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.  

B5: Group C - Mridul Chulet

In simple definition object oriented databases are databases that stores their contents as objects. Furthermore, they support the modelling and creation of data stored as objects. As the name suggests, the fundamental feature of Object oriented databases is allowing the definition of items, which are not the same as expected database objects [1]. Objects, in an object oriented database, reference the capacity to add to an object, then characterize and name it. The object can then be referenced, or called later, as a unit without getting into its complexities [2]. The same can be noticed in objects used in object-oriented programming . 

For example, a car engineer is a perfect example for Object oriented database. An engine is made up of several components: the main cylinder block, the exhaust system, intake manifold, etc [3]. But, when all of these components are combined altogether they form an engine. Similarly, when writing a program one can characterize a several segments, for instance, a vertical line intersecting a perpendicular horizontal line while both lines have a graded measurement [3]. This object can then later transformed into a diagram or a graph. 

There are several advantages of using object oriented database. First, it assures the system will enjoy longer life with small maintenance costs. The main reason for the long longevity is its behavior can be reused and implemented into new behaviors. Second, it allows real-world modeling. Objects are organized into classes of objects and there objects are associated with behaviors. The result is a model which is based on objects, rather than on data. Lastly, it provides improved reliability and flexibility than the existing systems because new behaviors can be built from the exciting objects [1]. As far the disadvantages are concerned, there are not much. The main disadvantage of object oriented database is that it is yet to be accepted by major companies and is not a technology [1].   

In conclusion, object oriented database approach will be really helpful when programming and processing tasks for intelligent building. One of the main reasons is the seamless integration of operating systems and AI expert system shells which in turn makes is easier to share data or software components or products.

References:

1)    http://ecomputernotes.com/database-system/adv-database/object-oriented-database-oodb

2)    http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/definition/object-oriented-database-management-system

3)    https://www.techopedia.com/definition/8639/object-oriented-database

    
 Comments:
 

Hamad Al-Hajri,
I really enjoyed reading your post and how you separately wrote of brief description of uses of databases in construction firms. All the statements you wrote are correct and make sense. I really like how databases are good estimators of wealth, construction time, track materials and performance. It will not only help save time, but it will also help check for errors or avoid any mistakes. But, object oriented approach is yet to be accepted by the major firms. Overall your post was concise and provided with helpful information.

Hatim Amiji,

        Great post. I had no idea about SQL and its importance before reading your post. I completely agree with your view point towards SQL. I feel like SQL helps to define relational databases models easily and helps to explicitly define the relationships. This will make it easier for architects and engineers to extract data and use the data from AutoCad or REVIT databases. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your article and it was very informative.