B7 - Connolly - Course Reflection

When signing up for Intelligent Buildings, my first thought was that I would learn more about BIM and sensors and how they interact. I thought we would talk about databases and how they can vastly improve how a business stores their data. As a Digital Building major I had hoped that this course was one in which I would learn a lot more about how to use each of them effectively in the real world. At that point in time, I had taken 2 database courses and hardly worked with actual database software, I had taken a few courses that touch on BIM but they were mostly the other courses in the AE department that just have one assignment in Revit. I had learned how to use BIM and setup databases mostly in my co-ops and not in classes.

After taking the course, I feel a bit let down by the lack of meaningful use of BIM and databases. I learned a lot about how they are used and the potential uses of them in the future. I learned a lot from the guest speakers who taught about the real world and how systems are used today. I also learned a good amount of the futurology of the construction industry and it could become much more efficient if basic AI or robotics were incorporated. However, I feel like the blog posts were somewhat tedious and the term project was essentially a longer blog post. I did like the two assignments that dealt with BIM and databases, if the term were split between learning more about those two subjects I feel that it would have been more effective. Professor Mitchell often wondered why the class seemed less than interested in the subject that he was teaching. An honest answer to that would probably be that it was due to a mix of the class being 3 hours at dinner time and also that a lot of the subjects were not directly relevant to what we will be working on in our careers. In my opinion, this course would be best taken either earlier in an AE major’s curriculum so that databases and BIM can be introduced from the start, or if the course curriculum focuses more on BIM and databases in the workplace.

Joseph Chaudhari B7 Reflection

Joseph Chaudhari

Dr. Mitchell

AE 510 – Blog Post 7 (B7)

14 March 2017

Reflection

I have learned many things in this Intelligent Buildings class. Let me start off with artificial intelligence. I never knew AI was nearly as big as it currently is until we spoke about in the first few weeks of this course. It is incredible to think of where AI will be heading over the next decade. We see bricklayer robots like SAM in some construction projects today; what will happen when robots are cheap enough for every contractor to afford? We may start seeing Geotechnical drills operating themselves and forklifts operatorless. Thoughts like these beg the question, what will these men and women do if AI takes over the manual labor and operator fields in construction. Will they be retrained to work with or maintain the AI and robots? Or will they fall by the wayside and have to risk starting a new career? The answer is probably a little bit of both will happen.

I never appreciated or knew much about databases and how much easier they make our lives and the lives or the engineers, businessfolk, and others that use them. It was nice to get some hands-on experience in working with the database creation program Microsoft Access. I would love to someday use a more powerful database creator software (and understand SQL!) to see the difference between the more powerful software and Access. I think databases could play a major role in keeping my future and current life organized as I plan on working in and operating (with the help of God) multiple companies that may or may not be related. Keeping all the information tied to these various future and current operations would be key in running them effectively in a manner in which time can be properly distributed to customer service, strong company growth and revenue accumulation, and most importantly community service and betterment.

This class will have a great effect on my future career as it helped mold my mind to be more aware and see how everything is connected and how this connectivity of everything can be taken to the next level by smarter technologies such as AI. Take buildings for example. How many accidents, failures, and mishaps could be prevented if a building could simply “tell” us, with the help of a great deal of sensors, some AI, and database interconnectivity, that it has a problem (like a malfunctioning HVAC system or a weld that is possibly failing since a great deal of vibration is being picked up by sensors near the weld’s location). This, AI and better sensor technology and interconnectivity with databases, would essentially help create an active and responsive structural health monitoring system. Something like this would save time, money, and most importantly lives.

The final research project was also a very meaningful assignment in that I truly learned a ton of information about the topic my group chose (robots and drone in surveying). I might have even come up with an idea for senior design thanks to the project you assigned Sir.

Ultimately, this was a great class and I really appreciated your teaching methods Dr. Mitchell. The blog posts and readings were essential to taking full advantage of the learning possibility that this class offered. Thank you for a great Winter term Sir.

B7- Course Reflection - Vogler

AE 510 has increased my knowledge in Revit and in databases. I was able to learn what databases are and how to create and edit one.

Before the course, I had no knowledge on what a database was capable of, and now as I am leaving the course I can incorporate them in my professional future. At my current job, they do not have databases to store any information, and it would be extremely useful to introduce these as a way of organizing information we typically do not store anywhere, such as cost estimating.

I also learned how to make families in Revit, which has proven to be extremely useful. For senior design, we are creating a mussel hatchery, which involves having fish tanks in the laboratory. By knowing how to create a family, I was able to create and add the tanks that are specialized and wouldn’t be found in normal Revit databases. With this, our project increases in value, because this tank is what the entire room and building is based off of.

For my project, I wrote a paper on the value of BIM in existing buildings. From this, I learned a lot about different software that I didn’t know existed. One huge software I learned about is Vasari, which is capable of performing Building Energy analyses, and provide important information about what is using the most energy in the building. BIM has always been an interesting topic to me, and getting to learn more important information on it was extremely useful.

Being able to bring all of this knowledge to my professional life, now and after graduation, helps make me an important asset. Not many people in transportation engineering are exposed to this much digital building applications. I do not think it is seen as important for this type of design as it is for buildings, but it is still very fundamental to knowing what all software is capable of.

B7 - Group A - Ronald Herazo

B7 – Ronald Herazo

Course Reflection

Dr. Mitchell did a great job teaching this class. I believe this class was very interesting because it talked about everything you need to know nowadays. I liked the way Dr. Mitchell taught this class. He basically touched every important point that an engineer needs to know. As students, it is important to listen and take notes from professionals that have a lot of years working as engineers (some of them with companies) because it helps us visualize how the industry is going to be projected in a few years from now. The guest lectures were truly helpful in many different aspects. Some of them highlighted the changes the industry is experiencing.

Personally, I had no idea on how sensors work before this class. However, Dr. Mitchell explained this topic very well. Also, Dr. Mitchell highlighted how you, as an engineer, can design a database able to control and simulate anything you want. I have no words to describe how amazing was working on my database, and I would have loved to work more with Access because I know that at some point of my career I will be using databases. Throughout my life in Drexel, I did not have the chance to work with Revit the way I worked on this class. It was my first time using families within Revit. After working with this software, I realized that Revit can be used for many other things such as designing foundations or structural members. I thought Revit was only useful for architects, but it seems that I was wrong. However, I would have loved to have another project involving Revit as well as Access. For the past two weeks, I have been thinking on how would have been designing a 3-story building with x number of rooms in Revit, and at the same time implementing sensors using Access. I think this would have been a perfect team project because it uses every that Dr. Mitchell taught in this class.

Having weekly-post was very exciting because it helped me understand and discover new things. As a student, I always try to learn new stuff and I believe reading other people’s posts help you educate yourself a little bit more. Overall, I am glad to have been taken this class and learned so much from it.

Brandon,

I am sure that you really loved working on your personal project. Who doesn’t love working on Revit!! Let me tell you something, Revit is a powerful engineering tool that has a lot of functionalities. I would have loved working with Revit in my personal project as well, but I wanted to know more about robots and how they can be used in construction. However, the way you have done your project was very smart. I also liked the lecture from week 4. There are many things that we do not know yet and I guess the topic from this lecture was one of them.

https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/03/course-reflection-brandon-mengel.html

Prahlad,

The way you described this course was very nice. I also think that this class was very interesting because it was one of the few classes at Drexel that explored the current and future states of the industry. I do not think that splitting this class into two classes would have been better because one of the most interesting part of this class was the guest lectures. Remember, these lectures were usually after 5:00 PM. However, I do think that Dr. Mitchell needs to provide 10 to 15 minute break.

https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/03/singh-prahlad-reflection.html

Sager,

I liked the way you went through the class. I also think that this class had a lot of great topics, and Dr. Mitchell really did a good job explaining everything in detail. Throughout this term, we absorbed a huge amount of information in this course. One of the activities I liked was the weekly posts because I was able to discover new things from my classmates and my assigned topic. There were good topics!!

https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/03/course-reflection-chris-sager.html

Course Reflection - Chris Sager

Just like the opening statement on Blackboard says “This is a class in which you’ll get out of it as much as you put in”. This course was extremely beneficial to me because my area of study is in Digital Building Design. Intelligent buildings and the topics associated with them play such a big role in what I am trying to study. A lot of the topics we covered in this course I had heard of before, but I did not have a true understanding of them. Dr. Mitchell along with the rest of the class did a great job in explaining these topics and why they matter. We really took the time to create a shared understanding of what Intelligent Building means. I was impressed by the number of topics we were to cover in the 10 weeks we had. My top three would consist of BIM Tools & Concepts, Databases, and Data - CAD; BIM. 

My favorite aspect of this course would have to be the weekly blog posts. I liked them because each week we were able to explore a topic in depth and write about it in our own words. We were not penalized for not understanding a topic but rewarded for taking the time and studying that topic and its effect on intelligent building. As long as we took the initiative we benefitted. The ability to get feedback from other classmates as well as Dr. Mitchell made writing more enjoyable because you knew your work was being seen and commented on by a number of individuals. 

In terms of the Assignments we were required to complete throughout the term, The Revit assignment would have to of been my favorite. It gave me a chance to run through the important features of Revit again and create an all around proficient end result. It was also my first time using families within Revit. I gained important knowledge as to why these families are important and how useful they come to be when working in different projects. 

I liked a lot that we had so many topics and methods to choose from for the final project. You had the ability to work on anything that really interested you in terms of intelligent building. If you did not wish to work with a partner you didn't have to either, which I appreciated. I normally work well independently on most things. Being able to provide Dr. Mitchell with a draft of the project halfway through the course was also beneficial in staying on track and acquiring comments from him to improve on the final result.

I must say a large part of the success I had in this course was due to the professor, Dr. Mitchell. He was very knowledgeable in the topics we discussed. I was very impressed with the amount of work he required from us and his ability to stay on track as well as get back grades and comments proficiently. 

Peer Comments

Maissoun Ksara (click here) - You did a nice job covering everything we experienced in this course. I also agree, the ability to listen to and interact with professionals in our field from week to week was exciting. Like you, I also enjoyed working on the Revit and Database projects. I could also see how MS Access and the ability to create databases within the software can be a great resource when it comes to organization and presentation.

Drew Hovy (click here) - Like Drew, I also enjoyed the presentation in relation to Navisworks the most. Being able to have a first hand look at those individuals working with intelligent buildings and the software designing them is really interesting. 

Brandon Mengel (click here) I definitely agree that the personalization throughout this course we were able to provide ourselves was nice when it came to the final project. I went into my project not knowing if what I wanted to do would even work and the professor understood this. I do not think you are being dramatic  in stating the idea that jobs will steadily be stolen by computers in years to come. Its definitely a scary though and its good we are discussing it now rather than later.

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.

Course Reflection - Nick Pawlikowski

When I registered for this course, I was unsure of what I was getting into.  The course name Intelligent Buildings gave me the first impression that the course would be centered around case studies of buildings that have utilized advanced technologies to meet the needs of the owners, designers, and occupants.  I also assumed that we would be learning about these technologies and how to implement them.  While the course did fall short of my initial expectations, there is no denying that I have gained a significant amount of knowledge through it.

Part of my qualms with this course come from the nature of the course itself.  I understand the difficulties of building curriculum for teaching about the future of the AEC industry.  Any prediction or discussion of the future has to be taken with a heap of salt; the technologies that we are focusing on now (drones, 3D printing) may not end up being the innovation that shakes up the industry, and likewise a currently unknown technology may come out of nowhere and pivot the industry in a new, unpredictable direction.  I recognize the value of discussing the technologies that are currently at the forefront of innovation, even if the discussion is at a cursory level.  However, much of the discussion in this course covered topics that I already knew about, in a depth at which I was already quite familiar.  Many of the lectures in this course, especially those on 3D printing and BIM, seemed to provide the educational equivalent of reading a handful of tech articles.  The most I can say about the value I received from these lectures is simply an awareness of the technologies with no idea of how they are actually implemented in practice.

The greatest value I gained from this course is in the area of Databases.  I had not used MS Access or any type of database before, and now that this course has concluded I am capable of creating a working relational database from scratch.  I consider this a great value because I learned how to actually use database software, rather than simply knowing the theory of SQL and relational databases.  Moreover, the gap between knowing the theory of databases and knowing how to use databases is a significant chasm.  This leads me to assume that the gaps between the cursory knowledge we gained on other technologies and their implementation are similarly large.  No amount of self-directed learning would be sufficient to close the gaps in all these areas.  Although I recognize now that this course was meant to serve as an introduction to emerging technologies, I maintain that the value I gleaned from it was less than expected, and concentrated in only a few areas.

Finally, reading the posts of others makes me consider that the value of this course is relative to one's level of knowledge before the course, their expectations for the course, their academic position, and their professional interests.  While the course provided lower-than-expected value for me, I now recognize that it could provide exceptional value to others who's positions are different than my own.

COMMENTS:

On Aziz AlSaleem's Post:
Aziz, Your post provides some useful perspective for me after writing my post. For me, this course provided less knowledge than I expected, but for you it provided more than you expected.  This makes me consider that the value of this course can be great for some and less for others, depending on the knowledge that one had before the class began.  I also recognize that I may be privileged to have learned about many of the topics discussed before, and that may be why I perceived the value of the class to be lower than my expectations.

On Brandon Mengel's Post:
Brandon, my favorite part of this course was also the personal project.  I agree with you that the freedom given to pursue the project was beneficial, and for me it allowed me to take a deep dive into one particular subject and gain a significant amount of useful knowledge.  I also agree that BIM will most likely be the main driver of change in the AEC industry.  I also think that 3D printing will be used more in the industry, but I am skeptical that it will be as game-changing as some predict.  I am of the opinion that the majority of 3D printing will be reserved for constructing smaller, non-structural elements.

On Rachel Frank's Post:
Rachel, reading your post makes me consider how valuable this course can be to students who haven't chosen a concentration yet.  As a student in the structural concentration, I was looking for specifics about how the technologies discussed in the course are actually implemented in practice, alongside current methods of design.  However, your comment about how this is essentially the only course related to the digital building concentration that can be taken before one decided on their concentration makes me realize that this course could provide incredible value to those interested in pursuing the digital building concentration.

Group E: Reflection of the Class

When I originally signed up for AE 410, I expected it to be more about digital design and a focus on the programs like Revit. I did not expect to be talking about artificial intelligence or robots being used in construction, I had no idea that was being incorporated in the construction industry already. Being a Pre-Junior, I have not had much experience with these programs to start with, and after discovering what the class was actually about, I was worried I would not be able to understand the topics with my lack of experience. However, I was so interested in the topics that we have covered, I enjoyed learning about them and was glad that the class was altered based upon levels.

Taking this class was the best decision, as it has altered my view of my field greatly and changed the path I want to take. I still have to decide my concentration, and I’m glad I was able to take this course beforehand. It had shown me the different possibilities within my field and the many different directions I can take. This class has introduced me to new ideas about my future, and has me thinking about what I want to do in the future. I greatly enjoyed the database project, and I can see myself following a path that includes databases and artificial intelligence, which before this term I did not even know was possible in my field.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking the Intelligent Buildings course, Dr. Mitchell is a wonderful and I will miss having him as a teacher. I have learned a lot more than expected during this course and it has been a class I actually look forward to. Overalll this course has been one of the most useful classes I have taken so far with respects to my career.

COMMENTS:

Hayley Seldon: This also has been the only course that I’ve taken that relates to digital building. I’m so glad I decided to take this class, as I have learned so much and I feel like I have a step up over my peers as I know how the digital building is connected to the other parts of the industry and can make connections that they might not know are related. https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/03/selden-b6-course-reflection.html?showComment=1488853156533#c1203713663769843946

David Sanchez: I also learned a lot more than I expected during this class. When reading the course description, considering I had no experience with digital buildings, I expected it to be focused on revit and digital designing programs. But I found I was completely wrong, and have enjoyed this class even more than I expected. https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/03/introduction-last-october-i-was.html?showComment=1488853606590#c413557217024952988

Selden B6 - Course Reflection

Reflect on course and its effect on your profession and your future.

This is the only course I have taken that I really associate with the term "digital building". It encompassed both technology in buildings, new and existing, as well as the construction of them. It was definitely a unique course that allowed for a good introduction into the world of sensors, databases, AI, etc. when it comes to the world of building construction.

Effect on My Profession

My ideal career would be working at, or owning, a design-build residential firm. The presence of these emerging technologies in modern homes is already taking place with systems like Alexa, Nest, and Google Home. There is no doubt that this technology trend will continue as it has in many other industries already.

I feel this course has prepared me to not only understand these technologies, but also begin to look for new areas they can be implemented. I feel my project for this course (creating a sensor network in combination with an AI system within a home), is a very viable idea that I would be eager to actually implement one day.
From a background perspective, the programs we are using to create these projects are also evolving at a rapid pace. Having a deeper understanding of them now - especially in relation to databases - will help me to use them to their full potential moving forward. Being able to maximize the abilities of these programs will lead to a more efficient work flow, as well as a more organized approach to design.

Effect on My Future

This ties into the above section a bit, as my profession will be the large portion of my future. For my immediate future, being able to describe the topics we learned in this course to potential employers would be a great asset in job hunting, as firms are often looking to young hires for knowledge on emerging technologies and systems.

Beyond that at its core, a course like prepares its students to be receptive and curious about new technologies on a grand scale. We've already seen in our lifetimes how fast technology advances (just compare my first Rarz phone to my current Samsung), so it is important, in engineering especially, to keep up on these new technologies to ensure that the work we are doing is the most accurate and up to date as possible.

In Conclusion

I learned far more than the above statements in this class. My favorite aspect, although broad, was seeing the applications of these new technologies, and being made to think about upcoming methods as well. 

Prior to this class I had never had much interaction with the technical side of these technologies, like actually creating a database instead of simply using the information from one. I learned that that side of things wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but it did give me a good understanding of the underlying functions that I will be able to call upon when using these systems in the future.

Comments