Reflections on Intelligent Buildings

Overall, I really enjoyed this course, if you are an Architectural Engineer and the course title "Intelligent Buildings" doesn't excite you, than you might be in the wrong major (I know this course had to serve other majors as well). I think this course did a good job of living up to its exciting title.

I think Maria and Jeanine pointed out the biggest issue students (including myself) had with the class, which was that the assignments sometimes piled up very high on each other. This was sometimes a pain to deal with (I can imagine that is was just as a pain to grade in a timely manner). However, this class IS a masters level class for many students, and should be more rigorous than an average undergraduate class. I did not find the work in class to be super challenging, however the class still turned out to be a handful with the amount of work that needed to be successfully juggled, which provided the master's level rigor which requires students to have discipline to successfully complete. Everyone likes an "Easy A" class, however in a 10 week term, it is sometimes very hard to successfully learn a large amount of material without it being speedily thrown at you (just like in the real world).

I also agree with many of the other students that suggest that this course is one that you really get out what you put in. For my project, my partner Tom Ben-David and I decided to build a sensor network from scratch and then wrote a paper on the use of the sensors in a multi-sensor room. This was admittedly biting off a little more than we could chew, and we got the paper written very close to the deadline due to the time it took to actually build the sensor network (even missing some features we wanted). However, the process was very rewarding, and I feel like I got a lot more out of the project than writing a strictly research based paper.  I felt the same way about many of the other assignments in the class such as creating a report for my database that included graphs really pushed the envelope on the scope of the project and added tangible skills to my resume and skill base.

Thermography

I think that Mike did an excellent job of going over the history of temperature sensors and how they work. When I was assigned this post, I immediately though of a thermistor, however it is important to think about the history of temperature sensor, and that the analog approach has worked very well for a long time. I personally got very interested while reading Elda's post when she talked about the use of infrared thermometers. Elda talks about how infrared thermometers are used to detect temperatures without the need for surface contact. This brought me to the idea to discuss thermography as a type of "temperature sensor."

A paper written by Maldague shows there are two main types of  thermography, passive and active. These two types of thermography are discussed as a means of Non-Destructive Evaluation Techniques (NDT). The idea behind active thermography is to send a wave of energy (in the form of heat), and see how the heat moves in the observed medium. Passive thermography on the other hand uses energy already found in the observed medium such as the difference in temperature of a pipe or electric box that generates or takes heat to show how the materials around it act. Thermography can easily be used to determine if an electrical box is overheating and needs attention. It can also be used for firefighters to determine what is going on in a household in the event of a fire, and where people are located inside the burning structure.

The most basic description of thermography, is the use of an infrared camera to detect the radiation from a given material, that then is translated to a surface temperature. It is important (according to NDT sources) to know the emissivity of the material observed to get an accurate reading of what temperature is being observed. If the wrong emissivity is chosen, than the entire process of thermography can become a fruitless exercise.

One can see each different way of measuring temperature has its pros and cons, and there is no one solution fits all approach for measuring temperature.

SQL - Why use it?

I think Tom Ben-David and John Scanlon hit the nail on the head when they described SQL as a language that can not be used standalone, but many times is used to supplement another language. If you think of how you might try and store data without a language such as SQL, you would have a hard time.

I have the luxury of having worked with SQL in the form of mySQL and PHP while designing websites. Before I was ready to use mySQL however, I used the alternatives in web design, which when you broke it down was just storing information in a text file that used semi-colons and tabs to separate the data. This is called a flat file database. It worked, and was useful for what I needed at the time, and stored data in a tabular form that I could access later. However querying in a flat file database is really just going through each entry and looking for parameters that match what you are looking for. Needless to say, the use of a flat file database did not last long into my "web design career".

mySQL (and SQL) works by creating a table that has labeled columns. A database is really just a collection of tables that can be used to connect and talk with each other using identification tags or other useful naming parameters. When you start talking about SQL databases, it sounds a little scary. However, when you break it down, the databases and tables are really just glorified excel files. The usefulness in theses tables however, is that they can be queried (searched) to find only the useful data at a time. This type of operation is extremely useful for the storage of large amounts of data. Facebook uses the same type of PHP and mySQL architecture that I am talking about, and if you consider the amount of data that must be stored on Facebook's website you may start to get overwhelmed. But to think of the database, just go to your profile, you want only information about yourself. If this information were stored in an excel file, it may take a while for you to search the excel file (even if it was a well filtered file) to find only the information about you. However, using mySQL, this operation is done neat and quickly by querying the database for only your information.

Tem Project

As an HVAC major, I wanted to choose a project that focuses on this aspect of intelligent buildings. Reading about the Nest thermostat in the building of the term intrigued me to research the capabilities of thermostats. It might seem like a primitive control system but it is the first integration of an “intelligent” system into a building.

After my project partner, David Morrison, and I spoke and brainstormed with my friend from Drexel Smart House, Michael Magee, we finalized the scope of the project as the exploration of the capabilities of integrated thermostats. For this project, we will use an Arduino microprocessor to collect temperature and humidity data from different spaces. Sensors will be placed in each of the four corners of the rooms we will use for this study and temperature and humidity differences will be measured. The data will also be compared in the static thermostat controlling each of the spaces measured. This data will be analyzed to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the thermostat. Location of thermostat, location of diffuser, size of space, and type of air conditioning system in the space will be taken into account.

After the data will be analyzed thoroughly, we will draw conclusions regarding the implications of the study in relation to intelligent buildings. Some implications include actually including multiple thermostats in each space to create an integral system, providing automated diffusers that spread air more evenly, adding automated fans to mix the air better thermally, etc. The project will draw conclusions to help provide a more even thermal comfort throughout spaces and give suggestions as to how to integrate it into intelligent buildings.

Project: Physical Temperature Measurements

I am working with Tom Ben-David on creating a network on sensors in a room that will hopefully provide a better reading of the temperature in the room, and provide for a greater analysis of how a room acts. This type of strategy has not been widely implemented as there is not too much data on this subject. However, this has not been that practical of a solution for that long. A research paper by Lin details life in 2002, where one sensor per room was not that common, and they were exploring the use of a temperature sensor in each room as an alternative to one temperature sensor per zone. This is still how most homes operate, but as sensor prices drop, can we can more efficient use out of our HVAC systems. Can we also provide better comfort to ALL of the occupants, not just the occupants who live in the spaces with temperature sensors in them. If by adding more sensors to a room, can we then even adjust an HVAC system to make sure all occupants in one room are happy. Think of the many times you sat right under a vent and were too cold, while your companions were too hot just a couple feet away. With more sensors, hopefully an HVAC system will know how to respond to such an event happening.

Our idea is to create the physical sensors will be Arduino hardware. The Arduino hardware will report a humidity and temperature back to a central database where this information will be able to be complied over a time range. Knowing where these sensors are placed in the room, and what is near each sensor (ie: a window or diffuser that would account for a change in temperature). Hopefully with knowing the location of the 4 sensors, and the different types of data they provide, we will be able to make a general consensus as to wether a multi-temperature-sensor room is a viable option and would provide for a more intelligent building.

I found Jeanine's topic very interesting, and applicable to the same type of model we are looking to design. In her post, she talks about how they are going to be selecting sensors to improve the students comfort in the library. We are also interesting in achieving a similar goal, however not with such a specifica building. I am excited to see how well their findings coincide with the findings in our report about ventilation rates.

Interoperability - What can we do to move forward?

Last week, as a group we discussed our reading of the BIM Handbook, and specifically the chapter on Interoperability. We discussed what was currently being done in the industry to provide for a standard such as this. Both Elda and Mike talked about the IFC format in their post as the main champion of interoperability. We discussed, that as good an idea as it was, it would need the complete backing of the Major players in the industry (ie: AutoDesk and Bentley). However, their involvement to me would seem like it would need a greater push than "whining" from engineers and architects. A large reason BIM has been adopted so fast over a regular CAD, is that governmental agencies have started to require a BIM model to be submitted, along with the standard plan and section drawings. I personally believe this type of requirement, lead to a faster adoption of BIM. I also believe that the same type of requirement (like specifying an IFC model with rigorous standards), could lead to better interoperability faster. I believe some governmental agencies do require an IFC model, however the regulations on exactly what is contained in the IFC model are not as strict as they could be. The question of whether we want a government dictating what regulations should be placed on IFC models however is a completely different argument.

I found what I thought was an interesting article by Voytek Pniewski, where he said this about the process one should go through to make sure that there were not any interoperability issues when opening a new BIM file:

"The tests should utilise more than one, ideally several, software applications, including IFC File analyzer, a conformance assessment tool, which is used to evaluate coverage of IFC product data model files.  Solibri Model Checker should be also employed to analyse BIM models by visual examination methods."

This seems like a very long an arduous task just to make sure that what you opened, is what you should be looking at. However, if the model you are working with is a good model (designed with exact specifications), you might actually save time that you may have spent field measuring distances by just looking for inconsistencies in the BIM. Overall, the idea of a BIM, is to save time in the beginning and have an accurate model of a building. However if all of the information that is put in the model is lost during transfer from program to program, does BIM still make as much sense?

Interoperability in BIM modeling

After reading Chapter 3 (Interoperability) of the BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors, I was left with a much better understanding of the challenges of interoperability of file formats in the BIM world. I think Tom and Elda did a great job in their articles describing exactly what interoperability is, and why is is so important. I thought Elda's point about the use of XML was very interesting to me, as I am somewhat familiar with XML as a programing language, and I am always amazed to see its potential in areas such as BIM.

What sparked my interest is the reasons behind interoperability. A company that does not provide as much interoperability is typically one who wants its standard / program to be king above the rest. Whereas a company that is looking for high interoperability would most likely be a company that wants its product to infiltrate the market. I do believe high interoperability is of paramount importance, because as a designer, this is always preferable to make choices on which tool can get the job done the fastest. NIST performed a study on the cost of the current levels of interoperability  and how much it is costing in delays and other expenses. The total number they came up with is approximately $10.6 billion (on page 6-17). This was way above the number I would have guessed, and really goes to show you how much time and effort is wasted on what might, on the outside, be considered a trivial subject.

AISC has a page on their website dedicated to interoperability. On that page I found one very interesting statement:

"Interoperability is a fundamental requirement as we progress to more projects being built using a BIM. However, it cannot be taken in isolation. Even if seamless interoperability was possible between the many software platforms our industry uses, there are many other issues that also need to be tackled before it could be taken advantage of, not the least of which are legal and contractual issue."

The idea, that in a perfect world, with perfect interoperability, there are still huge hurdles that must be overcome on the ownership and legal side. This does bring up important questions as to who would be in charge of how the file types are decided, and questions of this nature.

My personal experience with interoperability was during my last job, where we mainly used AutoCAD family of products. I ran into many problems attempting to open other clients projects from microstation, and other programs. the two programs are somewhat compatible, as their files could be imported and exported. However, the files were not perfect by any means once they were imported to AutoCAD. I spent plenty of hours fixing inconsistencies that occurred during the import process. Most of these files were 2D layouts, which should have been a somewhat easy task. The challenges as we move to BIM, where external variables and data must be stored about each object, and the time it takes to ensure that everything was imported/exported correctly is quite a daunting task.

Future of Sensors and the Capabilities

Nest

I found Tom Ben-David's post on the Nest thermostat very interesting. I personally bought a Nest Thermostat (I believe his blog post incorrectly called the product a "Verge") this past holiday break for my parents household in Florida.

Screenshot of the web control for the Nest thermostat set up in my parents house:

When you think about a green solution, you typically won't think of just adding efficiency to your system. However, this is EXACTLY what the Nest product does. Nest claims (in their white paper) that the average savings of a Type 1 user (as I would classify my parents), would have the average Anual savings of approximately $200/year in Miami. With the total price of a Nest at $250, this is a payback period of approximately 1.25 years. This is a much faster payback period than other green energy solutions (Windmill is somewhere between 3-8 years with a much larger initial investment). Overall I think we will find more solutions like this in the near future. A future where we use data and sensors to make smarter (and greener) decisions. These decisions will increasingly also be made by a computer such as Nest.

Leap Motion

Another type of sensor I am very excited for is the type of sensor that changes the way we interact with computers. This is best seen in the Leap Motion (demonstrated in the following video):

Computers were originally built with a mouse and keyboard (which has worked well so far), as a means for telling the computer exactly what we want it to do. As computers are evolving, so must their input. Computers of the future will be able to use sensors (such as Leap Motion) to understand what you want done, and perform the task. This is radical change from the original use of a mouse and keyboard to give exact commands (imagine a world with no CTRL+C to copy, but rather a slight gesture). The computers of the future will be able to understand what you really want done, and do it for you. This will all require more sensors (such as motion, sound, and visual sensors) to replace standard interface.

David Morrison - Hello World

Background

My name is David Morrison; I am from Delray Beach, Florida. I am a junior at Drexel in the BS/MS Architectural Engineering Program with my MS concentration in Building Systems and BS concentration in mechanical systems. My prior work consists of working at Integrated Project Services (IPS), and designing the mechanical systems of pharmaceutical buildings. I utilized Revit while working at IPS, as well as during INTR-799 which was a Revit course that taught basics of Revit including designing parametric models, however not with the database aspect addressed heavily.

Expectations

My expectation is that, my knowledge of how intelligent buildings interact with the world around them will grow. I also hope to sharpen some of my Revit skills, and hopefully integrate database design with a Revit model.

Definition of Intelligent Buildings

My definition of an Intelligent Building would be a building that successfully interacts and reacts to the world around it. More frequently, today buildings are required to understand their occupants’ wants and needs, and it is up to the Engineers and Architects that design them to achieve this goal.

Architectural Engineering & BS/MS Students

Here is the list of Architectural Engineering students in the course.  This post is also used to create a "label" for each student so it's easy to label your posts later. – Updated 1/14/2013

Group	Last Name	First Name	Major
B	Barry	Nathan	Architectural Engineering
B	Ben-David	Tom	Architectural Engineering
B	Butler	Mitchell	Architectural Engineering
B	Cifligu	Elda	Architectural Engineering
B	Morrison	David	Architectural Engineering
B	Sawin	Michael	Architectural Engineering
B	Scanlon	John	Civil Engineering
C	Bregande	David	Architectural Engineering
C	Hindes	Brian	Architectural Engineering
C	Houde	Kayleigh	Architectural Engineering
C	James	Daniel	Architectural Engineering
C	Lancellotti	Jeanine	Architectural Engineering
C	Martines	Natasha	Architectural Engineering
D	Gonzalez	Maria	Architectural Engineering
D	Ng	Junwah	Architectural Engineering
D	Patel	Jalpesh	Architectural Engineering
D	Pauliushchyk	Margarita	Architectural Engineering
D	Tedesco	Matthew	Architectural Engineering