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

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Derek Zaccheo - B5 - Group A

Relational database is a database system where the information is stored as a relational model of data. This means that you can store and retrieve data without knowing all the back end coding for the data. This method was created by E. F. Codd back in 1970 and has been widely used to this day. To further simplify relational databases. If you have a table with two columns in it and you wanted to change the one of those columns then it would delete the entire table without a relational database. With a relational database it would store those columns as two separate tables and then will allow you to manipulate columns individually without having to delete the whole table. Structured Query Language or SQL is the language used in most relational databases. SQL became the standard language to use back in 1986 and was developed in the 70's by Donald Chamberlin and Raymond Boyce.

The relational database is built in two different stages, the logical data model is created first and then the physical data model is created afterwards. The logical data model allows you to create a layout for the design of the entire database itself. The physical data model creates the data tables themselves and the columns and rows. These databases use key terms to define the tables. Entity is information that is needed from the real world and the information topic that you want to store data on. The attribute is used to detail information about a certain entity instance or some information that you want to track. A primary key is used to identify certain entities which means that every entity will have a different primary key. A primary key can be one attribute or it can contain several depending on what the user wishes and the values in the primary key have to have a value in them they can never be blank. Before relational databases they used tab delimited files. These differed from relational databases because every entry is separated by certain characters. This causes each entry to contain many pieces of information in it.

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_database
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/knowing-just-enough-about-relational-databases.html
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question599.htm

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B4 - Derek Zaccheo - Group A

For our project we are doing how office buildings will change in the future using Intelligent building technologies. We will look into this by looking into how  specific buildings utilize intelligent building technology in the first place and how we think they could utilize it within the next ten to fifteen years. We will also discuss how intelligent buildings can revolutionize the workplace and the construction industry leading us to design better buildings more efficiently. In the introduction to the paper we will discuss how we define office buildings and how we view their role in today's society. We will go into some recent history of office buildings by going into their construction history, their design history and their functionality. We will define intelligent systems and discuss what buildings we are choosing to analyze. The three office buildings we will be looking at are the Comcast Center, the One World Trade Center, and the Cira Center.

 For all three buildings mentioned above we will be looking at how they were constructed, what special, if any, techniques were used. Going more in depth for this process will be difficult as the information will likely be tough to find. We will describe current existing technologies that are being used in the buildings themselves. We will go through the current impact that these have on the occupants. Then we will go into what features we can expect to see that will improve these buildings and how these intelligent systems will affect the workplace, designers, and construction.

In our conclusion we will be discussing how other building information technologies that were not discussed earlier on in our paper could be used in other general office buildings. We will also reiterate and concisely summarize how the design and construction industries could be revolutionized by these changes as well as go into how patrons using these buildings will be impacted. We will then reiterate what technologies will be present and prevalent in the next 10-15 years.

The biggest challenge we will face by far is finding all of the information about the current buildings themselves. Sometimes these details can be tough to find and shrouded in secrecy. We chose this topic because it is very interesting and was something that this class got us thinking about. It directly ties into intelligent buildings since that's the focus of what we are talking about on the office buildings.

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cira_Centre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast_Center_(Philadelphia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_World_Trade_Center

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B3 - Derek Zaccheo - Group A

A problem with BIM modeling that can occur in the future would be our reliance on it. If almost everyone in the industry relies solely on BIM to model and understand everything it could lead to a dependence on it. In some cases it might be applicable to do calculations yourself or model something quickly in 2D instead of trying to take the time to develop a full 3D BIM model. Another problem can occur since BIM is getting more and more user friendly. This is typically a good thing as long as it is still used by people who understand BIM but problems can arise when novices try to create models they don't fully understand. If inexperienced people don't understand BIM but trying complicated projects they can run into pitfalls very easily without even noticing.

Another problem with BIM comes from The actual storing of the data itself. Developing on and relying on solely computer models mean file sizes will be pretty large. This will cause companies to have to purchase more storage and will need means of backing up large amounts of  data on a regular basis. This problem seems like its a smaller one since firms typically do this already and since hard drive storage is becoming cheaper and cheaper for larger sizes. It is worth noting however that as the BIM models become more complex the file sizes will also increase. This mass storage of data does lead to problems with the increase in cyber attacks. Cyber security might not be top of priority for many companies but it becomes essential when you store all of your information through a network. If a hacker or virus got into the system it could potentially wipe out all the data or at the very least halt all productivity of the workers for an extended period of time.

Though BIM modeling has become easier people will still need to learn how to use it and that will take time and money. Teaching new workers the variety of programs now necessary to work in the industry delays how long they can start until and will end up costing the company some money. They will most likely make this money up in the future when the employee uses the program to decrease the time of a project but still it is something to consider.

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B2 - BIM Handbook Chapter 2 - Derek Zacheo

This chapter goes through a brief history of 3D BIM modeling and how it has developed from and is different from 2D CAD models. It says that the BIM modeling is different because it forms 3 dimensional relationships with other objects. This is great for creating reinforcement bar schedules or materials lists that can be updated real time while the designer is changing their design. It also differs from CAD because it gives both a 2D and 3D representation of the structure with the designer having the ability to determine how much 3D depth they want to go into. The chapter also goes into how BIM modeling can utilize preexisting objects to increase how quickly the designer can create a working model,

The chapter goes on to talk about how parametric object modeling has revolutionize editing and that without it modeling would be tedious and difficult with a lot of opportunities to make errors. In general parametric modeling can provide generalities of the object dimensions and how they relate to each other. These objects can be constrained in a way that will provide the designer with a lot of opportunities to see very quickly if what they propose will work and how it will interact with the rest of the environment. Essentially parametric modeling is what makes editing 3D objects geometry possible and usable.

I personally think that BIM modeling has and will continue to revolutionize design and construction in general. It can almost let you actually build and see the structure you are designing in real time. It is similar to building it so you can easily see any design conflicts that might be easily missed in the interpretation of a standard 2D CAD drawing. Though civil engineers lag behind technologies often I think that BIM modeling will continue to grow and strongly influence the field.

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References:
Eastman, Charles M. 2011. BIM Handbook : A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed January 18, 2016).

B1 - Group A - Derek Zaccheo

Artificial intelligence is a rapidly expanding topic and a very controversial one. Artificial intelligence is how machines “think” or how much intelligence they show. The first article I looked at shows how a company, owned by Google, called DeepMind was able to get an AI system to learn how to play Atari games. This may not seem so significant but it was done on a general platform where the AI had to learn for itself how to play and had to learn all of the rules itself. In the video embedded in the article you can see the AI play after 100 games and see how much it had improved after 500 games. By the end it had created a top level strategy for maximizing the number of blocks hit per time it hit the paddle by digging up the side and hitting it around back. This AI is being built to beat all 100+ Atari games and then will be used to span into 3D gaming, simulations, and finally in intelligent robots that may end up learning better than humans can. It may also help the health care field with diagnosing issues. They did a lot of the AI creation for this by studying how our own brains interpret and process the environment around us. This AI being developed is sure to spark further conversation into how to program AI to behave ethically.

The internet of things has been a topic that has been discussed a lot recently. This is that all devices are interconnected, for example smart lights, speakers, and car doors are sometimes interconnected with similar hubs and will interact with you. Intel recently showed the direction their company was progressing in with wearable chips the size of buttons that could be worn to help the visually impaired know when something was near them. Though internet of things wasn’t explicitly mentioned they were undoubtedly working to interconnect the real world and processors. They also showcased drones that actively avoided objects and drones that could be worn on the wrist to fly out, take pictures and then come back. They created a door lock system that can use a multitude of sensors to determine if the person approaching it should be allowed to enter and open or stay locked accordingly. This door system uses how close the person’s smartphone is, their fingerprint, and their face to make these decisions. Personally I think the most exciting prospect they talked about was the one that can help the visually impaired. Helping them interact with the world in a safer way is a vital goal that will make them happier. Flying wearable drones is both an exciting and scary prospect. I feel like it will be innovative for taking pictures or for inspections but it will definitely aid stalkers and criminals as well.

Microsoft is in the middle of developing something called the HoloLens. HoloLens are goggles that allow you to see holographic models that have been designed for buildings. So this would allow engineers and architects to interact with their designs in a way that has never been seen before. We would be able to meet someone regardless of where they were in the virtual building and see how the design is shaping up and see if there are any conflicts. This would change the industry and make 3D modeling essential for all engineering firms. It also seems like it could have practical applications if paired with Google Maps in experiencing the whole world around us. 

References:
1. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/2016-google-tracker-everything-google-is-working-on-for-the-new-year/9/#h5
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/ces/11329790/Intel-shares-futuristic-vision-of-the-connected-world.html
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXVW4sUsh3A

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Week 1 videos

What changed between the first and second?

There seemed to be a large difference between the first and second in terms of the fluidity of the motion. The first structure relied on precise movements, whereas the second flowed in relation to both the ropes and the other drones. The second structure also showed greater promise for teamwork, with both drones working in close proximity of each other. These three improvements combine to create a more feasible building process, however it did lean heavily on human constructed elements.

What implications does this have for the future of our industry?

• Speed up time 
• React to environment
• More feasible structure
• Safer, possibility of creating tethers for harnesses
• Can work at great heights 
• Inspection work, not necessarily construction

Derek Zaccheo Course Introduction

My name is Derek Zaccheo and I am a senior BS/MS student. My major is civil engineering with a concentration in structures. From this course I expect to learn about the different methods that are being used to create intelligent buildings. I would like to see and research different technologies and be given the opportunity to see how these technologies can revolutionize the construction industry. My definition of intelligent building design is sensors or other technologies that can monitor the building and the environment around the building and make changes based on the sensory inputs. Since it these sensors should be intelligent I would think they would require minimum human interaction once they are set in place.

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