B7 - Course reflection - Cristian Almendariz

            This class ended up being completely different from what I expected.  Going from its name Intelligent Buildings, I originally though would a lecture/project-based class in learning different BIM software.  Instead it was a more informative, analytical, and writing intensive class.  Although I would have preferred it to be the other way, I did learn a lot in this class.  Each lecture touched several different but important facts about the evolution of the construction industry and its current state. 

            Overall, the lectures were really informative and interesting.  I think that the guest speakers were the best part of them.  Each guest speaker came from different parts of the industry and had different perspectives the evolution of construction.  For example, before taking this class I did not know that robots and drones were already being used in construction.  Drones are really useful in several tasks of construction for example in site supervision and project control.  Now construction managers, owners, and designers can check the project progress from their home or office.  Additionally, it was really interesting to see what different professionals think about BIM software.  BIM software is definitely revolutionizing the construction industry and it has outstanding future potential.  As of now, most of them have realized that they must keep up with its evolution and learn how to use it.  Bentley’s lecture was the best.  I was amazed with the program capability to merge the architectural with MEP models and its ability for clash detection between elements.  This is a huge step forward in construction because it allows the detection of costly errors before construction.  In order to exploit this technology’s potential, all construction parties should be completely involved and work as a team.  I believe that BIM software training should be part of all engineering, architectural, or construction management undergraduate programs.  Professionals without software knowledge will definitely be in a disadvantage in the future. 

            The Revit project was an excellent introduction to the program.  Before completing the project I did not know how to use Revit.  Fortunately, prof. Mitchell’s video tutorials were really useful and easy to follow.  Moreover, it was an excellent foundation for the term project.  As I mentioned in B5 post, prior taking this class I did not know what databases were.  The lectures, blog post, and database project were an excellent introduction to them.  By completing the database project, I was able to accurately know what databases are and how they work.  Although my database was not too related to AE, I was able to develop a database that could be used in my dads company.  I develop a database to keep track the company’s cars and computer hardware.  This database could be expanded to become more complex and keep track of more assets. 

            The term project was an excellent opportunity to improve my senior design project house. I decided use Revit to develop, modify, and improve the original model of the house.  With little Revit experience, this project was quite challenging at the beginning.  It was really difficult to get used Revit’s toolbar and tools.  I had to watch several youtube tutorials to be able to modify the house roof, floor, walls, and furniture.  While completing the project, I noticed that Revit’s 3D visualization tool is really useful.  It help me a lot to modify and improve the overall house model and choose material finishes.  Overall, this term project was an excellent experience and opportunity to take my senior design house model to the next level.

            Although this class ended up being different from what I expected, it was really useful.  It brought me up to date in construction and its tendencies.  I was able to realize that technology is evolving at a really fast rate and I must keep up with it.  I can definitely conclude that the knowledge gained in this class is an excellent asset for my future architecture master degree program and profession.  I will definitely recommend all civil and architectural engineers to take this class.

Responses,

Mridul,

            

I also think that the guest lectures were one of the best parts about this course.  By having speakers from different sectors of the construction industry, I was able too see the impacts BIM, AI, and robots has had in them.  These technologies are definitely going to take over our industry and we must be ready to accept it.  In order to take full advantage of this technology, all construction parties must be involved and working as a team to develop the BIM models.  Moreover, I believe that architectural, engineering, and construction management undergraduate programs should include training in this technology.  

         

Alexis,

            I respectfully disagree with you that AI, robotics, and 3D printing will not be used in HVAC in the near future.  My dad owns an HVAC company in Ecuador and Asian companies like LG and Samsung are definitely starting to use this technology.  I will like to add that Robots and AI are going to become really useful especially for the installation of these ducts.  I believe that 3D printing and AI can potentially be used for the systems ducts.  Ecuador is a little behind in this industry and ducts are built manually from galvanized steel sheets.  This is really time consuming and labor intensive.  AI and robots can definitely be used in order to easy the process.  I am really looking forward for this technology to be applied in Ecuador. 

     

B5 - Group C - Cristian Almendariz

            I will like to say that before this post, I did not know what databases or object-oriented databases were.  For this reason, I looked up several websites for a simple yet easy to understand definition.  I will like to start by defining what databases and objects are.  As it name describes, a database is a base of data.  The properties of databases depend on dead, static data meaning that this data will remain the same all the time.  On the other hand, objects will hide the non-static data under behaviors that can change.  Traditional database applications will manipulate temporal data while the data within the database is permanent.  On the other hand, object database application will manipulate both temporal and permanent data [1]. 

In my research, I was able to find that object oriented databases are also known as Object Database Management systems (ODBMS) [1] or Object-Oriented Database Management Systems (OODBMS) [2]. Object-oriented databases store their contents as objects rather than data (e.g. real numbers, integers, or strings).  These objects are utilized in object-oriented programs (e.g. C++, Smalltalk, Java, and others).  Objects are composed of attributes and methods.  The characteristics of an object are defined by data known as attributes.  This data may be really simple (e.g. strings, real numbers, integers) or be a reference to a more complicated object.  On the other hand, methods are procedures or functions that define the behavior of an object.  For this reason, objects have both executable code and data.  Furthermore, classes are typically used in object-oriented programming and they can be tough to be as a template to the object.  A class will not contain data or methods itself but instead define the data and methods the object will incorporate.  Additionally, classes may be used to recreate parts or methods of the object that are not stored in the database [1].  Object-oriented databases store data as objects and can be interpreted only by using the methods specified by its class [3].

             For a better understanding, object-oriented databases can be compared to relational databases.  Relational databases store data in two-dimensional tables that have rows and columns.  Typically, these tables will be “normalized” to prevent unnecessary data repetition.  Each column has a unique “value” identifier to allow a better sorting and understanding of data.  It allows data to be identified so it can be obtained or changed if necessary.  Objects can be put into relational databases but they must be described in terms of simple integers, strings, or real number data.  This breaking and sorting of complex information can be labor intensive and may require the writing of code [1].

            The use of object-oriented databases is recommended for complex data and/or complex relationships.  On the other hand, they should be used when are hardly any join tables and there is a lot of simple transactional data.  There a numerous advantages and disadvantages with using object-oriented databases compared with relational databases.  Advantages such as less required coding, easier navigation, reduced paging (length), better concurrency control, data model will be based on the real world, it will work well for distributed architectures, and object will not require assembly and disassembly saving coding time and execution time to assemble or disassemble this objects.  Disadvantages such as slow access speed due to late binding, lower efficiency for simple data and relationships, relational databases (RB) have simpler tables, support for RB is certain and less likely to change, RB has broader number of user tools, and RB has more stable standards [1].  For the most part it can be assumed that object oriented databases are better for more complex situations and relational databases should be used for simpler situations.

William,

I think you made an excellent point by saying that object-oriented databases simplify storage and data use.  I believe that object-oriented databases were the foundation for nowadays-complex software’s.  Without it, many of them would not be possible or they will take significantly higher computing processing requirements.  Moreover, object-oriented databases have made programing less labor intensive and allow it to become more complex.  I also think that Revit is a program that employs and takes great advantage of object-oriented databases to create really complex models.  Your post’s sentence completion example helped me have a better understanding of what object-oriented databases are and how they work.  I was able to see how each element of an object-oriented database plays a significant role and without any of them it would not work.  Additionally, the method is really important in determining what this database will do “change the meaning of the sentence”.

Alexis,

I like the your comparison between relational database and object oriented databases.  From your information, I am able to deduct that object oriented databases could and should be used for more complex situations/operations.  I was able to find that, although object oriented databases are really good for complex operations they are not reliable for simple operations.  For this reason, it is recommended that relational databases to be used for simple operations.  Going along with the fact that CAD uses object-oriented databases, I believe that Revit also uses it specially for creating families. 

Reference

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

[2] http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ObjectOrientedDatabase

[3] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/object-oriented-database