Course Reflection

                         The overall experience of this class was great. When I came in to this class I expected to learn about BIM and how to utilize BIM capable programs. Even though we did learn a few things about BIM, like creating a simple building and looking at videos. It wasn’t as in-depth as I thought it would be and wished that we would have spent more time on that topic. Which is fine considering all that I have learned throughout this course as well as using different programs like Revit and Microsoft Access.  Creating the database was the most difficult assignment of the whole term, but it was the most rewarding. I didn’t expect that I would have learned so much about databases, like relational and object oriented. Even more I wouldn’t have imagined that I would be able to create one and how easy it was to do so. Furthermore the blog posts were a resourceful way to focus us to think specifically about a topic, while at the same time, broadening our minds. Allowing us to read and comment on other student’s posts giving us other facets about the topic originally not conceived. But most of all the best aspect about this course was the presentations. I learned so much from each and every one of the guest speakers. They gave a full spectrum of career paths that our majors can take us as well as giving us advance and insight to the industry. This alone was worth the taking the course. But I do agree with Cifligu’s post about 10 weeks being too short of a time to completely cover all the concepts mentioned in AE. The database topic spanned for a little too long, while other subjects were neglected like robotics which I found really interesting. Overall the course was an amazing experience, having given me a glimpse into the future of the industry, my career seems less daunting. 

Humidity Sensors

       A humidity sensor measures three different types of humidity; absolute humidity, relative humidity, and specify humidity. Absolute humidity is the ratio of water to air, the total mass of water vapor that is in the air at a given time. Relative humidity (RH) is where many believe is temperature is actually the saturation level of the air. It’s shown as a percentage of the ratio of the moisture in the air and the total amount of moisture the air can hold. If the RH is at 100% then the air cannot hold any more moisture which can mean a high possibility for rain. The warmer the air is, the more moisture it can hold, the colder the air the less moisture. Meaning that the RH is affected by the change in temperature, which can justify why some believe humidity sensors measures temperature. Specific humidity is the ratio of the mass of water vapor in the air to the total mass of the mixture of air and water vapor. These humidity sensors can be used both indoors and outdoors, as well as being available in both digital and analog forms. The analog sensor uses a system called capacitive measurement. The sensor would be made of either glass or ceramics. The insulator material made from polymers, absorbs and releases that water which changes the level of charge in the capacitor. The measure of the change in the charge is the humidity of the given area. The digital sensor uses an electrode based system consisting of polymers, there are two micro sensors that are calibrated to the humidity of the given area. Which are then converted into digital format using an analog to digital conversion. There are actually another type of system called the hygrometer, where there is a pair of thermometers are used. One is kept wet while the other one is kept dry. The difference of the two moisture levels are measured. I really liked how in Nastasha’s blog, she when more in-depth with the components and circuitry of the sensors. There are many applications that a humidity sensor has. To regulate humidity in buildings like museums, laboratories, and wine cellars. Create a sterilized environment for a hospital and even the defogging or defrosting systems in cars need humidity sensors. Humidity sensors are key into making a green building as in Jeanine’s blog, she mentioned that “The humidity sensors will collect data that will be used to determine the comparative advantages and worth the new technology.”

http://www.tech-faq.com/humidity-sensors.html

http://www.articles-place.com/various-types-of-the-humidity-sensor/

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5306344_humidity-sensor-work.html

Object Oriented Databases

There are varies types of databases that store information. Object oriented database (OODB) is "a database management system in which information is represented in the form of objects.". The difference between OODB’s than the rest of the databases, is that it stores objects rather than data. This allows OODB’s to handle more complex data than other databases like Relational database. Relational databases are "a collection of data items organized as a set of formally described tables from which data can be accessed easily". For example a Relational databases stores information by breaking the data into many different pieces, then categorize them into various tables for storage. When you need that information again it will gather all the different pieces and try to reassemble them back together, by using a program that speaks the same language as the data. This process takes a long time to retrieve the data. OODB’s on the other hand can simply just store the whole object into the database, no need to reconfigure the data. It can store graphics, videos, CAD models, and much more. While Relational databases can hold simply information like an employee’s name, DOB, hire date, exp. The OODB has been around for a long time, started in the late 1980’s and was supposed to replace the relational database which started in the 1970’s. Flash forward today and relational databases are still the most widely used database. But OODB’s are on the rise since the 2003 the sales for it have been steadily increasing by 12.5% annually. This is because there is a niche market, OODB’s are becoming more popular for uses with artificial intelligence and CAD/CAM applications. Companies like J.P. Morgan, Chase, and Citibank are using OODB technologies in modeling financial instruments. In the coming years I believe that more and more companies will adopt the use of OODB’s for its complex data storage, but it won’t replace the relational databases because of its simplicity. Like in Jeanine Lancellotti's post she says that “Object-orientation is yet another step in the quest for expressing solutions to problems in a more natural, easier to understand way.” Probably in the near future, with the advance in software, will might even see another form of a database and would trump both the relational and object-orientation databases.     

http://www.leavcom.com/db_08_00.htm

http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/database/basicdb/dataobject.html

http://odbms.org/download/005.01%20Chandler%20Introduction%20to%20Object-Oriented%20Databases%20September%201998.pdf

Term Project

My group consists of Issa Haddad, Mitchell Butler and me, Junwah Ng. For our term project, we decided to do the topic about green and intelligent buildings. This is a great topic for us considering our senior project also correlates with green/intelligent buildings. Our senior project is about trying to make a zero net building. This means zero run off, zero energy use, and zero environmental impact. Our site is a small 2-1/2 acre land in the Mantua district of Philadelphia, not far from Drexel University. To achieve this goal of a zero net building, we have chosen many different types of systems; photovoltaic, passive solar, earth sheltering, green roofs and much more. Through this term project we would like to distinguish the difference between green and intelligent buildings. In an article I’ve read it seems that “green” buildings have more to do with being LEED certified than anything else and intelligent buildings are to be more on the technological side. But more research is needed to really understand the differences. By defining what a green/intelligent building is, we would be able to consider which type of building design would best fit our senior project. Whether it would be more beneficial for our building to be 100% green, 100% intelligent, or even a combination of the both. Furthermore we would like to also include the use of BIM for our senior design. We would integrate the many uses of Revit that we’ve heard about in class and put them into the design of the building. Probably making a model that analysis each system to optimize the efficiency of the building. Kayleigh's blogged that she is also doing her term project with her senior design as well. Her project is slightly different then ours, she is making a sustainable elementary school while ours is making a zero net building much smaller then a school. I find it really great that someone is also using Revits full potential, probably even more so than us considering her experience with Revit. Overall if the outcome of this term project is successful, then our findings will alter the course of our design for senior project.

http://www.costar.com/josre/pdfs/CoStar-JOSRE-Green-Study.pdf

The Future of BIM

I believe in the future, BIM will be a standardized format for all building design. With all the benefits that we’ve learned, it’s obvious that BIM will dominate the industry. With software and hardware improving so rapidly the benefits of BIM in the future will be vast. From estimating cost faster, rendering 3D models quicker, and improving the infrastructure of communications such as data sharing between stakeholders. Like in Kayleigh's post, she believes that there will be a new IT department dedicated for BIM.This illustrates the idea that BIM technology is advancing to a point where its becomes a standard. Last week Eric has pointed out about the use of computers that are idle. To help other users generate renderings by using the idle computers computing power from a few seconds. This is a great idea, and probably in the new future, owners will be able to use their phones to control BIM while on the job site. This will improve on productivity and possibly save money. When I was on co-op I would go to project meetings on the jobsite. I would take notes during the meeting and then drive all the way back to the office to make the changes. This process of driving back in forth from the job site back to the office is a huge waste of time. So if BIM was able to be used on the phone or tablet it would make changing things on the fly much easier and would allow the owners to cover over more items during the meeting. BIM in the future can possible integrate with other types of technologies like GIS, accounting, emergency response, GPS, and environmental applications. In the near future BIM would have shortened construction time by a great deal. I would probably say that we are looking at the new industrial revolution for constructing buildings. A rapid grown in the construction of buildings will occur, take a look at China now. They are the global leaders in building construction and if BIM becomes the international standard as I predict it will be. Then you will see China explode in their construction development, even more so then today.

BIM for Owners and Facility Managers

After reading the chapter I found that BIM can help improve the collaboration between owner and the project managers that can short the time of construction and cost of many projects. Companies like Toyota and Boeing have already begun using BIM and have found commercial success in doing so. In this blog I will type to explain what BIM has to offer to the owners that I’ve learned while reading the BIM handbook. BIM has many features like; estimating tools, model validation, and project communication. Each of these tools will help the owner in improving their success rate of their project.

Like what Jeanine said on her blog “the greatest ability BIM has is to link design with cost estimating and sales forecasts”. Estimating is a big part of what the owner does in a project and with the help of BIM’s estimating techniques it becomes easier for the owner to budget accordingly. Most companies use Excel and Exactal’s Cost X, but the owners must consider the level of estimation detail they need. The estimation must be adequate with the quantities, per component, or square footage. Also it has the ability to compare two version of a design to show how different changes can have potentially impact on the project. BIM-based estimating would also allow the ability to link items with specific components through a visual interface.

Model validation is software that performs many tasks like check against program requirements. This helps the owner compare requirements like energy, distance, height, and space with the design. Also programs like The Solibri Model Checker allows the owner to check if the model contains specified information within component, and even components within components. This would allow the owner to quickly view the project as its being completed.

As the owner, project communication is key in completing the project on time and with fewer obstacles. BIM can let the owner publish snapshots, which are one-directional static views of the BIM model. Model views, would provide the owner the ability to share data with other parties who could mark-up or comment on the model. Also provides the owner to access direct database, which is the ability to distribute project servers. All these forms of communication would surely increase the productivity of the project.

Hopefully by the end of this, you would feel as how I did that BIM would be an essential part of the owner’s tool set.

Future of Robotics

The future of robotics might look completely different than what we’d expect. Instead of the humanoid robots we come to love and fear, future robots would vary by the thousands.  This “robotic swarm” is a theory that in the future, robotic technology would be so advanced that it would be fast, cheap, and out of control. Dominic Basulto - “Just as the computer revolution started with massive mainframes and evolved to the personal computer and handheld tablets, the robotics revolution is taking the same path”. Everyday life would involve these machines just like how we use computers today.

With the oncoming storm of robotic technology it’s hard not to worry about the impact it will cause to the economy and especially our jobs. In an article I’ve read they have listed the top 10 occupations that robots will eventually take over. Some of them are worth noting like musicians, with Toyota’s trumpet playing robot, 2006’s “Haile” which plays the drums and 2010’s marimba playing “Shimon” which can adapt and learn while playing with a person, it seems like the future is near. Next gone from our job list are surgeons, they will be taken over by mechanical arms that perform precision cuts without the human error. In fact some hospitals have already been using them. Another interesting one is a novelist, they say that people are working on technology that computes sentences, paragraphs and everything from crude jokes to philosophical arguments. There were many other jobs on the list; artists, teachers, robotic lover (I’m not going there), and soldiers.

With more and more robots taking over jobs the distinction between robots and humans is become blurred. Like how in Kayleigh Houde blog post mentions that robots in the near future will "mimic human tendencies, to the point where it is difficult to tell whether it is human.". Also saying that children will interact with these robots as much as computers today, which is a scary thought considering the fact that children in the future will be taught by these robotic teachers. The lines between humanity and robotics will be crossed.

With the eventuality of robotics doing almost everything from teaching our future youth to our own medical health, where would be the boundaries to robotic capabilities? In light of this question I found a 1993 article, from a former mathematics professor Vernor Vinge. He coined the term “technological singularity”, a phenomenon of technological acceleration causing an eventual unpredictable future or in his words “the ending of the human era”.  He argues that with the technological advances that eventually will come, there will be the creation of a superhuman intelligent entity. That will become the catalyst of the creation of even more superhuman intelligent entities, like a cell dividing. This plausible future is a little too bleak for me, but it is a possibility and one to think about.

http://bigthink.com/endless-innovation/the-robotic-future-is-fast-cheap-and-out-of-control

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-ways-robots-could-replace-humans.htm

http://mindstalk.net/vinge/vinge-sing.html

Junwah Ng

     Hello, my name is Junwah Ng or Jay to make things easier. I’m a senior with a structural concentration, I don’t have any sort of background on BIM other than doing a few assignments on Revit and absolutely know nothing about databases. Right now I'm working with a construction management company, which basically just manages a construction site and tries to finish everything on time.

     I was hoping to learn new and innovating systems with-in a building that would make it “intelligent”. Like a system that can monitor the sunlight exposure and would change the whole buildings shaping system accordingly or something along the lines of that.

     An intelligent building would be a build that would be energy efficient as well as being able to work well with the occupancy it holds.