For my term project, I am going to review the properties of interoperability between Revit and Bentley's AECOsim. Working Individually, I will be creating a simple structure within Revit. My hope is to transfer this structure and its properties (hopefully - fingers crossed) over to AECOsim and continue to make changes to design. Finally, in a round trip attempt, I would then attempt a transfer of this same project from AECOsim back to Revit.
I understand ahead of time that the place most BIM professionals get sidelined in this process is when transferring their project to AECOsim or vice versa. Geometrically, the project is present, but its properties and or internal information doesn't transfer over. My personal goal for this project would be somehow to find a way and retain these lost parameters given to us by Revit. This project idea was chosen due to previous talks in discussion posts and in class regarding Interoperability. I find it extremely important for programs to be able talk to one another and perform the same or similar functions. If I am unable to produce the results I wish from this project, I will still be happy to discuss my concerns regarding how Revit and AECOsim are currently inhibiting false expectations in regards to their working together. Of course it should be noted these two software applications are somewhat competing with one another to outperform.
My project idea is important in respect to Intelligent Buildings because with interoperability designers and constructors will should not be required to do more work just because expensive software requires it. By giving constructors the ability to work together and share ideas amongst one another, you are dramatically increasing the chances of project completion and breakthroughs. This is not to say there won't be challenges along the way. If I am able to figure out a feasible plan of action when doing any sort of Revit model transfers I could potentially compile a set of instructions that could help numerous professionals in this field having the same problem.
In terms of presenting my assignment with my peers my end Goal would be able to present you with the following pieces of information. First I would simply and analytically present you with an outline of the steps I'd taken to Build a revit model, next, transfer the model to AECOsim, edit this structure within AECOsim, and finally transfer it back to Revit. In addition to my notes I would like to provide you wish screenshots of critical actions, errors, or insights. Finally I would provide you with an abstract summary of my findings.
Sources
Bentley iModel Plugin -
click for info on Bentley website
Bentley AECOsim -
click for info on Bentley website
Wikipedia on Industry Foundation Classes -
click
Peer Responses
I liked a lot of what I saw in
Andy Dinh's discussion (
here) about his term project and the comparison between Revit and Bentley Architecture. I am doing a very similar project, so his views and ideas are a good reference for when I'm doing my project. If I have any questions or am stuck on anything through my endeavor he and Ronald Park would be a good source of support and vice versa of course. He notes throughout his post the difficulty that might occur when attempting to find interoperability between the programs. Like him i also plan on using online sources such as articles and YouTube videos to support me with my work.
I agree with
Ray Powell's discussion (
here) about sensor technology in the HVAC industry. many systems' full potentials are underutilized because these sensors are not implemented correctly. Powell's idea that the information collected from these sensors can also be utilized within BIM software such as Revit is interesting. I will be interested to learn how he can collect sensor information and then work it into a BIM design through Revit because today's designs increasingly vary one to another. I presume this would call for different sensors in varying spaces.
Another one of my classmates with an interesting topic for his term project would be
Arthur McCloskey (
here) Working on the families assignment was very beneficial and found me appreciating the possibilities of items that could be created with the Revit feature. In this case, rather than an object you would deliver to the site once the structure is completed, Arthur would like to create those structural elements via families. This would not only speed up the process of design but it would provide users with extensive knowledge of the parameters behind structural elements. This is very useful for engineers and testing when that time comes.
