AE 510 course reflection

In AE510: Intelligent Building, we get to experience many different technologies that are applied on buildings. Especially BIM is one of the leading program what has been developed for past few years. I was amazed about how the computer technology can make life much easier and simpler even in the job field. When I look back at myself for past few weeks, I did not know much about buildings other than columns and beams. Now, I talk about BIM all the time when I have a chance to have a building related conversation. Perhaps, I like BIM much more than any topics that were covered because I enjoy using Computer Aided Design programs. Database and sensors are fascinating as well, but I felt like it was too lightly to cover in class.

Another impact of this class is guest speakers. Unfortunately, I missed one class with passionate guest speaker about sensors. Besides that, all the guest speakers could make me understand well about the program, real application, and future of industry.

 This class is very creative class that let students to think and research more about up-to-date real application topic relate to near future. I hope many of the students can be influenced in a good way that helps them to lead the future of industry.

Week 10 - AE 510 Reflection

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this course, but it sounded interesting and, like all Mitchell classes, enlightening to an aspect of buildings that I wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to.  I can honestly say that I enjoyed the class and learned a great deal. 

Over my past two co-ops, I dealt a lot with sensors/monitoring equipment, building programs, and networks/databases (specifically relating to sensors).  So right away, I could see the professional applications of the information we were researching and discussing during class. I think one thing I learned that really stuck with me is the application of sensors and their dependency on databases and networks.  Knowing how a database functions and stores/relates information is very useful when deciding what sensors to install in a building, how many, and what the information those sensors are recording is going to be used for.  I have always been very interested in emerging technologies, however, this class showed me how much of that technology is being incorporated into buildings in various ways.  

My favorite portion of the class was having the employees form software companies come to speak to the class.  Working for a software company is something I would like to do at some point in my career, and it was nice to hear form various levels of employees from the top engineering software companies. 

Comments:

Andrew Paladino: This was a, unique, way of describing the class.  I'm not entirely sure if you found the course helpful, however. 

 Brian Benson: Very well written, it seems like the topics we discussed really interested you.  

Course Reflection: Final Post

In order to write this final blog post and effectively reflect on my journey in the class, I read all my previous entries. Honestly. I’m amazed by the progress I have made from my first posts. At the beginning of the term I did not know anything about “Intelligent Buildings” or databases. Even the knowledge I thought I had on BIM was very limited. As I’m writing this last post I have a better understanding of BIM processes, as well as their strengths and limitations. I also made a very basic database that helped me have a better understanding of the roles they play in our field. I made a lot of progress as an architectural engineer, and Professor Mitchel helped me look toward the future of the field.

I really enjoyed the format of the class. The fact that we had to research independently the discussion topics before class, made the lectures easier to understand. I liked the fact that we had to read our classmates posts, this promoted interaction between us and facilitated discussions. It also gave me new perspectives on the discussion topics. Everyone attacked the problem at different angles, and it is always nice to read a point of view you had not considered previously. Another aspect of the class that made it great was the guest lecturer. Like I said before, it is always nice to hear different point of view on the same topic. Professor Mitchell made sure we were exposed to the way things worked in the industry by having speakers from the construction side, the design side, and even the software development side. This kind of experience is invaluable for students about to enter the workforce. It helped me better prepare for interviews or networking events since I knew what employers were looking for.

I really enjoyed my time in class, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend. 


Comments on others posts:

Esther:  Although I did not discuss it in my post, the possibilities that BIM technologies might completely change the way we do things now is quite exciting. I don't know if all the changes will be positive, but I know that I'm definitely anxious to see what will become of our field in the years to come. Actually, I excited to have the opportunity to be part of this change.

Ivan: I also really enjoyed hearing more about the technologies available to us. I had stuck to Revit this whole time, and these presentation showed me a whole new world. I'm hoping to soon be able to use these new software we learned about to make my senior design work a little easier. 

Course Reflection - week 10

In this course we covered so many topics like BIM, sensors, and database. Before this class, my knowledge was limited in some of those topics, and I was kind of a confused about what to expect or the term intelligent building is.  I choose this course because I just needed an elective course to graduate.  After all, I found this course really interesting, and I gain so much knowledge that I did not realize it’s that important till now. 

In this course there were a weekly reading assignments that we need to write a blog about. We were divided into five groups. Each group wrote about a topic and shares them on the blog. Theses topics were wide, and related to intelligent building.  I gain a lot of knowledge from these assignments since we need to read different topics. Also, I found reading each other as required really helpful since you will have an idea about all other topics as different types of sensors or database.

The BIM model assignment was using Revit to model families. I was confused at the beginning. However watching the tutorials helped me to complete the assignment. I had no idea how to create before this class. Creating family on Revit is important, and I fell that in Architectural Engineer should know how to create families as you can design whatever you need.

Last assignment was the Database assignment.  My experience to Microsoft Access is none before this class. However, after completing this I was able to crate tables, defining relationships between them, create query, form, and report using Microsoft Access. I find Microsoft Access much easier, clear, and can display the data in well-organized manner than excel.

During the course we had some guest lecture. Those lectures were really important, and to me the most valuable on this course. It’s good to listen to some experts’ experience on what are we learning. They gave us an idea on what should learn or focus more on. Also, gave us some idea on how are different BIM software works, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of these software.

Last, after looking on the amount of knowledge I gain in this class, I feel it worth the works and time you spend on doing all of these assignments and reading. It’s really interested to see how can BIM models, sensors, and database can be engaged all together to form an intelligent building, and helps to discover different new technologies that can aid on the future to use on intelligent buildings.  What makes it even interested is how professor arranging these assignments and organizing the course, and inviting the guest speakers to share their experience and knowledge.    

Comments: 

Comment’s on Audrey Ryan’s post: 

I totally agree with you and most of my classmates on how important the guests lecture were.   Also, how the assigned project has enhanced our knowledge in different topics that important in the molding and engineering filed.

Comment’s on Esther’s post: 

I agree that the skills we learned in this course were many, and really helpful in our engineering career. Some of them,  I had no clue about like the database. I’m sure as you said that we came out of this course with knowledgeable about what is being done to make the whole life cycle of buildings more intelligent.

Course Reflection

To say the least, this course was not what I was expecting. I was expecting to perform Revit projects for the whole term. But the information taught in class was a refreshing change of pace. It almost seemed as if I was stepping out into a completely new field of study. With lectures focusing on robotics and sensors, I was not sure how this was architectural engineering course. But as everything began coming together, I could see how all these pieces of technology fit into building design. Building design is not all about aesthetics and structural calculation, it a means of making the future bigger, brighter and more efficient. And this is exactly what was taught in the Intelligent Buildings course. Elements such a construction drones and robots and 3D printing all tie into how buildings will be created and maintained more efficiently as technology advances. Never before have I seen so many engineering fields being intertwined with civil and architectural engineering.

During my study here at Drexel University, I had a concern that may or not may not face many civil engineers. I was worried that my field was evolving very slowly, and that anything new or groundbreaking never really happened. A few different codes release a new edition every couple of years, but nothing really extraordinarily new comes along. In fields such as software and electrical engineering, new systems are being developed rapidly while civil engineers are moving at a moderately stagnant pace. However, through the knowledge gained from AE 510, I know this is not true. With advances in technology, the way engineers think about traditional building design and maintenance can become completely obsolete. This is an exciting concept that can possibly make the structures of tomorrow come alive today.

Directly relating to my profession as a structural engineer, I do not see many direct impacts from the class. While all of the information taught by Dr. Mitchell is valuable, it is not necessarily useful in developing a framing plan for a structure. But, like I said before, traditional structural design may be upset with heavy advancement in manufacturing and labor technologies. Only the future will tell how “intelligent” buildings can become.

Comments

Ian – I completely agree with you on the speakers that presented to us in class. They were extremely intelligent and taught me a lot about intelligent building design. I especially enjoyed the speaker from Bentley who presented very useful tools foe engineers. I also have to agree about the database assignment. While the assignment provided great insight towards the creation of databases, it does not necessarily relate to me.

Ivan- 3D printing was one of the most interesting topics from the class to me as well. The possibilities for this technology are endless and it is exciting to see what kind of object will be printed next. I hope within our lifetime that we can see printed materials used in space, but based on the budget being cut for NASA, we may never see it. However, being able to order a physical good from a website and being able to materialize it within my own home is a very exciting concept!

Course Reflection

I originally registered for this class to meet graduation requirements, but over the past ten weeks, I've learned so much about future technology. The intelligent buildings course has opened my eyes to a lot of new technology that will revolutionize the AEC industry. My most favorite part of the class was our discussion on 3-D printing. I found 3D-printing to be the most interesting topic we learned about this term. Its my favorite because of the infinite capabilities that 3D-printing possesses. What really caught my eye were the future applications of this technology like space stations and colonies. In addition to 3D-printing, the topics of sensors and databases also peaked my interest. I will be dealing with various temperature and pressure sensors in my profession, so having more in-depth background knowledge about both topics was extremely beneficial.

I enjoyed the guest presentations prepared by professor Mitchell. All of the guest speakers were enlightening and a joy to listen too. My favorite guest speakers were the representatives of AutoCADD and Bentley. They gave us a lot of interesting information, which made me download the student versions of the software I did not already have installed on my Mac. The in class assignments at first seemed tedious and annoying, but I ended up enjoying working in the different groups from week to week.

In summary, I would totally recommend an underclassmen in our department to take this class. A lot can be learned in this class without even realizing it. Professor Mitchell has done an excellent job at orchestrating the class curriculum. The only thing I see that could be changed is the possibility of beginning the term project somewhat sooner.

Comments:

Ryan Taylor: I agree that professor Mitchell did an excellent job finding engineers from the industry to speak to us. I felt as though the AutoCADD, ArchiCAD and Bentley representatives were the best out of all the speakers that presented to us.

Phil Brubaker: I originally registered for Intelligent Buildings as an elective and ended up learning much more than I anticipated. I didn't know much about BIM, databases and 3D-printing, but I now feel a greater appreciation for this course. In hindsight, I wish I had registered for this class sooner rather than two weeks into the term.

AE 510 Sensor Technology Power Point

AE 510 Sensor Technology Power Point - Michael Kilgallon & Matt Morimoto

In order to save paper we have made our PowerPoint available online #green #AE510 #sorrynotsorry

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14bReKXi15KzMedQLVBXoDycDsrdWPgeTEasg6zrVIYI/edit?usp=sharing