - Group E- Yuxiao Zhou - Database and Networking

The database and networking of my first impression is using for commercials such like amazon in US and Taobao/Alibaba in China before reading the suggestion articles. In my opinion, database is like foundation in construction to support the entire building and networking is like concrete column and steel beam to support the structure.

Big data is part of our life in recent years. The Location service in our cellphone record where we went every day. It can help the software give us better suggestion when we search a location based on our record. The health motion record how many exercises we did and it help the software to analysis is that enough for us to keep our body healthy. I had read Thinking about big data- part one – I, Cringely. [1] In this article, it discoursed the development history of database and he believed big data is transform the world.

Evernote is also a giant database. In this article, Evernote: An Architect’s Toolbox and Quality Management System. Evernote became a database to store examples of work. It is very easy for everyone to access and searching by type few words.[2] For me, USGS website is a very helpful database. In USGS website, I can find earthquake data which I used for my seminar paper. It also have the water data including as streamflow, water levels, quality, and more. [3]. The database become more and more important in construction. In subsurface exploration phase, if we can have the data of surrounding area it can improve accuracy of soils data and help us to design the foundation.

As I mentioned before, I think network like concrete column and steel beam to support the structure. I had read How TCP/IP Protocol Works- Part 1| Hardware Secrets.[4] In this article, it explain what is TCP/IP architecture. In my understanding, TCP is gathering data from upper layer then packing them into divided packages and transformed the packages to lower layer. IP is the address information, gathering address information of sender and receiver, and make sure the packages can deliver from sender to receiver.

The future for us is not far away, we had stepped into information era. Civil and Architecture engineering as traditional engineering industry, the database and networking is part of our design and research. Study of database can help us to design more intelligent Buildings.

Reference

Thinking about big data- part one – I, Cringely. [1], http://www.cringely.com/2016/07/05/thinking-big-data-part-one/

An Architect’s Toolbox and Quality Management System[2],

http://blog.evernote.com/blog/2012/09/05/evernote-an-architects-toolbox-and-quality-management-system/

USGS[3], https://www.usgs.gov/

How TCP/IP Protocol Works- Part 1| Hardware Secrets.[4], http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/How-TCP-IP-Protocol-Works-Part-1/433

   

   

B1 - AI and Misc

Speaking of industrial revolutions, we may refer to steam engines, electricity, and computers, and only of recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) is recognized to be the fourth industrial revolution. With only about 60 years of development, AI seems mostly existing in fictions, but gradually it is becoming real [1]. In the year of 2016, we human beings had a glance of what we have made, and it terrified some and excited the others. The stories of how Google, Amazon, Facebook, or just some simple applications in your smartphone pushed their business to the next level thanks to the usage of AI were heard a lot [2], and in addition to those “high-technology” industries, AI also has a bright future in traditional construction industry. When Tim Chapman, the director of Arup, was asked whether AI would lead to a more efficient and productive construction industry, he gave a positive answer [3]. He explained that AI would have a great impact on professional services, especially design services, because AI could share data and thoughts efficiently without all the unnecessary activities caused by arguments, prejudices, egos, or other negative emotions. This is one of the fields that many overlooked the potential of AI, as we thought that creativity was the unique characteristic of human beings. It is debatable, but without overthrowing that opinion, AI can still be a great assistant in design services, especially when generating a standard, cost-efficient, and safe design. 

One of the most used AI tech nowadays is deep learning based on neural network tech. It simulates the process of how human learns and improves itself by analyzing a vast amount of data. Since we are too scared of the consequences of Skynet, a well-built local database may be the best chance for an AI to learn from. For example, a BIM library can serve for such purpose. Other examples include Nest Thermostat learning from users’ preferences, structure analyzing tools learning from existing data of past decades, and so on. The industry is still exploring such technology, but AI, although in its elementary stage, has been adopted by many construction companies, so that the “learning materials” we can provide to it is also growing, and with that, it is confident to expect a better future with great possibilities.

Sources:

[1] “Artificial Intelligence Has a Big Year Ahead.” https://www.cnet.com/news/2017-artificial-intelligence-mainstream-businesses-adopt-ai/

[2] “2016: The Year That Deep Learning Took over The Internet.” https://www.wired.com/2016/12/2016-year-deep-learning-took-internet/

[3] “How will artificial intelligence benefit the construction industry?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Atz4S5FceQ


Comments:

Brennan Connolly – I like how you discussed about artificial intelligence and robotics in a single paragraph. I neglected that part in my post but only focused on the design or analysis aspect of construction. The combination of practical AI and robotics can hugely impact the industry, and I agree that there’s still a long way to go before we use it massively.

Yosep Bak – Knowing the potential of modern technology, I was still surprised by the facts that you provided in the Robotics part that how much time and manpower that robotics could save for us. It reminds of a news I read but not mentioned in my original post: “Komatsu started Smart Construction where drones are used to survey construction sites, create 3D maps, extract blueprints, and simulate construction plans. Now, processes such as these that can typically take weeks can be done in one day.”

http://www.conexpoconagg.com/news/august-2016/artificial-intelligence-in-the-construction-indust/

Yosep Bak - Week 1 - B1

Robotics
  
   Development of robotics and mechanical engineering has brought civil engineers one step closer to unsupervised, mechanical construction. Video shown in the link attached explains in details how a newer form of construction heavily equipped by mechanical arms and 3D printed pieces will eventually become the industry standard. The founder of Coop Himmelb(l)au, Wolf D Prix has quoted "Normally this part of the buliding witll take eight months with 160 workers on the site, butnow we need eight works on site, and it takes 12 weeks". According to this Australian Architect, the construction process we know as of now may be drastically altered in coming 10 to 20 years. This will allow constructions to be more accurate, cheaper, and safer if developed and supervised properly.

Source : https://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/23/robotic-construction-3d-printing-future-wolf-d-prix-interview/


AI

   Artificial Intelligent was simply defined as "ability for a machine to think" in the presentation by Arup director Tim Chapman. He explains what an AI is, and he convinces that the artificial intelligence will improve communications and reduce friction in development. He quotes "ability to crunch large data is crucial and AI is needed". "Artificial intelligence", according to Tim, "will increase productivity, increase efficiency, and increase big data crunching speed.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Atz4S5FceQ


 3D Printing
 
   3D printing has spread its branches far and beyond one particular industry; it now can be seen anywhere from fashion industry to biomedical engineering. Civil engineering too was impacted heavily with developing 3D printing industry. Harvard scientists have created a 3D printing pen that allows architects and engineers to give a 3D sketch. This is significant because a 3D printing pen will be able to produce sketch versions of the buildings right in front of the clients eyes. 

Source: http://readwrite.com/2016/05/27/the-next-big-thing-in-3d-printers-it4/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=webfeeds


Future

   Fastbrick Robotics has created a machine that is capable of constructing a typical residential house in 48 hours. Hadrian X is completely digital machine that can continue constructions with minimum supervision. This can put field engineers out of business if they don't develop themselves to integrate  with the technology.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6UPGk8EFWE


Comment

Andrew Ng: I completely agree that BIM is adapted as the industry standard at this point; You've referenced that 71% already use BIM in 2012, I can only imagine that the percentage has only gone up.

Mridul Pareek: Along with BIM, 3D printing, and AI integration, sensor technology has a large room for improvement. It was great to learn that older models required less power, but wasn't as accurate. Maybe this is a part of digital building's expertise.

Alex Koo: As you mentioned, Cybernetics is capable of essentially ultimately combining the human and the machine. That information is pertinent because it already showed promising results such as treating Parkinson's disease. I hope with integration of AI into cybernetics will essentially ultimately reap promising results in not only the medical industry, but in wider array of fields.   

Assignment B1, Group C

One of the greatest advancements in technology over the last couple of years has been Artificial Intelligence, or AI. While the majority of this technology has been in use by Google or Amazon, it is easy to see the potential in construction applications, especially in conjunction with robots. Imagine a drone that does a site survey and tells a boring machine where to conduct boring samples. This machine could then drill and analyze the soil without needing a human to conduct tests on the soils. These types of advancements could reduce construction times as well as lower costs.

3D printing is another area of technology that has exploded in recent years. It's applications could also spread to building construction. 3D printed buildings are still in their infancy, although large leaps in technology every year could mean that an actual 3D printed structure could be built and occupied in short order.

I think the most likely approach is that a building could be designed in BIM, AI could then figure out where any problems would be and correct them on it's own. The parts could then be assembled off site by robots, and then an autonomous vehicle could bring them to the job site. Other robots could perform work on the job site, such as laying brick.

All of this translates in to reduced time and costs, at the expense of a shrinking construction workforce. The societal impacts are also something that must be considered. By elimnating large number of trade jobs, people will have to be retrained so that they can still work and earn money.


Sources:
https://www.wired.com/2016/12/2016-year-deep-learning-took-internet/

https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/20/the-white-houses-report-on-ai-and-the-economy-warns-of-increasing-inequality

http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/11652--d-printing

Comments:

Alexander Koo: It is definitely easy to see how narrow AI could move into a strong AI and accomplish a multitude of tasks. While we have not really touched on the medical aspects of AI in class, it could certainly be used there and improve many people's quality of life.

Hayley Selden: Database management is a critical area where AI could be used. As more and more information is gathered, humans will no longer be able to effectively manage all of that information. As AI evolves, it could fill that role. It is also important to remember, as you said, ethical implictions of AI controlling data must be considered.

Christopher Sager: Your post was very interesting. While it is easy to see how drones could be used in construction, there are definietly applications where the could be used, but probably shouldn't. Their use in site layout, or other simple tasks could see their use, actually constructing a buliding with them is impractical at this time. Perhaps in 20 years or so, we may see drones being used this way though.

Assignment B1

Artificial Intelligence (AI) would be a total game changer in the construction, engineering, and architecture world. This would have as many benefits as saying yes right on the dot. The goal of AI in architectural design is so it can evolve when we exceed through technological advances, including expanding our knowledge in design environments, reduce the completion time of a massive building project, or assist in possible solutions for problems we are facing today. Downside of AI is that it is very complex and could take years of development and research. It would always need to be improved and adjusted. This would also affect the workforce as AI would help with creation of advanced sensor motion, robotics, and HVAC. AI would assist in cutting down utility costs of HVAC by installing sensors and heat signatures of people that come across a room. This would also include building lighting.  With AI, it would assist in detection of movement after office hours, and automatically shut off when not in use. In the future, cost of electricity would decrease to an all time low, as renewable resources are taking place. AI will take a major role in the design world.

Assignment B1- Wireless sensor technology for SHM

Due to the technological development of the past century, society has seen a surge in infrastructure’s growth and development. It has an immeasurable impact on our quality of lives which in turn enables our society to function and thrive. This dependability on infrastructure makes it of utmost importance to continuously measure and maintain a structure’s functionality and safety. Structures like buildings and bridges are built using strict codes and guidelines to ensure the quality and safety of these structures. However, there are events where the structure undergoes damage through its operational life from extreme loading circumstances caused by natural calamities like earthquakes and typhoons or due to lack of proper maintenance of the structure by the authorities in charge. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reported that 150,000 Bridges are structurally deficient in the United States of America in their 2006 report (Jang, Rice et al. 2010). For this purpose, the Civil Engineering community has been developing new and accurate automated methods which can easily detect and analyze defects allowing the engineers to grasp the structure’s health under various circumstances (Lynch and Loh, 2008). This automated method is defined as Structural Health Monitoring (SHM).

The earlier structural monitoring systems used wired sensors which saw moderate success. The biggest concern with this type of system was the high cost and long time it took to install the cables as installing such lengths of cable consumed more than 75% of the total time to install the SHM system and over 25% of the total system costs (Kottapalli, Venkata A., et al.). Due to this, a need was developed in the civil engineering community to come up with new ways to measure the structural health which were faster and cheaper. The surge in development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and wireless communication led to a lot of research in using wireless sensors in the last decade as (Hill 2003, Culler et al. 2004, Spencer et al 2004, Lynch et al. 2007). This research led to a solution in the form of wireless smart sensors which, due to the easy installation and lack of wires, were significantly cheaper and faster to install than their wired counterparts. 

Structural health monitoring using sensors is essential to understand and maintain a structure’s reliability and safety. Due to the limitations of visual inspections and lack of funding to install expensive options like wired sensors, it is essential to find and develop new methods such as wireless sensor technology. Even though wireless sensors are not a perfect solution since they consume a lot of power as compared to other methods and are unreliable at times due to packet losses in areas with bad wireless internet quality, research must be done to look into the feasibility of self-reliant methods to monitor these structures. With the increasing popularity of green energy like solar and wind energies, it is essential to look into making hardware that can maximize the potential of such sources making wireless technology a feasible replacement for our current methods for SHM.

Sources: 

1) Lynch, Jerome P., and Kenneth J. Loh. "A summary review of wireless sensors and sensor networks for structural health monitoring." Shock and Vibration Digest 38, no. 2 (2006): 91-130.

2)Jang, Shinae, Hongki Jo, Soojin Cho, Kirill Mechitov, Jennifer A. Rice, Sung-Han Sim, Hyung-Jo Jung, Chung-Bang Yun, Billie F. Spencer Jr, and Gul Agha. "Structural health monitoring of a cable-stayed bridge using smart sensor technology: deployment and evaluation." Smart Structures and Systems 6, no. 5-6 (2010): 439-459.

3)Kottapalli, Venkata A., Anne S. Kiremidjian, Jerome P. Lynch, E. D. Carryer, Thomas W. Kenny, Kincho H. Law, and Ying Lei. "Two-tiered wireless sensor network architecture for structural health monitoring." In Smart Structures and Materials, pp. 8-19. International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2003.

Alexander Koo made an interesting point about artificial intelligence that "Narrow AI can already outperform humans at their specific task. Strong AI would therefore completely change the possibilities of modern day technology. There is currently no computers being able to exhibit full artificial intelligence."  A surge in technological advancement in AI would definitely enable reliable and cheaper ways to use wireless sensors for SHM as a strong AI would probably will be able to find better ways to minimize power consumption or packet loss problems that we are facing right now.

https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/01/assignment-b-1-alexander-koo-team.html

Ronald Herazo talked about the surge in technology for personal computing and how nano neural networks will be standard in the future which means every brain will be "connected". Although sounds good in theory, i am a little skeptical about the scope of this technology. Like i discussed, Something as simple as wireless sensor technology is pretty common for us these days yet it is still hard to use it efficiently. The technology Ronald talked about can come by very soon, but unless it can be used efficiently for large scale purposes, it would remain as a "tech-demo", something which sounds cool in theory yet has no real life uses, at least not until these problems are taken care of.

https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/01/assignment-b1-group-ronald-herazo.html

Christopher Sager talked about BIM and its uses in construction practices and i wholeheartedly agree on his views. A giant database which can reliably be used for data gathering and using that data to predict future problems is what wireless sensor technology aims to do for SHM. A large portion of construction companies now use BIM extensively to save both time and money as well as boosts personnel safety on field. 

https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/01/b1-group-b-blog-post-week-1-christopher.html

Alsaleem B1 - AI, Robotics & 3D Printing

Artificial Intelligence is a system that combines sophisticated software and hardware with complicated databases in order to demonstrate features of effective human decision making. The main criteria for an AI system is for it to be capable to perform specific functions correctly for what it has been designed to do. Also, an AI system should be well designed, able to be manufactured efficiently and at low or reasonable costs that allow it to be marketable and usable.

More specifically in the AI field, robotics has been used around to perform some or several human tasks in many different fields. Most robotics require human control for them to perform, or reprogrammed systems that allow them to self-perform the desired task allowing it to calculate and perform smartly on its own. Robots are now found in many fields, in class we saw robots building and placing bricks, and most common use of robots as everyone knows is their work in factories. Moreover, I will try to show couple more examples where robots are relied on as well to perform tasks.

Robots in the Medical Field

Courtesy Swisslog

Robots are seeking their way into the medical field where they will help doctors to clear clogged arteries, measure blood viscosity and deliver drugs to precise locations in the body. The goal is for the robots to assist nurses who provide routine care, easing the need for nurse’s aides, home health care asides and other position that have been hard to fill. The robots will also be able to lift and repositioning patients, deliver medications to patients’ rooms and be able to deliver lab samples and reports.

Robots on Farms

Courtesy Blue River Technology

Engineers at Blue River Technology are developing a robot that is able to roll through rows of plants using a radio and GPS system that allows a driverless tractor to follow the lead of a manned one as they make their way around the fields. The main goal of this technology is that it doubles the outcome and works much faster than the work still done by hand.

3D Buildings

Nowadays various technologies use 3D printing as an essential method to construct buildings or components of buildings. Current machines are being combined into automated and semi-automated production lines that will feature elements of additive, subtractive and formative manufacturing processes to handle material deposition at one scale and finishing at another.

The major advantages of this technology are mainly its faster construction, lower labor costs, increased complexity and accuracy. The better accuracy from this technology leads to less materials wasted during construction.

3D printing is divided into 3 different methods used at construction scale;

-        extrusion (concrete, wax, foam, polymers)

-        powder bonding (polymer bond, reactive bond, sintering)

-        additive welding

In May 2016, Dubai officially inaugurated the world’s first fully functional 3D printed building by his Highness Sheikh Mohammed AlMaktoum, Vice president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed AlMaktoum later described that Dubai’s plan is to have more than 25% of the buildings in Dubai by 2030 to be constructed using this technology. He has also pointed out that the advantages of 3D printing in terms of lower costs and faster delivery will make the UAE one of the most important sustainable economic hubs, enabling the effective use of this technology to establish future cities in all sectors.

Photo Credit: WAM

From my point of view, I see that robots are seeing their way into many different fields and more companies are relying on them in the near future, specially the medical and farming fields. Robots may have simple delivery and assistant roles helping nurses in hospitals, until maybe they might take on jobs as explained earlier. However, the Robot technology for farms will also help farmers rest their hands and get the job done more efficiently and more effectively.  As for the 3D printing technology, I see that 3D printing revolutionized the construction industry. Most importantly the output of the 3D printers are less expensive due to its less expensive process, lower materials usage and also lower labor cost. The use of 3D printers might not be as effective the coming years, but definitely it will take over in the future.

References:

-        Fields where robots are taking charge

http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/business/T057-S005-robots-taking-charge/index.html

-        Robotics Technology – Artificial Intelligence

http://www.electronicsteacher.com/robotics/robotics-technology/artificial-intelligence.php

-        How Artificial Intelligence could merge with 3D printing

http://www.getlittlebird.com/blog/3d_printing_plus_artificial_intelligence

-        World’s first 3D printed building in Dubai

http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/government/world-s-first-3d-printed-building-in-dubai-1.1833450

-        Video: 3D Concrete Printing – The Future of Construction

http://www.forconstructionpros.com/video/12059502/video-3d-concrete-printing-the-future-of-construction

Responses:

Tarry Francischetti: I agree with you and enjoyed your examples for supporting your point of view. I did not know about the new MI system that could learn by time as humans, do you think it will be as effective as we might imagine as it collects data and learns more tasks all over? I also agree with you that the only disadvantages is the loss of jobs robotics create. I see that the first years robotics will enter the field as supporting members to help constructors for example, until people start seeing them as the replacement to do the job. 

Christopher Sager: Your response was really interesting! I did not know the drones could do that much of work on site. I really enjoyed the Tedx discussion you posted which lead me to watch several videos regarding technologies in the field. I also agree with you about the usage of cranes on site and your way of replacing them to save money and effort. 

Egla Qori: I was really interested in your blog and your way of explaining the topics. As you mentioned that 3D printer were created in the 80's, do you think now that it has been tested and used some places in the world, will we see it more often in the industry in the near future? Do you think it has been tested enough and will take over? I can't agree more that using 3D printer could really help the poor, and for sure be chance for rich people to create something unthinkable.