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.

BIM Handbook - Chapter 2

In an ideal BIM model, there would be parametric relationships within each building system that would allow it to adjust to changes in another system.  These changes would have a ripple effect across all other building systems as there would be parameters set up to do so.  But, it would appear that building design and the construction industry have so many years of previous conventions and different groups working with their own set of specific practices within those conventions, that completely pre-assembling any one building with a BIM model at this point would take a tremendous amount of manual editing, fine-tuning and collaboration.  This is not to say that it cannot be done or that the example given of the Boeing 777 did not (see G. Carpenter’s post for explanation or page 46 of the book), but the effort resulted in 1000+ planes as opposed to one, single building.  Not to mention the relationship to the site and environment, file size, and managing the different versions of the model within all contributing parties.

The author of the BIM Handbook states, “The range of functionality offered in each market is still being sorted out.  The market is the battleground” (69).  This is very much the case, currently, as each building system and specialty utilizes their specific tools and methods, without having to share a BIM model and create a BIM compatible convention.   This can be seen in the issue of something as simple as drawings.  Page 61 of the BIM Handbook discusses how the necessary drawings required by the building industry are “laid out in different ways in different stages of design” by different system designers and would require that the model be set up with very stringent rules to take into account these conventions to avoid significant manual editing after the fact.

This typically used method of design where each system is designed and contracted separately lacks the required collaboration necessary to avoid the current “clashes” discussed by R. Krall in his post regarding BIM in Construction and J. Lancellotti in her post regarding BIM for Owners and Facility Mangers.  This, I believe, is the real issue as creating interoperability (see posts by E. Cifligu and T. Ben-David) with respect to the software and networks becomes much easier once the groups of people themselves are able to do so.

Reading: BIM Handbook, Chapter 2 (2011 Edition)

Interoperability

Interoperability is a crucial aspect of BIM, especially due to the complexity of buildings nowadays and the idea that building function as one cohesive machine, rather than a collection of systems. In practice, there are many designers working on each building: an architect, a structural engineer, an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer etc. These people and their systems need to be able to communicate with each other not only on site, but also during the design process. Therefore it is necessary for computer generated building systems created with different programs to be compatible and read by other interfaces.

Elda did a great job briefing about the technical aspect of interoperability in her post. Rather than repeating what she had already said, I would like to touch more of the impact interoperability has on BIM. In order to make buildings more efficient, many building systems are cross-disciplinary. A contractor might want to save cost by providing cheap envelope, but overall the building can turn out more expensive with a larger HVAC system and larger energy consumption. By providing interoperable design methods, the designers can see how their systems will work together in real life. As the BIM Handbook states, is it possible to conduct ANSI calculations using IFC with proper labeling. This can make design more efficient and help in providing ideal solutions in terms of energy management, cost reduction, and systems’ effect on one another. As we move forward to an era of more intelligent buildings, BIM interoperability is necessary to ensure compatibility and communications between systems and avoid errors due to miscommunication and complexity.

It is true that there are still problems with IFC and other formats, such as complex curve interpretation and other problems in translation, but I believe these problems will be solved in the near future. Autodesk software seem to be the most common type of software used today in the industry, which is a step towards standardization; but as long as other programs are used there has to be a way in which files can be translated from one program to another with as little errors as possible for an efficient interoperable BIM design.

3D Manufacturing Capabilities

                With the 3D printing industry rapidly growing, the limits to 3-D manufacturing limits are constantly being redefined. 3D printing also known as additive manufacturing is “the process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital model”.  Although the idea of 3D printing began in the 1980s, the term was not officially coined until 1995, where a group of MIT students designed an inkjet printer that extruded a binding solution onto a bed of powder rather than ink onto paper. Since then, 3D printing has been a rapidly growing field because of it’s vast

                Surprisingly, although 3D printing is gearing towards new medical developments such as nano scale objects, there is a big interest in 3-D printing on a much greater scale. In fact, according to Yahoo News, “Behrokh Khoshnevis at the University of Southern California … has figured out a way to build housing with a giant 3D printer.” Yahoo might not be a credible source but this professor has been featured on different sites, and Matthew Tedesco also referenced this scientist.  Of course this would require a large scale printer, that would be bigger than the house its building, and it would build through a concrete layering system called Contour crafting. Although the method of extrusion printing we have now creates a lot of waste, 3D printing is gearing towards precision printing such as Contour crafting. Contour crafting prints objects “as is” without creating any additional waste. The professor believes that this would not only help commercial building be more efficient and less costly, but that this project can extend to even the poor slums and less fortunate societies. Being able to build a house at around 20 hours, can greatly reduce the costs for anyone and increase production rates by an unknown exponential rate.

                I believe that 3D manufacturing is essential to the future of construction and engineering, because at the current rate there’s no limits as to what we can build, and how fast we can build it.The 3D printers already exist, and it's only a matter of time before they're manufactured in a cheap commercial scale. 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/3d-printer-could-build-house-20-hours-224156687.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

http://www.explainingthefuture.com/3dprinting.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/12/07/manufacturing-the-future-10-trends-to-come-in-3d-printing/

Week 2: Future of Computer Hardware Technology

The future of Computer Hardware Technology I believe is going to be focused on the way users interact with their computer. I believe this will include advancements in both the interface and in new methods of input. Some of these advancements will include 3D displays, hologram displays, further advances in touchscreen technology, augmented displays, voice controlled computers, and other computer hardware advancements that will make using a computer feel more natural for the user. The future of computer hardware is looking to create a more intuitive experience for the user where little to no training on using the computer is needed. The goal is for the user to be able to do whatever they feel and for the computer to be able to pick up the user’s instinctive actions and interpret it as a logical input that the computer will comprehend and perform a task according to that user’s action. In addition to a more user-friendly atmosphere, the future of computer hardware technology I believe is looking to be able to cross from platform to platform and work in uniform with most other forms of technology. In essence, I agree with an article from Computerworld “Future shock: The PC of 2019” where in the near future data on a main computer at home can be transferred to a smaller, portable version of a computer (similar to a smartphone) and this device can then unlock your car, have access to personal information on the go like checking bank accounts or stock portfolios, and then this same device can be plugged into a station at work for a business meeting and display your presentation to your clients. With the increasing amount of devices that use software similar to what they call a “cloud” or online place to store information that can be accessed on the go by mobile devices, I believe that we are very close to a future where we can access any and all information on the go and control them in ways similar to floating visual touch displays that we thought we’d only see in sci-fi, secret agent type movies.

I am in agreement with my classmate M Lorena Alvarado’s post on the future of computer hardware technology where she describes how the “better” and “improved” products of the future will be smaller, lighter, and more portable to act as a commodity for the user. However, I believe that new smartphones and such to come are done being marketed as being smaller than its predecessor, but will rather focus on being more productive and efficient than ever before.

Sources:

http://www.infoworld.com/t/computer-hardware/the-future-computer-user-interfaces-178762

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/334799/Future_shock_The_PC_of_2019

http://www.phoenix.edu/colleges_divisions/technology/articles/2011/02/anticipating-the-future-when-will-all-computer-hardware-become-obsolete.html

http://kangaroojase.hubpages.com/hub/The-Future-Of-Computers-Hardware-Roadmap-To-2015

Robotics in Our Future

If the last 50 years has taught us anything about robotics, its that the rate of growth of use and capabilities of them is increasing every day.  When robots were first brought into the production industy, they simply aided humans in doing tasks they could not do themselves.  Today, there are fully autonimous robotic manufacturing plants that require little to no human intervention.  Some plants have systems in place where the robotic components are able to self-diagnose and even fix themselves or other robots.  While there are clearly many benefits to giving certain tasks to humans, there are many reasons to give the repetitive, precise jobs to robots.  Robots have a greater ability than humans to replicate tasks with greater precision as well.  Whether society accepts it or not, robots are becoming a staple in the manufacturing industry.

      Let's face it, simple repetetive jobs are boring and sometimes can be dangerous. In Robert Lamb's article "How have robots changed manufacturing?", he discusses the first time factories started using modern industrial robots in 1961.  The managers, supervisors, and owners all grew to love this new asset to their plant.  It never called in sick, never got tired, could work 24 hours a day and never have to be paid overtime, and was stronger and more precise than any human could be.  For these simple facts alone, robotics popularity grew rapidly in the manufacturing industry.

     In a Time Magazine article by Christopher Mathews, it is argued that robotics in manufacturing will actually help bring jobs back to America.  While they admit this seems counterintuitive, they refer to a Boston based company called Rethink Robots.  Here they have developed a relatively cheap robot that is able to simple, repetetive tasks efficiently and can learn tasks as well.  What this will do is allow manufacturers an American option to the cheap labor they pay for overseas.  With higher energy costs, and the growth of these developing countries manufacturers are looking to the U.S. to make products they plan on selling her anyways.  By utilizing this cheaper robot for repetetive, simple tasks, humans will be better utilized doing the more complicated tasks involved in the manufacturing.  While other students have claimed that robots will rob Americans of jobs, this robot, Baxter, is already helping American manufacturers gain an edge in the global market.  A plastics company in Connecticut has shown the robots veratility in doing tasks that would under-utilize a human.  To program the robot to do a new task, someone just has to show it how to do it, as if they were showing another human.  This just shows that robots may not be the death of manufacturing jobs in America. 






http://www.technologyreview.com/news/429248/this-robot-could-transform-manufacturing/

Lamb, Robert.  "How have robots changed manufacturing?"  10 November 2010.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/robots-changed-manufacturing.htm>  15 January 2013.

http://business.time.com/2012/09/27/can-robots-bring-back-manufacturing-jobs-to-the-u-s/

Week 2 - Robotics Capabilities

Week 2 – Robotics Capabilities

David Bregande

1/15/13

                Modern technology and a concentrated focus on the field has allowed for amazing advancements in robotic technology and its potential in everyday life.    It is clear that the movements, positions and physical abilities of these robots are increasing and that they will be able to perform tasks in multiple fields and for multiple reasons.  With the physical potential of robots advancing at a fast pace, I find now that the biggest challenge is making these machines practical, ergonomic, easy to operate and safe.  Without these parameters being met, robotics will die in the few hands of the extremely well trained and knowledgeable people that can actual use them.

                Given the vast amount that can be said about this subject, I will focus on the industrial field because it is the area most affected by robotics today.  If you research the Kia factory in Slovakia, you find a huge assembly line completely composed of robots, mainly 6-axis arms.  My initial reaction to this factory is that it looks scary and dangerous.  The machines are all very heavy, move very fast, are very big and make very loud noises.  The whole line appears to move as one with a virtual absence of human presence on the floor.  Although you only see machines, I am assuming that there are rooms full of people on computers that are ensuring the proper operation of these robots.  There were also rooms of people programming these robots as well as millions of dollars spent on constructing them.  To me this means that there is a huge separation between human and machine and that anyone having to do anything with the process is highly trained and specialized.

                The counter to this separation flaw, and in my opinion a much better way of integrating humans with robots, is presented in the form of BAXTER.  BAXTER is an industrial robot that is much more agronomical than the “system” put together by Kia.  On top of actually resembling a human being, BAXTER can be trained by a human with very little knowledge of the robot and no programing experience.  A worker can physically move the robot around in order to teach it and thus is able to continually change the robot to assist with the workers task.  It is also a very safe system that can be used around and with human beings.  It is this system that will allow for the worker and the machine to come together and help each other, rather than one completely dominating the other.

SOURCES:

• Six-Axis Robot – 2.25min
• Kia Sportage Factory Production Line – 1.75min
• Baxter – 2012 –Rethink Robotics – Safer industrial robot 4:15
• http://www.rethinkrobotics.com/
• http://www.kia-press.com/presskits/corporate/factoryslovakia/factoryslovakia.aspx

Computer Hardware Technology in the Future

Computer history and development has continued to change significantly since the 1930s when the first programmable computer was first invented.  From that point on, computer technology has increased in advancements.  This includes improvements in programming, software and hardware.  Considering how fast new technology is surfacing, and how we constantly require updating our computers to be leveled with the latest developments, we can only expect greater and better technology to surface in the next 10 years.

For certain types of market, people associate the word “better” or “improved” with bigger products, but in the computer market, “better” and “improved” usually relates to technology that is smaller, more compact, lighter, and yet more efficient.  In the past couple of years, the tablet world has exploded and the world seems to be replacing computers with tablets, as these serve as a slimmer and more practical replacement.  And now with the smartphone surge, advertisements are convincing the audience that smartphones are all you need as it can basically do everything and anything that a computer can.  Smaller products that have the same functions of a computer are in high demand now.  In the article “Future shock: The PC of 2019”, Mary K. Pratt talks about the dramatic changes that will come in the next decade by saying “the PC [will] evolve past the standard desktop and laptop units to amalgamations of computer devices and their peripherals.”  It seems as this has slowly but surely started happening and looking into the future we can be certain this influence will be stronger.

Technology that is more compact and that serves as a greater commodity to the user are in high demand and we can expect that in the future we will see greater things.  The development of the SixthSense wearable gestural interface by Pranav Mistry in the MIT Media Lab has been a great sensation since it first surfaced in 2009.  With the technological advancements happening now and that we anticipate in the future, I believe it is safe to say that we can expect this type of technology will be available to the public in the next five to ten years future and will replace the computer hardware technology that we use now.

The idea of "wearable computers" that Ryan Krall discussed in his post is something that I can also see in the future.  Nowadays people like products that can be easily implemented in their life and having a computer that is "wearable", handy, and on-the-go is going to in high demand in the future and it might only take about five years to get there.  Also, hologram displays, like the ones that we have seen in futuristic movies, will definitely take a part in the future.  Like Ryan Krall and Evan Rosario discussed in their posts, things that we all saw in the science fiction movies will be the next thing and replace the products we have now.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/334799/Future_shock_The_PC_of_2019

http://www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense/

http://www.infoworld.com/t/computer-hardware/the-future-computer-user-interfaces-178762

3D Manufacturing Capabilities

3D Manufacturing, commonly known as “Addictive Manufacturing” in the professional world, according to me it is already in the main stream of manufacturing and professional world today. Also that it will main stream into the common world for all individuals within the next 2 to 5 years from now. Therefore there is no question about the future, 3d Manufacturing is already here today. “Addictive Manufacturing” can be simplified as being a process in which anything from a body tissue to a single family home can be designed on a 3D computer program then a functional realistic life size of that design can be printed as a final product. The technology of 3D manufacturing has been under exploration and research for decades and it has resulted in the creation of 3D printers for various types of materials and functions. When I was in high school few years back in 2009 I was fortunate enough to use 3D technology to print small parts such as stair cases and window frames for architectural models for class projects, so 3D printing is nothing new. Fortune 500 companies such as Boeing and General Electric are using the “Addictive Manufacturing” technology today to make complex parts out of composite materials being used in several of their final products. This technology has help create many small startup business such as ones which make custom accessories such as custom electronic housings, cases, chocolates, presents, and more in which buying a 3D printer eliminates cost of hiring workers, leasing or buying big warehouses for productions and so on. Another big impact addictive manufacturing has made is in the medicine world. Not only are these printers are able to make prosthetic such as leg and hip joints, but bio-medical engineering students across the street at University of Pennsylvania have been able to print out live blood vessel networks out of live organic materials which can be brought to life and be a crucial breakthrough for the medical world but also for human kind (upeen.edu). So far they have been able to create full organs such as a human bladder and human kidney. With such capabilities shortages at organ banks will be a thing of the past and many lives which are being lost today will be saved.

The topics mentioned above did not directly focus on architectural or the civil engineering field but as mentioned in my group members’ blog posts this innovation of 3D manufacturing can be used with materials such as concrete to develop full size architectural and civil structures as well. This can increase productivity and efficiency of projects significantly while cutting down on labor cost tremendously. 3D manufacturing is not main stream in this field as of now but with all the positive outcomes and results of research being performed at institutes such as USC it can be concluded the idea of 3D manufacturing for construction in field of architectural and civil engineering will be a common option in the next 5-10 years.

Information used in the research to compile the post above is based on credible sources listed below:

http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/news/penn-researchers-improve-living-tissues-3d-printed-vascular-networks-made-sugar  ;Penn Researchers Improving Livening Tissues With 3D Printed Vascular Networks Made From Sugar; Evan Lerner; July 1, 2012    

http://www.csc.com/lef/insights/92142-3d_printing_and_the_future_of_manufacturing  ; Paul Gustafson; November 29, 2012

http://additivemanufacturing.com/basics/  ; What is Additive Manufacturing; 

Future of Robotics in Our World

According to an article summarizing the 8th annual RoboBusiness Leadership Summit held this past October, the robotics industry claims that the most growth in robotics will be seen in the areas of warehousing, distribution, and manufacturing. Within the next ten to twenty years, robotics technology will provide robots that can be taught manufacturing processes in a day or move, sort, and distribute products throughout a warehouse. While some people may be worried by the potential loss of jobs or the ““the ending of the human era” as Jay mentioned in his post, it is inevitable that robots will eventually be integrated into our everyday work and home lives.

An article was posted on the official class blog from Wired entitled “Better Than Human: Why Robots Will – And Must – Take Our Jobs.” This article addresses the fear humans have that robots will eventually take our jobs and leave people unemployed by pointing out that 70% of American workers lost their jobs to technology during the industrial revolution. Workers responded by adapting and finding jobs in the new fields that this technology created. The same will happen when robots become incorporated into our lives in the next hundred years. Robotics will enhance the current workforce by first completing tasks involving repetitive, manual labor but will eventually move to “information-intensive” jobs.

Robots will definitely infiltrate the workplace in most industries, and building and construction are not excluded. Through watching the video in class of the flying robots placing blocks and creating a pre-determined structure, it was apparent to me that robots will play a role in future construction sites. Another interesting point the Wired article addressed is that robots are being designed to work alongside humans. The article from the Leadership Summit addresses that “humans can do things that robots will not be able to do for a long time,” and provides the example that robots can much more effectively move goods while humans can perform dexterous grabbing. Imagine how much faster a construction job could be completed if robots could work with humans to accomplish tasks. Obviously there are many safety and cost issues that must be worked out, but I see this as being a probable direction for our future within the next hundred years.

http://www.library.drexel.edu/cgi-bin/r.cgi?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1243385066?accountid=10559
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/12/ff-robots-will-take-our-jobs/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Top+Stories%29

Future of Robotics

An autonomous robot is a robot that performs a task without human intervention. There are many autonomous robots in existence today, such as those used in the automotive industry to assemble cars. In the future there will be many, many more autonomous robots all around us performing a variety of everyday tasks.

A specific task that autonomous robots will likely perform is the act of driving our vehicles for us. An article by Prof. Seth Teller of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory wrote an article discussing the ability of robots to drive our vehicles for us. Teller’s article states that there are a multitude of benefits from having robots drive our vehicles including, safety, productivity and energy efficiency. Imagine being able to talk on your cell phone, write a report or finish work that you did not complete; all on your way home. Smart cars like these will be able to increase fuel efficiency and prolong the life of the car. Additionally, accidents between vehicles may be reduced if vehicles were able to communicate between each other, something that human drivers are not always able to do.

In order for these vehicles to function there must still be a human and machine interaction such as telling the vehicle where to go. The system must also be able to communicate with the world around it effectively. This is done by placement of sensors that will give the car its bearings; the vehicle must know where it is specifically in the world, as well as what is in its vicinity. Technology like this already exists in retail warehouses on a smaller scale. Hundreds of robots know exactly where they are located inside of a warehouse, interact with eachother, and are able to travel down "robot highways" in order to pick products off of shelves. It is just a matter of time till the scale is increased to aid the human race in transportation. The future of robotics, especially in this case, can be scary to some people, but with proper engineering, the benefits that it can bring to the human race are limitless.

Articles:

Autonomous Passenger Vehicles 

Autonomous robots invade retail warehouses