Tuesday, January 12, 2016

B1 - Group D - Maria Ayon

When it comes to the HVAC system, new heating, ventilating and cooling techniques are constantly being developed in order to improve its performance in terms of efficiency and cost. Not only new buildings are applying these newer technologies, but also older building are being retrofitted to accommodate the newer technology, yet remain with the older appearance. Such is the case of the The Fraunhofer Institute in South Boston, a 100 year old building that will soon will house cutting edge building technologies. Some of the new, futuristic technologies include smart glass technologies, which allow for windows to tint automatically to maximize daylight, but still keeping heat out. Windows will also be able to produce electricity. Insulation will also be changed to vacuum panels that use gas to maximize the HVAC efficiency. The performance of the HVAC systems and the windows will be managed and measured in climate chambers. The purpose of this retrofit it to show society that newer technologies can be adapted to older buildings, where energy consumption can be decreased by modifying key aspects of the building in order to include the best performing systems in the market. (1)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is known to be the intelligence exhibited by a machine or a software, meaning computer systems that are able to perform tasks that would usually require human intelligence. According to Ericsson and the 5000 people survey, AI will be replacing the smartphone within a period of 5 years. Smartphone have limited capacities, such as limited battery life, its impracticality by always having a screen in one hand and even its lack of visual effects, such as projecting 3D images. Furthermore, AI will be able to take over common smartphone activities such as planning agendas, a task a personal assistant would do. Also, searching the net and even getting traveling guidance. It is also believed that AI would help by keeping company, keep secrets such as medical issues or sensitive matters, and even having a teacher roll if well developed. These technological advances will make a human’s life easier, as it will function along with a human’s daily routine. (2)

The latest innovation of the world of sensors can be seen in Mr. Adam Bosworth’s most recent project, the Internet-of-Things project. The project consists of adding sensors almost anything around you, for example, car bumpers, doors, dams, streets, etc., all being wirelessly connected to data centers where information will be managed. Information of who is in fault after a fender bender will already be fed by the sensors placed on the car bumpers. Also, it will be easy to manage street lights depending on traffic volume. Doors will be able to unlock by detecting the owner as it approaches. This new futuristic technology will change society, as Mr. Bosworth said he is interested in affecting five billion people. Within the following years, the use of sensors will come more common on a daily basis, facilitating the people’s needs. (3)

Databases were once created to meet different needs, such as storing data in memory so it can be accessed faster, or storing data as graphs in order to show the relationship within the data. Nowadays, larger databases are starting to emerge as the amount of data in websites and business in enormous. Orchestrate, a Portland based company, created an online database service which will be able to provide a single place to store the data, acting as several different types of databases at once. This new database was created by stitching together existing systems, allowing full text search be done at the same time as graph analysis and in-memory storage. People like simplicity, so Orchestrate has created this system for people to be able to use one database at once, something that will also simplify the life of the IT tech of the company using it. (4)

The importance in technology is growing, as people are now depending on it for a day to day life. Technological advancements are not only seen in technology bought by the human, such as smartphones, databases, computers, etc. It is now affecting the construction field, where HVAC systems, mechanical systems, and even architectural systems are now flooded with sensors, equipment and software that make the human’s job easier. Less energy consumption, energy production and security are some the the ideas being affected by the new technology. The human interaction with technology will increase when AI and sensors become part of a human’s daily routine.


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