B7 - Group D - Frasca

I found this course to be very interesting and mostly enjoyable. The material presented in the class was intriguing and the way it was presented made the lectures go by pretty fast. However, I don’t think this class needed a three hour long lecture each week to cover all of the material, I think a two hour class would have worked just as well. The guest lectures also gave a more personal perspective on the progress of technology in the industry.

The homework for this class also served to increase my understanding of the technologies presented during the lectures. The term paper was the very useful at increasing my knowledge about robotics and drones in the construction industry. The blogs were good for learning more generalized aspects about these technologies, however, I think it would have been better to respond to people not in our assigned group to make us examine it from a different perspective.The assignments were probably the most useful part of this class because it encouraged me to learn more about Revit and databases, which are very common in the design and construction industries.

As an Architectural Engineering major, having a class focused on intelligent buildings was a great experience. As technology increases, the smarter building will become, as well as the technology that constructs them. In our lifetime, we could quite possibly see many of the technologies discussed in this class implemented into buildings. Because this is our job, we must have at least a basic understanding of them, including how they work and what they are used for.

Taking this class introduced us to some of these technologies before they are even common practice in the field. This gives us an upper hand at understanding, advocating, and implementing these technologies in the future.

While this class was very optimistic about what the future may hold, we have to keep in mind that not everyone is progressive and open to new ideas, as the mechanical engineering guest lecturer discussed. So while there is a good chance we will see many of these technologies implemented at some point in time, not all of them will take-off, nor will they all be accomplished when we can see them used as the norm.

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B5 - Group D - Frasca - Uses of Databases in Design Offices

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, databases are “a usually large collection of data organized especially for rapid search and retrieval (as by a computer)”. An example of a database that most people are familiar with is a library catalog. Databases are generally very useful and easy to operate. Databases contain information in various formats including files, catalogs, tables, reports, and so on. Databases can be formatted to store almost any type of data.

In a design office, databases are typically used for either storing/searching for information or libraries in BIM. They can use more traditional computer databases to hold employee, client, and project records so that is it easy to find important information when needed. BIM uses databases to store information about specific elements. BIM contains this information in tables which can be used to edit an object. In this class, we have seen this in the Assignment where we created and edited families in Revit. Databases in BIM can be linked to other programs that hold material properties, such as type of material, strength, and lifespan in a database. This connection can help with the analysis of the building including cost estimates, time estimate, stress/ strain analysis, etc.

            Design offices may also utilize external databases. There is a company called Material ConneXion which houses a library of material samples that people from other companies can visit if they become members. This library contains thousands of materials and new ones are constantly being added. The materials contained in the library can range from products that go into a building to fabrics for clothing. They are located in various places around the world, including New York City. A physical database is a very useful tool for design companies because they have the opportunity to examine and compare various items that may go into the building. Being able to see the material in person is much better than looking at it through a computer database.

All of these databases have the goal of helping people reduce the time working on and cost of a project. This gives the designers more time and means to improve the building.

Sources:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/database

http://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/definition/database

http://continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com/article.php?upgrade=new&L=12&C=838

http://www.materialconnexion.com/AboutUs/tabid/865/Default.aspx

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B4 - Group D - Frasca

For my term project, I have decided to write about drones in the construction industry, more specifically, the ones shown in the videos during class stacking blocks and making a rope bridge. I want to learn more about what went into making them, how they work, their amount of versatility and if/how they know to change tasks, their level of dependency on people to get the tasks done, and some limitations they currently possess. In this process I will end up touching on the pros and cons of using drone in the construction industry.

                I chose to write about this topic because I am very interesting in robotics. In fact, I was on and I am currently a mentor for my high school’s robotics team. I am interested in learning more about the different approaches that must be used to make drones to meet specific requirements and perform specific tasks. I also want to learn more about how these drones can be programmed to be able to work in an industry that would require coordination with people or other robots. Drones could make a huge impact on the construction industry and they may even replace a lot of human labor, so it would be beneficial to know more about what they are capable of.

                Drones in construction are related to intelligent buildings because they could be used to build them. Using drones in construction requires a lot of intelligent programming and collaboration to get them to the point where the technology is up to par.  Drones will be able to construct buildings faster, more easily, and more accurately than human workers. This could allow for easier installation of intelligent systems in buildings.  

                The main challenge I face with this project is being able to understand the technical jargon presented in the research papers I have found. While I do have experience with robots, I still find lot of the terminology difficult. Plus, depending on how detailed these reports get, I could easily get lost in calculations or specifications. Another challenge I may have to deal with is that even though I have already found some useful links, they may start repeating a lot of the same information.

                                               

References:

http://flyingmachinearena.org/wp-content/publications/2013/augCRC13.pdf

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/video-watch-flying-robots-build-a-6-meter-tower

Comments:

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B3 - Group D - Frasca

BIM currently has many advantages over traditional design and construction processes. The main advantage is that BIM utilizes increased collaboration to produce fewer conflicts and better results in the design and construction of structures. This then branches out into other areas such as lower costs, higher quality work, more accurate scheduling, and increased efficiency.

While BIM can extend the entire design process, actually drafting the plans can occur faster since most of the major components have already been decided. Since the different concentrations collaborate earlier in design process, they can figure out what methods they can use to increase the efficiency of the building and its various parts while keeping the cost within reason. They can look at various combinations of systems before the drawings are even made to find what works best for the needs of building. This also gives them more time to devote to figuring out the more complicated aspect of the building such as customized components.

BIM allows users to work closer together during the design phase to find any conflicts that could easily go unnoticed normally. These issues are generally found between the different divisions of the building (architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc). Since BIM software allows these conflicts to be found earlier on in the design phase, it saves time, resources, and money in the construction phase. This also allows the scheduling of the building to be more accurate since there will be less delays.  This also guarantees that the plans will have has many mistakes. This in turn should give the subcontractors a better understanding of what needs to be done. When fewer conflicts arise, there will be fewer mistakes made in the construction process, so money and resources will not have to go into correcting them. This is much better for the contractors and owners. With fewer interruptions in the construction phase, the assembly of the building can occur faster and smoother.

When the construction phase goes smoothly, the architectures and engineers don’t have to go back and fix too many issues. This gives them more time and energy to devote to other projects or to go back and improve something they may have rushed earlier.  

Comments:

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B2 - Group D - Frasca - BIM for Architects & Engineers

The BIM handbook begins by discussing the current process for designing and constructing projects. It then goes to tell how BIM can improve this process. Next, it goes into talking about the stages of BIM (Conceptual design, BIM for analysis, & Construction info) in great detail. It then goes on to talk about more specific aspects of BIM. After that, it talks about things to take into account if BIM is to be used. It concluded by discusses some of the challenges of using BIM.

               By replacing the current methods with BIM, the design and construction process becomes much quicker and smoother. BIM allows everyone involved in the design process to work closer together. This makes it easier to identify potential conflicts early on when they’re still easy to fix. Figure 5-1 on page 198 of the BIM handbook shows how BIM requires more work in the early stages to minimize work in the later stages of the process.

The majority of this chapter focused on the positives of integrating BIM into the architect and engineer workforce. While BIM can solve many potential problems, it should be noted that there are some significant challenges to implementing BIM. The main challenge is simply getting people (especially older/less tech savvy people) to be comfortable adopting BIM into their normal work and eventually maybe even entirely replacing traditional methods with BIM. The BIM handbook does suggest several methods to help teach BIM such as partnering with people who are very familiar with BIM, training, and seminars. However, it should be taken into account that some people may be reluctant to learn BIM which will make it more difficult to make BIM a standard.  

From experience, I know how difficult it can be for some people to learn new programs. Towards the end of my first coop, an older man with no computer experience started working at the company and I had to teach him how to use a computer and the necessary programs. While he was very willing to learn, it was still very challenging for both of us and I ended up helping him until my coop ended. Based on this experience, I can imagine that while BIM will be implemented more in the future, it will take a while until everyone will be at a comfortable level with it. 

References:

Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook : A Guide To Building Information Modeling For Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers And Contractors. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

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B1 - Group D - Bridget Frasca

Artificial Intelligence is becoming more and more prominent in our society. Websites like Google, Facebook, etc. are using AI for photo identification, translations, and text-to-speech programs.  AI can also be used to identify handwriting and images. The hard part of this is getting them to be able to recognize the differences between the same objects while being able to distinguish different objects that look similar. They use the examples of being able to read different people’s handwriting and a bike apart from a view of a car that only shows two wheels. Facebook uses AI to identify the person or people in a picture. One of the potential uses of this, as mentioned in the one article, is for the visually impaired; the computer can look at a picture, identify what is in it, and tell the person.  

Another type of AI is the kind that allows you to converse with them. Some of the more advanced AI like Erica are capable of mimicking human facial expressions and emotions. They also blink regularly. There are websites on which you can talk to an AI (although they tend to be hard to hold a conversation with). This type of AI can be used to help people with mental disabilities; I know of an AI called Milo that is being used to help kids with autism. Unfortunately, most of these types of robots tend to have trouble picking up on slang and expressions of speech. Also when they are made to look human, there is something slightly unsettling about their appearance.

AI still has a ways to go so programmers are working to overcome their current problems. The main issue with AI is that they lack the situational knowledge we learn as kids. The programmers can only fit so much general information so the AI must learn the rest. They must be exposed to more situations so that they can respond more accurately. This can be accomplished by having the AI exposed to more of these situation and objects so that they will be able to better understand and respond more accurately.

There are many potential uses of AI that these articles touch on. They can be used to assist people is so many ways. These technologies could also be integrated into buildings in the future. AI can replace receptionists; facial recognition can replace keys; sensors can be programmed to monitor and improve the HVAC system; and much more.


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Group D Video Discussion

Comparing the two videos, the robots in the more recent video definitely showed advancements in interaction and "construction". In the older video, the robots were only picking up and dropping the materials, whereas in the newer video the robots were moving in more complex ways with the ropes. The robots in the older video did not interact as much with the other robots involved, but in the newer video the robots were interacting at many parts of the process. Another improvement of the robot technology was that they were able to move more quickly and efficiently in the more recent video. Also, the robots are constructing a more complex "structure" in the more recent video than the older one.

With these improvements in technology for construction, the applications include less room for error since the movements and placements from the robots are more exact and less manpower is required for the actual construction. However, limitations include the inability to work in various weather conditions outside and the robots would need to be stronger in order to carry and construct with heavier materials.

Frasca First Post

My name is Bridget Frasca and I am a junior majoring in architectural engineering with a structural concentration. I am interested in this course because I want to learn more about the various technology that goes into buildings. I define intelligent building as the utilization of technology to design, build, maintain, and monitor the various systems to achieve the optimum performance.

Student Names - To Create Tags

Here are the names of the students in AE-510 as of 12/30/2015.  This post is mostly here to create the tags for labeling posts by students.  A second one will be necessary because blogger limits the length of tags that can be added at one time.

Alexis Aikins

Mohammed Al Qallaf

Hamad Al-Hajri

Faisal Alghati

Cristian Almendariz

Hatim Amiji

Maria Ayon

Danielle Beynon

Eduardo Borja

Samuel Boyce

Nikita Chauhan

Mridul Chulet

Sean Coffey

Alexandria Crouthamel

Bryan Cummings

Cathlene Farnelli

Katherine Flint

Bridget Frasca

Laura Hill

Adrian Kuzniarowicz

Yuanjin Li

Mark Lodato

Rebecca Lynch

Alex Palma

James Redus

Gary Reiff

Danielle Schroeder

Yuyang Shi

Yasmina Shields

Karan Sagar Sinha

Jonathan Swartz

Janet Tran

Dianna Vogel

Kai Waechter

William Whitesell

Laura Worley

Haoying Ye

Matthew Zabiega

Derek Zaccheo