B6 Final Blog Post

When starting the course, I was intrigued about what would it entail to study Intelligent Building. Would the whole class be just building oriented? Are we going to learn about new technologies, new materials, new software, new approaches to building? Are we going to concentrate on only AI and robotics? It was a little bit of everything that helped to shape my understanding about the discipline.

It was interesting to experience engineering from a different prospective. As future electrical engineer I deal with a lot if circuits, power elements, computer programs etc., and honestly have no idea what a problem-solving process for architectural and structural engineers is. Just to learn a little bit more about building procedure, design process, and interaction between parties that are involved in the project made it a great learning experience. 

I was introduced to new programs, otherwise I wouldn’t get exposed to. Trying to figure out how to deal with Revit and even create a small model was very exciting. Creating data base had its ups and down, but I solely blame it on MS Access. My opinions about sensors changed. I used to think of them just as small gadgets, but they are a part of a bigger network and help not only to control temperature but maintain a whole system. 

The understanding of intelligent building changed for me. It went from being defined as smart building or green building to actually building intelligently, using the best technology and the best techniques. And also most expensive doesn’t mean the best, there are a lot of things to consider.  

Also I did not expect how much writing I would have to do in this class. I am so used to writing lab reports that use a very dry language, I am not used to writing about my own experiences.

Varsha,
I really enjoyed reading your reflection. It was interesting to read about somebody else's experience with the subject, especially somebody's with AE concentration.
I agree with you about bringing more courses that help to apply the knowledge we gained in theoretical classes and actually help us to look whats needed in the field.   

Douha,

Great use of an emoji. It caught my eye, that is why I am commenting on your post.

I agree with you that one of the advantages of the course was exposing us to new programs and new technologies. It is hard to think outside the box sometimes and this course helped to look at certain things from a different prospective.

Manon,

I enjoyed reading your post. I think we had similar experience with the course. I was also confused at the beginning to what to expect.
I wish you a good luck with your third co-op. Virtual Design Construction field sounds like a very exciting field to enter. Hopefully you will get a job in that field.

B6

This course was very informative and worthwhile. I learned a lot about building technology and how the AEC industry is changing with technological advances. Moving forward, the insight and knowledge I gained from this class will be vastly useful in my professional life and development. Though I am a structural concentration, and structural engineers are usually hesitant to change (due to large liability), change is still inevitable. It is encouraging to see all the ways the job could improve, like better interoperability between AutoCAD and Revit.

I learned a lot that I definitely wouldn't have otherwise learned. I had no clue artificial intelligence applied to the AEC industry. I didn't realize that robots were already becoming players in the industry and weren't just science-fiction/goals for the future. I barely knew anything about databases, but now I can see they're incredibly important to the field and industry.

One thing I will almost certainly use in my professional life is Dynamo. I had no idea it existed, but it is incredibly useful. It's simple to use too, which further encourages me to learn more about it. I'll probably also use Access, too. I've always been a huge fan of Excel, and Access gives me more flexibility in terms of databases, which I have used Excel for before.

I really enjoyed the structure of this course. The assignments were helpful but not overwhelming. I found the blog posts incredibly beneficial. The term project was also really neat as it gave me a chance to dive into something I was interested in but wouldn't have otherwise studied. In my case, that was cobots. I now have more than a surface level knowledge of the benefits they can bring to the AEC industry.

I took this course as an elective, and I am so, so glad I did. I did not learn anything in this class that was "fluff" or irrelevant to me. Databases, sensors, interoperability, AI, robotics, it all applies to me as a young engineer to be. I absolutely recommend this class to anyone in the CAEE department, and possibly others.

Hi Varsha,

I'm glad we were able to learn more about cobots together. It was great learning about a new technology with you and Ina. I hope to see cobots more readily used in the industry sooner rather than later. I completely agree that we have to be prepared for change. It's uncomfortable yet completely unavoidable. I think your idea of making this type of class more common is a great one.

Hi Andre,

I think it's really neat that you as an electrical engineering major took this architectural engineering class. That to me shows how important it is for all branches of engineering to work together in the workplace. I like how you looped this class back to Drexel's one focus of career development. You're absolutely right that this class prepared us for industry. Of course our other more theoretical classes are important, but this class helped me think about AFTER graduation more, and not as just a stepping stone to get to graduation.

Hi Spencer,

I really enjoyed your project and presentation. Dynamo is a vastly useful tool, and it was neat that you took a good portion of the term to dive into it more for not only your own edification, but the rest of the class as well since you presented. I completely agree that this class gave us knowledge that will help us stay ahead of the technological curve. You're completely right that this course gave us resources to, as you put it, keep a finger on the pulse of the industry. This is a very insightful perspective that I hadn't really considered, so thank you.

B6 - Reflection

This course has been one of my favorite courses at Drexel thus far. The main reason is because I felt like this course looked beyond how the AEC industry is functioning today. I enjoyed learning about the new technologies that will mold the building design in the future. For example, I found the topic of interoperability very fascinating because I think it has the ability to improve the network capabilities between themany types of BIM software which is still a continuing issue in today’s industry.

I also enjoyed learning more about Revit during the semester. I have had some experience with the program through my co-ops in which I had assisted in creating BIM models as part of my duties. However, I appreciated that this class gave me more experience with Revit that is relevant to what I will be doing after graduation. In addition, Dynamo is a new feature to me that I had never used before. I think this feature could be really useful for me in the future since it allows easy data pulling from the Revit model.

I also felt like I gained a lot from working in teams. Team work is a key aspect in engineering jobs, so I think that having experience working with new people from various disciplines will prepare me for my future co-ops, and eventually my future job. 

Furthermore, the articles I think also contributed greatly to my learning in the class. Although they were time consuming, I think it is important to take extra time to stay up to date on industry trends and new emerging technologies. I think this will make me a better professional in the future.

Lastly, I enjoyed gaining more insight into what makes a building “intelligent.” I had never taken into consideration how buildings could be more efficient by implementing technology and sensors. As society becomes more accustomed to convenience, I think that technology within building design will continue to expand and evolve. Therefore, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to be in a class in which I could get a glimpse of what the future of my profession and my industry will look like.

Greetings Manon,

I felt a similar way coming into class. I was also unsure of what it meant for a building to be intelligent, and I feel that this class has given me great insight into the future of engineering as well. I also really enjoyed hearing from industry professionals who are seeing the implementation of the technologies we are learning about as well. It is truly incredible how big data has the ability to impact the efficiency of buildings.

Hi Jake,

It is interesting that you are going to work with Revit to design electrical systems. That is what I worked on at my last co-op. I think what we learned in this class about Revit will give you a great foundation for your future job. Although Revit can be a daunting program, it becomes very intuitive after you use it for a while. I am positive you will be able to adopt it easily.

Greetings Varsha,

I agree that this class gives great insight on the extent of careers available with an AE concentration. I definitely wish I would have taken this course earlier during my time at Drexel so that I would have understood the various opportunities earlier. I also agree that the department should do a better job of integrating knowledge about the status of the industry within our various courses.

B6 - Reflection

               Coming into the Intelligent Buildings course I was not sure what to expect; initially I thought it would consist of strictly Revit work, but I was very wrong. This course dove into a broad range of topics, introducing something new every week. Beginning with topics ranging from Robotics to 3D Manufacturing, we got the chance to read through a collection of articles that relate various technologies to the concept of an Intelligent Building. I believe utilizing the shared Evernote was greatly beneficial, for it allowed us to explore subtopics that interest us and showed what our peers were interested in researching as well. Following this topic, BIM was introduced; Building Information Modeling is the process of creating 3D models, enabling document management, simulation, and coordination. Prior to taking AE410, the only relevant technology I was familiar with was AutoCAD, but now I can add Revit to my current skill set. The first assignment was perfect for demonstrating the capabilities and functionality of Revit, never using the software, it took some time adjusting to all the features included, but once I was comfortable navigating the program I began to genuinely enjoy the design process involved. Soon after we focused on Databases, ultimately creating one of our own. After understanding how a Database works, real-world examples of Sensors were incorporated. Researching for viable sensors to implement was a challenge, but the results were worth the effort. I was forced to learn about various sensors and what specifications matter in order to record them into my database, and I know have a knowledge on the vastness of the Sensor realm. This assignment also provided me with skills I will utilize outside of the course, I plan on researching Database functionalities even further, and eventually create one for my current part-time work. Lastly, the Final Project was a great way to summarize what we have learned from the course, choosing our own topic to work on allowed us to implement what we found to be most important for the future of the AE world. I certainly could not have written the paper I did without the in-class discussions throughout the course, and because of these discussions I was comfortable with both researching and formulating my own opinions on the subject (Artificial Intelligence). It is worth mentioning the significance of the guest speakers as well. The few that came to speak were all extremely insightful and provided real-world applications of the material we were learning.

Comments to others:

Varsha Ajith

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/b6-reflection.html

Varsha, I was in the same boat as you! Starting the course, I was intimidated by the syllabus’ anticipated course load, entailing things like Revit models and Databases, but once I started working on them, I was enjoying the work it required. The course also opened my eyes to the potential of job opportunities in the AE field, not only for AE students, but for all disciplines. I could easily work in the field even though I am studying computer engineering, for “Intelligent Buildings” require input from various kinds of professionals.

Reece Masucci

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/reflection-post.html

Reece, I am glad to hear you will be changing the pace of your coop work; I know the feeling of having an uneventful coop, so I also switched it up upon my second coop to gain a broader understanding of my major and engineering as a whole. I agree with you that this course did an exceptional job in aiding the understanding of Databases, and that knowledge is beneficial to anyone in any field. Since you touched on environmental awareness and concrete, I was reading on a study that aspires to implement living concrete, utilizing biological aspects that will allow for self-healing material. Hopefully technology such as this will get you thinking of ideas for the future of environmentally friendly construction.

Douha Alqudaihi

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/b6-final-blog.html

Douha, I agree that the blogs and research performed through the shared Evernote were greatly beneficial to understanding the content covered in the course. I was also a strict AutoCAD user at the start of this course, but with the aid of Professor Mitchell’s tutorial I feel I got a good grasp on Revit as a whole and all the functionality it possesses. I also enjoyed the structure of the class, breaking the roster into groups based off general interests helped keep discussions on track and ensured that everyone was at least familiar with the topics at hand. Overall, the course was designed in such a way that allowed consistent understandings of each newly introduced subject, and I wish I had other courses structured in a similar manner.

Reflection post

Throughout this course, students explored various topics regarding the intelligent buildings and the technological advancements to aid in the effectiveness of these structures. Along with the help of various programs such as Dynamo and Microsoft Access, students were allowed to get a better understanding of these topics by incorporating real-world programs into their classroom lives.

Something that resonated with me in this course was the topic of Additive Manufacturing in construction. The concept of planning and making the design process of the construction industry more environmentally conscious is something that always interested me. Now after this course, I have a better understanding of what that would entail. For the final project of this course, I studied and wrote about this topic - specifically the incorporation of additive manufacturing of concrete in the construction industry, and how this way of utilizing concrete in the construction process is more environmentally friendly than that of typical batch-work of concrete.

For my next co-op, I am working for a large construction company in Philadelphia. It will be a nice change of pace from my previous civil engineering co-op, and I am looking forward to learning a lot more about the industry and how it works on a corporate level. However, utilizing what I have learned in this course and seeing it in application for the first time in my professional career will be the ultimate take-away for me.

Another interesting topic of this course that I have not had much experience with before was the utilization of databases with construction. Throughout my Drexel career, I only took one class before this one where I got to learn about information technology with databases. However, AE410 did a better job teaching it to engineering students, as the previous course was more general. Learning about these databases in relation to something that I would work for in the future made it that much more interesting to me.

Comment to Douha:
Douha,

I think it is very interested that you were able to incorporate things learned in this class to your senior design project. That is something I look forward to in my senior year. Utilizing the concepts and the tools readily available to us engineering students is so important in an educational career.

Reece

Comment to Madeleine:
Madeleine,

I also agree that this course could have been beneficial to us earlier on in our Drexel career. I was not exposed to Revit before this course, and I feel as if that skill is necessary to all engineering students. Some employers have not considered me for co-op due to my lack of BIM knowledge.

Reece

Comment to Jake:
Jake,

Your comment on our multiple guest speakers and how they were able to give us insight about the topics learned in this course used in the real world resonated with me. I think it is always nice to have students talk to Drexel graduates, as that will be us in just a few years. Also, I too believe the incorporation of architecture to the topics of this course could have been beneficial as well. Nice post!

Reece

B6: Final Blog :)

The blogs have increased my knowledge in many topics that were covered in the course. Also, it helped me with my final project.  

I’m an AutoCAD user, also in my senior design project, I used AutoCAD. However, my group suggested that we work on Revit and learn a new BIM tool. I was worried because I have never used it before, but when doing the Revit assignment and following the tutorial the professor provided to us, I realized that it is easier than I thought. In my opinion, it is easier than AutoCAD. Although, I faced some issues and took a while to know how to figure things out, overall I liked it more than AutoCAD. It is one of my outcomes from this course and it will be beneficial if I became professional at using it especially for my future career.  

The database assignment also was helpful especially that I had taken a course about this, but that course was concentrated on creating tables and relations using SQL. However, in this course, I learned how to fill the courses with quires, form and report them. I wasn’t relating the database to AE at first and didn’t think about it before until I did the database assignment. The database is not only used in offices, academic systems, manufacturing systems, but also in building systems like sensors.

I liked how the class was grouped according to our concentrations because when there is something in common, this will expand our creativity by exchanging ideas and thoughts that are related to our major.

Comments:
Varsha,
You did a good job on your final project also when presenting it! You and your group introduced me to a new topic in the robotics field "cobots".
This course really had a great coverage on several topics which we all took advantage of. I'm happy that the course has taught you some new things and increased your skills on BIM tools like Revit.
I strongly agree with you on your last point.
https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/b6-reflection.html

Reece,
First I would like to wish you all the best on your next co-op!
We have something in common where we both had the same general background on database. The database assignment was fun. It taught me in-depth how it works and I'm glad that you thought the same.
In your co-op try to incorporate what you have got from this course especially what the guest speakers told us, and you will feel that everything is realistic and make more sense.
https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/reflection-post.html

Manon,
I liked your reflection!
Me too at first I didn't know what an intelligent building course would look like and what will be the topics and assignments covered until I received an email from the professor illustrated that including the syllabus. He mentioned that if someone is not interested, just drop the course. However, in my point of you, I was pleased with the syllabus because he is covering technologies that are part of our future.
I learned many things and believe that we all have learned from this course.
Guest speakers also gave us opportunities to see things from different aspects in the career field.
https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/reflection_9.html