B7 - Group C - Sean Coffey - Course Reflection

The course was awesome...

The true and not so short answer is that I really enjoyed the course. As person that sees the value in using technology to automate and organize my life a little more than most the course was insightful. The variety of technology that is becoming available and applicable to the ACE industry makes now seem like a fantastic time to be in. But if the course has actually taught me anything, whether it be that I should expect unexpected changes in the way I live and work in the future, that promising technologies will only become mainstream if someone takes the risk to prove that the technology is viable and applicable, that just like any tool new technologies can be applied to any number of things but are often only best applicable to a few tasks, or that when I use a program and feel that I am proficient in fact I have only scratched the surface of what it can do, I really only needed to learn that I don't need to that as the next generation of engineer I should be an advocate for technology. I don't necessarily need to learn every program and become a technology wiz or come away from the course and push myself to learn each topic that was covered, I just need to not be ignorant of technology and become an advocate for its greater application. I may have never come to this realization if it weren't for another professor who teaches the BIM in Construction course essentially admitted that it was his reason for being a teacher, to give students a view of how the greater use of technology is where the industry is headed, but is often impeded for reasons that are not well founded.

B7 - Group E - Alqallaf

Initially, when I signed up to take this course I did not really know what the material of this course would be but the name grabbed my attention. Being an architectural engineering major pursuing a career in the building design industry I always strive to increase my knowledge in emerging technologies. I have learned from studying engineering and from work experience that efficiency and easy access to data/information is key when it comes to design. The notion of working smarter as opposed to harder is extremely prominent in the building design and construction industry. Taking this course has further reinforced my belief in this concept and opened up new interests for me.

Before taking this course I had a very general and basic idea of what BIM is and how it is implemented in the building design industry. Coming into this class my goal was getting better at utilizing BIM and understanding more about interoperability. I learned that BIM and interoperability are tools of efficiency in the building industry. Tools that should be utilized properly to maximize product output. Working for an engineering design firm for my coop I had to coordinate duct work with the structural system in a Revit model. That saved a lot of work and time. It gave more time for the structural engineers to innovate and come up with new ideas for the system.

Furthermore, I learned a lot about databases and the importance of a database in the building/construction industry. Being a mechanical concentration, I had to use multiple databases for HVAC calculations. This includes solar data, weather data, etc. Some databases are huge and are updated by the hour but I never paid attention to the importance of databases. The database assignment helped me better understand how a database is structured and how it helps with easily accessing information. I believe that I can implement using a database for anything in the future for it is a great way to organize information.

In conclusion, I learned a lot from this course. I really enjoyed researching and reading more into innovations and emerging building technologies. The assignments were very helpful and I believe that the class was structured really well. I hope to utilize what I learned from this class in my future career.

Frasca,

I really enjoyed reading your course reflection. Likewise, I believe that the lectures were very long and splitting them up or having a shorter lecture would’ve probably been a lot better. I personally have a short attention span and it’s very hard for me to focus for 3 continuous hours. I agree with the amazing learning experience I had taking this class. There were many things that I did not know about advancements in the building design and construction industry that I know now.

Kate Flint,

I agree with your opinion on BIM being an important aspect for people looking to work in the construction industry. I really enjoyed learning more about BIM. Especially databases. I had little to no knowledge in databases. I did not even know how important databases are until I took this course. I learned that efficiency and easy access to information is key in the building industry. 

B7: Group C - Mridul

As a civil engineering student with concentration towards structural engineering, I was never familiar with the topics covered in AE-510. I found the course really informative which covered a range of interesting topics such as AI, BIM, robotics, databases management, 3-D printing, different types of sensors which can be used in the construction process and in green buildings. It gave me an insight in future for the aforementioned fields and how they will improve the construction and the engineering industry in the coming years.

One of aspects I liked the most about the course were the guest lecturers. Every week when the guest lecturers discussed about there work from different industries, it gave me more insight on how the technology is been used today and how important can it be in the future. It was also a good networking opportunity as the presentations helped me learn about their company and the work they do which helped me assess my goals after college. The class mainly consisted of blog posts, guest’s lecturers, lectures and assignments. Blog posts helped me learn more about the technologies in depth through the research and give my opinions about them. Replying to blog posts of my peers also helped me learn more about the topic and their opinions. I liked how Professor Mitchell showed us different videos and presentations which helped us learn more about the topic. The various assignments we did in the class gave us an opportunity to plunge to different topics discussed in class. I had never worked on Revit and MS Access before. Through the assignments I was able to learn the software’s and their importance in the engineering industry. Overall, the blog posts and the assignments gave me a better understanding about the course i.e. intelligent buildings.

I really enjoyed this class as my professional elective credit because it is one of few courses which discussed about intelligent buildings. Through the course I learned that how building information models (BIM) is an integral part of the buildings. Few of the advantages of BIM I came across the course and through guest lectures is that it helps capture reality, maintain & control efficiently through digital model based workflow, help the architects and the engineers visualize easily and present better 3-D views.

Comments:

Hamad Al-Hajri,

I really enjoyed reading your blogpost. I completely agree with you that the class helped us increase our knowledge of number of software’s in the class and the weekly blog post helped us gain more in-depth knowledge about the concepts discussed related to intelligent buildings. Also, I agree that the overall syllabus and the workload in class was very reasonable. In conclusion, the class definitely helped me get an insight about the technologies in the coming future.

Kate Flint,

Good job. Your blogpost was really informative. I agree that BIM plays a very important role in the construction industry for buildings. Through the course I learned that how building information models (BIM) is an integral part of the buildings. Through your post I enjoyed learning more about BIM. Few of the BIM advantages I came across in the course are that it helps the architects and the engineers visualize easily with better 3-D views and use the digital model based workflow more efficiently.  

Course Reflection – Kate Flint - Group D

I will be working for a construction company after graduation so I wanted to gain a better understanding of BIM and what the future of intelligent building looks like. While on co-op in the facilities/project management department at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, I received an introduction to BIM. I was involved in some coordination meetings and was shown how vital new technologies are to the construction process.

I would recommend this course to anyone who plans to work in construction or building design after graduation. While interviewing for potential jobs I was especially interested in the growing BIM or Virtual Building departments in many construction companies. The curse is also obviously geared towards older undergrad/grad students because we were not tested on ever-single lecture and attendance was not taken. We became responsible for our own education, and would get as much out of the class as we put into it. This class was in a very different format from most of my other Drexel courses but I really enjoyed it.

My favorite portions of this course were the supplemental videos about robotics and the lectures from Whiting-Turner, the female Drexel alum who had a large role involving BIM at an engineering firm, and the man who had started his own engineering/consulting business.

I would not consider myself a huge robotics nerd, which was my least favorite part of freshman design. However, when applied to construction I was much more interested. I enjoyed the Whiting-Turner lecture because it was the closest to what I would be doing next year. It was also interesting to have the perspective of a recent Drexel grad and a more seasoned project manager present and answer questions.

I really liked the woman working in BIM because she didn’t preach why “women in tech” is so important. She showed us through her successful accomplishments and passion. As a female in the construction industry I think it is very important for more successful women to be recognized. I think part of the problem why more women are not in top executive roles is because there are not many female role models in the industry to set the example.  

The engineer who started his own company was very passionate and knowledgeable which was infectious. I wanted to just hear every piece of advice he had about business and engineering. By the end of all these lectures I was so inspired to learn more and excited to start working in this industry. 

I didn’t feel the need to attend each class because attendance was being taken. I attended because I was excited to see who the next guest lecturer would be or which cool new video we would watch and discuss. The format of the course required me to analyze new technologies we learned about weekly and find out how or if these technologies could help the industry.

The only thing I would change would be the last few lectures, maybe weeks 8 or 9. Personally, I didn’t find them as interesting, but that may be because I didn’t find the topics as applicable to my personal interests. How the internet works is cool, and definitely something I have wondered about, but I would have rather learned more about how specific BIM technologies work. I also was not a big fan of the database assignment. I think it would have been better if we were given actual sensor/other data from a building and had to create a database for it.

I commented on Allison Lock's & Gary Reiff's posts

B7 - Derek Zaccheo - Group A

This was a very interesting course. It really went into a lot of depth, as to what technologies are out there and how they can potentially impact the future of the construction industry. Personally I have never been in a class that was this unique and that covered so many different broad topics. It really helped me get a good sense of the industry as a whole and the specific areas that we covered.

                One of the aspects that I liked the most about this course was actually hearing from people in the industry talk about their work. Those presentations really helped me get insight into the industry and hearing about some of their life experiences can really help me when I go out into the world after college. My favorite presentation was Travis’s, he seemed like he was honest about his successes and faults and I think hearing about those life experiences really helped a lot of people in the class get a good perspective of what to expect in the industry.

                The only thing I didn’t love about the course was the database portion of it. This kind of seemed thrown in and didn’t seem to fit in with the overall theme of the class. I’m still a little confused on how to operate databases and how they really fit into the theme of this course. I get that it can be used for things like Revit and that it is a collection of databases but it just doesn’t really seem fit well into what we talk about.

                I feel that overall this class did affect my future as a civil engineer because now I will be out looking for these technologies. When my company wants someone to come learn software I will be the one to volunteer to learn it because as the industry shifts you must shift with it or get left behind. This class also really helped me understand that in the industry you can’t be afraid of change and that if possible you should embrace technologies if they could have a positive impact on your work. 

Reference:

https://www.evernote.com/pub/aengineer/ae-510#st=p&n=170d43e8-d352-4adf-badd-65c1b3687ea9

Comments:

Comment on Gary's post

Comment on Rebecca's post

B6 - Course Reflection - Allison Lock - Group E

The AE 510 course was a compelling introduction into the various up and coming technologies related to architectural, civil, and other building design professions. Throughout my college, high school, and work experience I have encountered and become very comfortable with many of the industry tools that are common in engineering firms. This course forced me to assess the future of the field I intend to work in and how effective I will be in that field.

The main exercises that I completed throughout the class broadened my outlook on the developing technologies today. First we learned about robotics development and their implementation into both engineering and other fields. That was one of my favorite lectures. We also looked at BIM systems; which in my opinion are likely to become one of the major new industry technologies with proper development. The course also covered databases (which I had never even thought about the construction of before) and Revit. Students had the opportunity to interact with one another and share their real world experiences and ideas via blog posts and in class discussions. I enjoyed these aspects of the class as they offered interesting insights to work practices and material studies. Generally I found that every lesson of the course introduced me to a technology that I was unfamiliar with or expanded greatly upon one that I had previously used.

This class also caused me to do some serious self-inspection. Towards the end of the term we completed exercises that intended to provide us with the opportunity to assess how the technologies we studied would be implemented into the design processes that we have been studying for years. Groups were required to invent a construction scenario. Descriptions of major stakeholders and the technologies that they would utilize throughout the process were to be provided. I found that, unfortunately I did not even think about incorporating new technologies into the process apart from sensors in the final design despite the focus of the class. This was disappointing to me. I am fascinated and interested in learning about new technologies. When new lessons were presented they were just really cool however I found that I have a hard time integrating them into my own personal design process. I learned that if I do not actively follow developing ideas and do not continually try to integrate them that I will overlook them. This is a lesson I intend to keep with me as I continue on into my professional life as to be effective as an engineer I will need to adapt and incorporate new technologies into my projects. I really enjoyed the course. It taught me material and about myself but was fun.

I commented on Gary Reiff’s and Rebecca Lynch’s posts.

B7 - Gary Reiff - Course Reflection

This was a very interesting course in my personal opinion.  I have never had a class go into this kind of depth on futuristic technology.  The first thing we discussed in class was artificial intelligence.  While this does not currently have as much of a direct effect on my future profession (structural engineer), I can see it impacting the profession in a major way in the future, especially during the construction phase of structures.  Artificial intelligence could have a positive or negative impact on my profession in the future depending on whose point of view your looking from.  From an owners point of view drones and other forms of artificial intelligence can be beneficial by saving money on laborers, as well as on insurance for the workers or any other type of injuries.  At the same time, artificial intelligence can take jobs away from hard working and innocent people just because owners want to save money and reduce the chance of injury on the job.  I will be very interested to see how this plays out over the next 10-15 years.

Next, in class we went into great detail discussing BIM and databases.  These two topics I believe will have less of an impact on my profession in the future.  While BIM can be very useful for a structural engineering working on buildings, I personally am working more on the transportation side with bridges.  Therefore, I will not be working with BIM very much.  Also, BIM is used more on the architectural side of buildings rather than the structural side.  The same can be said about databases.

So overall, I would say this was a very good course to have taken during my time here at Drexel University.  Not only did I learn an incredible amount about the future of the architectural engineering field, I learned a little about how the field of structural engineering might be effected as well.  I would highly recommend others to consider taking this course in the future.  My only critique is to focus a little less on databases on the future.  I just have trouble seeing myself ever making databases in my field in the future.  While I can't say that is the same for everyone else taking this course, I can personally say that about me.

Comments
1.) Rebecca Lynch's Comment
2.) Laura Worley's Comment

B7, Redus (Group D)

I really enjoyed this survey of trending technology for the built environment. From robots to BIM, we certainly covered a lot. Co-ops and classes have done an excellent job showing us the industry standards, how things are done now. It is easy to get stuck doing what you are taught: it works, why change? One of the responsibilities of “young people,” in my opinion, is to change things. When you’re too young to now that something will fail it may just succeed. This class introduced us to the cutting edge technology, allowing us to better understand current technology and hopefully anticipate future advances and making us aware of how we can improve design and construction technologies. I am particularly interested in watching how robotics changes the construction industry, and what the possibilities will be for 3D printed concrete.

The class mainly consisted of blog posts, lecture periods, and assignments. The blog posts were a great way to get us to understand the details of the different technologies, be they databases, BIM, or general groundbreaking stuff. It was good to research a particular topic and then have to form ideas regarding it. Commenting on other similar posts is interesting and allows us to learn more about our topic. There was so much that the other groups reported on that we did not learn about however. It might be worthwhile to have students comment on other group’s posts so they learn about a different subject. Students would not be getting as in-depth in their assigned subject, but this course does not strive for in-depth understanding. Students also would have trouble having productive conversations in the comments, since they were just learning about the topic. I did not see conversations happening often in the comments section however, so this should not be an issue. The class time was split between lecture and group activities. While some lectures features guests sharing their real world experience others covered broad topics that would be time consuming to research. By themselves, the lectures were not terribly helpful. One could easily not pay attention or leave and forget whatever they had just “learned.” The group activities were a good way to mitigate this. They forced us to think about what we had just learned and apply it to what we had experienced in Co-op. I think the activity week 9 was especially good at this. The various assignments were good opportunities to dive into a particular topic. The final project allowed us to learn about a topic that we found particularly interesting. Assignments and blog posts gave students a deeper understanding of an area of intelligent buildings, lectures gave us a broader understanding, and group discussion forced us to apply the information.

The concept of building information models, or BIM, was integral to the course. The assignment had us create a parametric family, which was interesting and will no doubt be very useful in practice. It also got us to think about BIM in general. While cumbersome and novice hostile, it is a very useful design tool. Programs such as AECOsim allow the designer to see how everything interacts. Is there a duct running through my beam? BIM knows. How much less energy will the building use if I specify triple layer windows? How much more energy does it take to make the extra layer of glass? BIM knows. We talked a lot about BIM, but we didn’t get into BMS much. I wonder, are their decisions we can be making as designers to make operation easier. How might BMSs affect our designs?

 The database assignment was also useful. We thought about how a database is structured, how the information interacts to allow easy entry, processing, and export. More importantly, it forced us to think about what kinds of information can be contained in a database. Computers have the power make our lives easier, but we rarely use them to their full potential. In a few years someone from this class will probably be sorting through spreadsheets (or worse, paper files stored in various parts of the building) and think, “hey, this could be better!”

Comment to Farnelli & Palma

B6 - Course Reflection - Mark Lodato

AE 510 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love BIM

                This course was very interesting and one of my favorite courses that I have taken at Drexel. It provided valuable insight on technological advances in the recent past and suggested possible advances that could take place in the near future as they relate to the construction and engineering industries. Examples of these advances were increased BIM integration in the architectural and structural design and construction processes, the increased roles of robotics in manufacturing and construction, and the importance of sensors and their outputs being stored in databases. The prevalence of guest speakers providing real world examples and stories about technology also helped to cement these ideas about technology.  I also enjoyed the emphasis of working in groups with my peers during class time. The ability to collaborate and gain multiple perspectives and viewpoints on the class topics was invaluable in regards to learning and fully digesting these topics.

                The portion of the course that I enjoyed the most was the guest lecturers. It is always beneficial to learn about BIM and how other technologies impact the world during normal class time, but actually hearing it first hand from engineers in the industry working for larger companies reinforces the class topics greatly. Each of the guest lectures was beneficial, worthwhile, and distinct enough so that each lecturer was separate from one another while still providing valuable information about the same topics. I also enjoyed how each of the lecturers had different perspectives and attitudes regarding BIM and technology in general as it relates to construction. I thought it was very important to look at the same issues from all possible sides and reference points in order to critically think about each topic effectively.

                The topic that I enjoyed the least was databases. This is not to say that the material was not relevant or applicable to the course or to us as engineers, but rather it just did not have the interest and wide appeal that the BIM discussions had. I think it would be beneficial to have a guest lecture about databases for future sections of the course to get another perspective and viewpoint about databases in general and the specifics about how they are applied in the industry.

                Overall, this course was definitely my favorite of the quarter and one of my favorite courses that I have taken at Drexel. I feel that it provided valuable information on the trends that the industry is taking in the professional world as it relates to technology and intelligent building. It definitely impacted me in terms of how I feel about the role of BIM in my professional career and the impact that BIM will have on me in the future. I definitely need to take a closer look at BIM as the technology develops further and familiarize myself better with more BIM software.

**Edit**

Comment 1: http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b6-group-b-alex-palma.html

Comment 2: http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b7-group-b-schroeder.html

Course Reflection

Laura Worley

Course Reflection

I have found the intelligent building class to be very interesting and informative. When I first signed up for the class, I was unsure of exactly the type of material that would be covered. I have always had a particular interest in intelligent buildings and innovative technology. We were taught the basis of these systems and also given a chance to explore the systems. In this class, we had a chance to work with Revit and database software. These projects helped me to learn much more about the programs and the user interface. I think that we had an ample amount of time to complete projects and were encouraged to do research through the weekly blog posts. The lectures were also coordinated well with the course material and we were able to learn much about a topic before being given an assignment. I feel as though after the given lectures, I am fully able to understand the concept of Intelligent buildings and the many up and coming technologies associated with these buildings.

Another interesting aspect of this class was the opportunities we were given to collaborate with one another in class. Throughout the term, we were given groups in which we would review material/projects and posts. During this time we would collaborate on our thoughts and the process. This helped to review material and also learn so much more. The given groups were also chosen in regards to our major and program. This was also helpful for us to see the ideas of people with similar interests.

The guest speakers that were brought into our class made it so that the things we were learning in class were more relatable. Many of the guest speakers were very informative and also helped us to gain a better idea of potential career opportunities. I also thought that it was very nice that they spent the time to come speak to us. Many of the employers gave out business cards which could be helpful for networking in the future. The speakers were all in different fields. Some of the speakers were new out of college and have just begun on their career paths whereas others were established in the companies and had many other stories of previous experience as well.

The blog posts were very interesting and it was great to see other people’s perspectives on certain topics. I found them also to be very informative and I have learned a lot about BIM technology that I did not quite understand before. The weekly comments on the blog posts kept us attentive to other ideas and perspectives.

Overall, I found this class to be very helpful in understanding the topics at hand, giving the class new perspectives, and teaching us new material. Even though the Drexel quarters are very short, I felt as though this class relayed a lot of information to the class.

Comments:

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/course-reflection-farnelli.html?showComment=1457028578629#c6943592498784363696

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/03/course-reflection-adrian-kuzniarowicz.html?showComment=14570290457

Course Reflection - Karan Sagar Sinha

I found this course to be really interesting, we take a lot of courses that have traditional knowledge and same old calculations. This course was really different in the approach of combining technology and buildings together. I expected one of two things coming into this course, that it was going to be a BIM class or that it was going to be a class similar to the AE 390-391 series but with more work and explore fields in technology.  Much to my surprise it was neither of these two.  For that I am glad.  I took the course because it sounded interesting but it was also one of the few graduate level courses that were offered this term and I wanted to feel the level of graduate courses that are offered, also it was fulfilling my professional elective criteria.

During 10-week long syllabus, we worked on several projects, such as working on Revit and creating the family. At Drexel we are barely exposed to BIM’s and I was really glad that we were again introduced to Revit as it is a very powerful tool. Also in this course, I was exposed to Microsoft Access, which we had used for the database project. These two projects dealt with topics that I had never covered before and I feel that they will be beneficial in the future, especially the database knowledge.  Modern day society is so dependent on databases that even a minor understanding can be extremely beneficial.  Knowing how to create families in Revit can also be very helpful in the professional world, although, I hope to never have to make one because it was somewhat annoying setting up all the parameters and relationships.  But it’s better to know and not need than need and not know. 

I really enjoyed all the lectures and all the in class activities. Most of it I really enjoyed having guest lecturers. Every single guest speaker was very well chosen because they were all able to contribute with their insight at a topic we were covering. I believe that Hue Robert’s Lecture was very well done; it gave me hope for the industry and the growing figures in infrastructure.

Also I really enjoyed reading other people’s blog posts, and writing my own blog posts. Reading blog posts from other groups really opened up a lot of thought provoking areas. I absorbed a lot of knowledge while reading the blog posts. I would’ve loved going in depths of this course and I would’ve loved having another sequence to this course, which would focus on the use of different BIM platforms.

Comments:

Samuel – I completely agree with your view-point of this course. Both the assignments were well thought out. I am really keen on seeing how your final paper turn out to be, wearable technology always interested me and it would be wonderful exploring how in the future buildings and wearable technology can be linked.

Yuyang – As you had mentioned that the videos on robotics caught your eye, I found it really interesting where the drones were involved in the controlled constructing of a structure. This class was very interesting although I really wish there was a sequence to this course.

Course Reflection - Samuel Boyce

I think this course achieved what it set out to do, which is commendable as with the tight schedule that Drexel has it does not take much to throw a course off and cause topics to be dropped. I feel confident now that I would be able to partake in a discussion about Intelligent Buildings (IB), and even bring some of the technologies into the conversation at work. Although it was a broad course, the assignments, blog posts and final paper have helped me drill down into particular areas that I wanted. I think the course is set up well to achieve this.

Assignments

These two assignments were well utilised in order to demonstrate the power of the programs used, as well as how they interplay with IB. The Revit exercise actually inspired me to take a run at modelling my senior design project, and although I did not use it for the final project in this class, it has come out quite well. By demonstrating the principles of Revit, a good basis of knowledge was formed, where I can now watch YouTube videos of Revit tutorials and make use of them.

In terms of the database assignment, although I had created one before using Access, I was not aware of their wide ranging uses. Although some of the definitions and terminology held me up, I was able to create the database with ease once I had leaned the basic components.

Lectures

The lectures were all very useful, and I think the usage of class time to  collaborate amongst group members was well placed. The outside lecturers were great and even better was the one by someone who does not have the same pro-view of Intelligent Buildings. I was not too familiar with BIM before this course, and therefore by having industry professionals come in to discuss their usage of it was a great opportunity to see the benefits. The other lectures given were well organised, and I think the organisation of them was well set.

I have definitely learned a lot on this class, and I feel it will serve me well in the upcoming years as this technology becomes more prevalent. Although I will be working for a geotechnical contractor, I still believe there will be ample chances for the involvement of technology described in this class, especially after researching my final paper topic, wearable technology.


Comments

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/03/course-reflection-yuyang-shi.html?showComment=1456859388845#c6565232343337264444

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b7-group-b-schroeder.html?showComment=1456859600427#c3119662865375305394

B7: Group B - Schroeder

Based off of the course description, “An overview of the present and future role of Information Technology in the construction industry with emphasis on the computer tools used throughout the building life cycle by all stakeholders, primarily Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the role of networked-linked sensors and actuators” this class was not what I originally expected. I thought that AE 510 would only cover buildings that have integrated technologies such as autonomous lighting or the various sensors needed for IT.  Looking back, it is refreshing to see the variety of material covered that extends the broad range of IB in eight short weeks. The first half of AE510 was much more relevant to my intended profession, but I did appreciate learning about other aspects in related fields. Specifically, after learning about databases I now have a new respect for people in the field of Big Data and the reach of their profession. In addition, I was able to relate and leverage our discussions on AI/Robots in my Honors Class this term about how MIT is building robots that are able to mimic the human physiology of proprioception.

Like others in the class, one of my favorite parts of AE 510 were the guest lecturers. Although I don’t intend to become a BIM Manager or anything specifically in the building industry,  it was pleasant to hear from professionals in their field and what they are passionate about. Furthermore, it speaks measures about Dr.Mitchell to be able to get past students to take time out of their busy schedules to return to their roots to present at Drexel.

Of all the topics covered in class, the network section of last week's class was one of my favorites. Learning about the development of IPv6 which lacks backwards compatibility with the original internet communications protocol (IPv4) was interesting to me as I know the same frustration in terms of gaming consoles. I held out on buying a PlayStation 3 for so long because of the lack of backwards compatibility for most PS2 games. I can't imagine how providers dealt with IPv6 lacking the backwards compatibility of IPv4 as some devices were not able to be upgraded to IPv6.  Without this bridge between the two, it was not an easy transition for communications.

As a future transportation engineer that focuses on bridge rehabilitation and design, I will most likely not use Revit in my future profession but this class has exposed me to plenty of other topics that I will be using in my future career. In addition, I really enjoyed the topic of my group’s final project. As this is going to be our Senior Design project next year, I liked being able to see the current technologies in autonomous housing to based our initial design on.

Overall, as one of my only AE classes I’ve taken during my collegiate career, it has definitely been a worthwhile experience.

EDIT:
Comments
1. http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/03/course-reflection-yuyang-shi.html
2. http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/course-reflection-farnelli.html

Course Reflection - Farnelli

When I first registered for the class I had assumed that the class was going to be about responsive HVAC systems and BIM. Though we did spend quite a bit of time on BIM, a lot more of the class focused on construction than I had expected, which was a pleasant surprise. There were three main aspects of the class: blog posts, lectures and a project. Each gave different experiences and benefits, and as a whole I think that I gained quite a bit from the class.

Blog Posts

The blog posts have required us to research various topics in some detail and be able to explain concepts so that others. Some topics had provided reading, such as the Interoperability chapter in the BIM Handbook available online. Others required a bit of outside research, such as investigating what SQL is and how it works. I did learn quite a bit by reading other blog posts, as well. Reading the impressions and responses from the others in my groups gave me some extra perspective on the topics.

Lectures

The lectures, both those run by Professor Mitchell and those which were presented by outside experts, have given us an opportunity to learn more about the topics in application. For example, the videos showing robotic applications were very interesting. The talks by outside speakers were very interesting as well, as they were able to give examples of when the different programs and equipment worked and what needed work for each. In addition, the guest lectures allowed for at least a small bit of networking, and some also very helpful gave career advice.

Project

The project, in my case on 3D concrete printing, gave me the option to look into a specific topic in depth which interested me. I learned quite a bit about the way that the 3D concrete is produced and about the properties of the material. This may not be particularly helpful immediately, but if 3D printing gains as much ground as it is expected to this knowledge could be very helpful in the future.  

Comments:
Bryan Cummings, James Redus, Mark Lodato

B2 - Dianna Vogel: Reflection Post

Overall I believe AE510 was a useful and interesting course to take. Obviously, as a structural engineering major I got more out of the first half of the class compared to the second half. This was due to the prevalence of Revit in the workforce and my desire to learn more in order to enhance my future. This class did indeed help me learn more about Revit. This was accomplished through the Revit family project, and my group project. For my group project we are creating the Farnsworth House in Revit, with all the components. This includes the architectural side, structural, and MEP. The Revit family assignment even assisted with the group project by opening a door I did not know existed. Prior to this class I did not realize that families could be created from scratch in Revit. This is a very beneficial tool in case a certain family object already existing in Revit cannot be altered to fit the projects purpose. While this information was helpful for our project, I thoroughly believe it will come in handy in the future. There may be a building in my future job that has to be created in Revit, and families need to be designed due to the objects being unique in some way.

Another important and helpful part of this class were the guest speakers. They gave insight into the different parts of the current workforce and how they have handled the problems presented to them. Furthermore, the most interesting topic I learned from multiple of the presenters was the job of seeing what clashes exist between different portions of a job, and how to deal with them. I did not realize this was a technique that is currently used by firms, even though it makes a lot of sense. The program that most of the used was Navisworks by Autodesk. I am hoping that my group has time to use this program to see what clashes may exist between our structural and MEP model, but that is dependent on how fast the MEP model is completed.

One effect of the course was forcing me to learn the basics of databases. This was a skill I would have never done willingly, but I do believe it is useful. I now know the basics of how to use access to create tables, queries, and forms. Therefore, if in the future it would be beneficial for a database to be created at my job, or in my school career, I at least know how to get started. Thus, I have gained many different types of useful information from AE510 and would highly suggest it to anyone in the future.

Comments:

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b6-group-b-alex-palma.html
Alex,
I definitely agree with what you said about learning from the speakers what you do not want to do in life. Sometimes this is more helpful than hearing someone speak on a topic you are interested in, depending on the length of time. With this extra knowledge, if down the road you are offered a job performing a task that you know you DON’T like then the job can be altered. However, if you have never heard of a specific job, or task, then it won’t be clear if you like or dislike it and may be stuck doing something unpleasant. Likewise, I fully agree that AE510 was one of the most helpful and stimulating graduate classes to take. Generally graduate classes are based on learning some intricate portion of one subject, such as advanced mechanics of materials. However, AE510 gave us a broad over view of multiple helpful concepts and helped prepare us for the industry once we graduate.

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b6-ae-510-reflection-danielle-beynon.html
Danielle,
I like how you touched upon how far technology has come, and the appreciation that is developed by looking into the details of the programs we use every day. I have also developed a deeper appreciation for programs like REVIT, AutoCAD, and Bentley products as we have learned about how the programs have grown. We are lucky to be in a generation that using these programs is second nature; however, it is important to not get stuck in our time and always push towards the next innovation. We heard about many exciting products this term that are currently not used in industry, such as concrete 3D printing and BIM programs with more depth. Hopefully we will see these items used in industry in the near future and have some interaction with them.