B5-Relational Database Mynaugh

So here we are, Blog post number 5, and as a part of Group A, we have to explore what Relational Database Theory. Just a forewarning before reading up on the subject, I had no background knowledge of databases(but hey, that's why we're here). So like what many others have said, a database is a collection of information that can be accessed freely and updated over time. Now focussing on Relational databases, it takes the stored information and puts them in categories or tables that then put relations between them according to their attributes. The times I've used something similar was in my construction management classes when coming up with a work breakdown structure. This is fed by collecting data from certain aspects of each task. This includes resources, time, location, and responsibility. So if I were pouring foundations for a gymnasium going by a Relational Database method by connecting the aspects that are needed to complete the task. Firstly I would first identify who is completing (ie, what subtractor) then determine when that work will be done and how long it'll stake. From there on i can see what other tasks are related to this work being completed and how that would affect my scheduling. I guess in other words of saying relational databases in a way are in a way how the information gathered is organized by means on the effect of the data to other information. 

https://dvikan.no/ntnu-studentserver/kompendier/an-introduction-to-relational-database-theory.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_database

Comments

Hey Stephen,

I've found your blog to very inciteful perhaps this is due to my lack of background with databases, not to mention Structured Query Language. Now, as you stated that this a type of coding that companies use to find data rapidly, I can see why companies slike amazon and Facebook value people who are well versed in its use. I can't say if ever I'll be using it, but its good to know that it is relatively easy to pick up.

Hey Reece,

All the points you picked out as to why this is relevant to construction were talking points for my CMGT 467 class that I take Wednesday nights. The most important one that stood out to me is that of Job responsibility. From my estimating job, it was crucial to find subcontractors quickly by having them sorted by their appropriate fields. Having a way to sort through hundreds of subs was greatly mitigated by able to sort for the trade I wanted.

Hey Madeleine,

Reading over your blog helped me connect the dots and spurred my interest in how design firms need to have a well-managed database.

Just thinking of how much time will be saved in seeing how projects of the relatively same scope can be designed if you had success in the past. Also, connecting your blog to construction was a nice tie in on how both design and construction rely the quick access of information to deliver quality content in a timely manner.

B4-Mynaugh

For this week's Blog Post, we are exploring our own individual projects that we are doing for this class. Now the subjects of the subjects could range from anything that will or has been aught for this course and due to the title being Intelligent buildings it'd be something along those lines. For my group, we wanted something more relevant to our field of work, and that is of the construction and, more specifically, how Artificial intelligence will be impacting it. The main course of action we wanted to take when exploring this was that of what are and will be the benefits of integrating AI into construction and, of course, the other side of the coin on what it could hinder. To list some of the benefits of AI, we wanted to delve into more was that of the efficiencies of how robotic labor could replace that of human labor. This in itself could direct our research in different avenues to the moral effects of said replacement to the actual method of how machines would be designed and program to handle these originally human tasks. However, if you manage to read my teammates' post that beyond the physical implementation of AI, we will also explore the implications of the digital impact. This could go from the automation of sorting through information or having programs in place that could react to new engineering obstacles. The paths laid before can vary greatly so within the coming weeks we will endeavor to bring these array of ideas into focus for the presentation of our final project


Comments

Hey Isabel,
Reading over your blog has piqued my interest in regards to how the ever-growing smart home market will have on that of the mechanical aspect of home improvement.  As I am not too familiar with Revit's mechanical portion in measuring cooling loads and the like, do you think that the active sensors in today's technologies are sufficient enough now to make these future changes that you re hinting at? Nonetheless, I look forward to your future presentation.


Andre,

Reviewing your proposed term project has me intrigued, and the possibilities Dynamo has to offer. To state outright, I have zero background on how Dynamo is used and only the vaguest idea of what can result from implementing it in a project. However, since we both are in the sam senior design group, do you think to have this experience perhaps a year before now would've abled you to have good enough grasp of Dynamo that you could've used for our senior design? Just seeing the tasks you are attempting t accomplish seems very useful had we the time to implement it sooner. Nonetheless, seeing the final results of both this project and that of our senior design will be exciting.

Hey Cory,

It seems you have the makings of an interesting project. Having modular designs is definitely a trend that is taking off as of late. One that comes to mind is that of an AEI competition project, I saw that was a retrofit of a hospital, and the team made the decision to have the hospital room be all prefabricated and simply put into place during construction. They had it laid out that all the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems in these units were easy to install and had quick connections that reduced clutter. Best of luck with your project!

B3- What are the possible future problems with Revit/BIM?

So with our third blog post, we circle in on what this "new" technology will face in the future. Now personally, just reading the prompt this week, I was a little puzzled in what this innovation could possibly couldn't handle. But thinking about our guest speaker Chris Fiori who heads up Drexels Construction Management program quite plainly stated, is that the construction field as a whole is slow to accept change. She reiterates these innovations are indeed coming and are being accepted; all be it slowly are some skills that employers now are looking for in college graduates. Now stopping myself from straying from the point of this Blog and where this hesitation stems from, I'd like to envision what current companies view of BIM and whats their reservations. Now I stated that construction is slow to change, and as the archetypal firm owner is of an older generation, they hold to the ideology of "we've always done it this way and got by." which is hard to dissuade since if it ain't broke, don't fix is quite the compelling case. However, innovation doesn't spawn from complicity, and those who realize this are on the right track. So vaulting over this first problem that BIM will and is facing, we turn to the more financial roadblocks it shall face. First is finding work and projects that will have the necessary intricacies that will require the 'horsepower' of BIM and are not too simple that using it won't be a waste of time. This is more relevant to smaller companies, but these companies are the majority of what is being constructed around the world. The next barrier owners are facing is the infrastructure required to implement the system successfully. This will require costs for the software, having adequate computing power, and, of course, the personnel that can use it. These current problems are ones like the industry that is slow to change, and the people that are adopting this now are ahead of the curve.

https://www.letsbuild.com/blog/bim-challenges-potential

Comments 

Hey Dane,

Reading over your Blog raised some interest in the uncertainty of the future of AutoCAD. Now I'm a big advocate for using CAD, so seeing the pluses and minuses had me agreeing with every one of them. For one of my co-ops, I had to create install drawings for the construction team to assemble a facade on an apartment job in NYC, where I sent weekly paper ARCH E plans to the site for the team to use. Now with BIM coming to the forefront, I'm interested to see how my job would have changed if I used BIM instead of CAD, and would that change affect the site team positively? 

Hey Abdul,

Your graphics explaining the depth of what BIM can achieve was pretty eye opening. Seeing that the key points of BIM are its ability to include so many different facets of the project, definitely shows the advantages it has over the standard AutoCAD approach. Now I pose the question that any owners are thinking in which do you think that perhaps these functionalities might be a little overkill and the time invested in it could find one lacking in its returns? 

Hello Michael,

You raise many points that were brought up during last week's guest lecture, and they seem pretty valid. I am intrigued, however, in the ownership of the model and what problems will that incur. I definitely think this a valid point that owners might be wary of depending on the project. If I were to geek out on this point, I'd raise the question of what happens to projects that are "classified" in which contractors are tasked in designing an impenetrable bunker for the president and its design must be kept a secret. How do they ensure the model sharing is controlled and that nothing was leaked? I guess this is my fantastical side bleeding through but always did make me wonder. I guess that's where the legend comes from with Ivan the terrible blinded the designer of Saint Basil's Cathedral to prevent him from recreating it elsewhere... but who knows.

B2-Mynaugh

For this week's blog post, the topic of discussion is reviewing the BIM handbook and, more specifically, Chapter 2, "Core Technologies and Software." This chapter discussed just where it addressed the progression of how these tools were used from creating simple geometric shapes to doing full recreation of a combustion engine. The part I would like to hone in on is the most common way that BIM is used. This being the ability for it to reviewing drawings for errors. This is quelling the natural inclination that BIM is used for drawing in that its ability to detect the mistakes in models that aren't easily seen. They give examples that when integrating different types of models from estimations to scheduling, it is able to automate and pick out any outlying errors so they can be corrected. This done by the ability to create 'rule sets' in which the program can effectively run "if-then" statements through one's design saying that, for example, this doorway must have a light switch within 6 ft of it. The program would run this through, and if a door did not meet this criterion, then it would call it out to be fixed. I believe that once a user gets familiar with the process and builds up a big enough database from past projects using this method, the way one designs and draws could be significantly improved in both quality and time taken.

Reference: Eastman, Chuck, et al. BIM Handbook : A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Designers, Engineers, Contractors, and Facility Managers, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/lib/drexel-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5447327.


Comments

Hey Vishist,

 Reading over your blog, your views on how this growing technology will have on the construction field was quite interesting. As I said in muy post that having estimators and designers utilizing this technology can greatly improve their efficiency. Your points on the networking aspect in how its ability for teams to collaborate easier speaks to both our views in that this will only be a boon for the industry. I do wonder what the limit factors that are preventing this process from catching on sooner.

Hey Liam,


I liked your review of chapter 5 of the BIM handbook in that how it showed the uses of such programs. Like you, I discussed the common applications of BIM in our fields, and that surprisingly enough that the reviewing capabilities is one of the most common. As you said, for an estimator to do takeoffs of a building by using a program that helps automate the process can be very much worthwhile. I harp on this point due to one of my past co-ops in which I was an estimator that had to do a lot of busywork that had me grinding away through drawings that could be made easier utilizing a BIM program.


Hey Andre,

Quite the interesting post you have here. The augmented reality, in particular, has piqued my interest. The fact, as you said, allows the client to really see the product the team is designing can really pay off in the long run. Say that the client had something totally different in mind, and when they were shown the sample in augmented reality, they'd be able to convey their likes and dislikes hopefully before any real damage is done. Or you can take the other side of the coin and perhaps have a client that is wishy-washy in what they want, and when they finally see your design in virtual completion, it could sway them in committing to your team's vision. Overall, like you, I know this tool as a way t increases the efficacy of your team's time as well as the overall experience for the client.

Blog 1 : Mynaugh

 For the first blog post, we had to complete; I was responsible for reading about the topics of AI, Computers, software, and the Future. 

For the AI portion, I decided to read something I was not all too familiar with, and that is farming. How High Tech Is Transforming One of the Oldest Jobs: Farming is an article about a California based company that seeks to improve techniques used by farmers. They create software and develope auto-steer systems to plan out perfect planting rows as well as maximizing coverage. They describe how the labor shortage has created a need for such devices for such equipment and that the wages for these drivers will grow and grow, costing farmers. The company Bear flag robotics also explains that their software used would also incorporate satellite imaginary to determine the best planting times as well as sensors to monitor the state of the soil to monitor nutrient levels. These innovations are great leaps in agriculture, and I believe they are the first steps in fighting world hunger through more efficient growing tactics.

https://www.evernote.com/pub/aengineer/ae-510?linked=580959c7-1db9-431a-b15f-c5b16c358c3c&newReg=false#st=p&n=947f870e-25a3-4b39-8626-76c314e867e7&t=03ca947a-fa7c-48da-b621-c410f674d57f

The next article is concerning computers and which are everpresent in our lives, whether it being on your phone, a desktop tower or even in one's fridge. However, we can reflect on where they all came from and that the best computers use to take up a whole room. These supercomputers have been surpassed by the tiniest of devices; however, there are still massive versions of these and the article I read about (Huge Supercomputers Still Exist. Heres What They're Being Used for Today) depicts the modern supercomputer. As in the first days of these goliaths supercomputers, today are used for scientific research but on a grander scale. They are tasked with running very complex simulations from cancer protein folding simulations to stock market tracking. The caveat to how these are alike and different is the size of them. The immense scale of the computers before the advent of the internet was mainly due to storage needs. With today's cloud sharing capabilities, that problem has very much been made irrelevant and that the physical storage they need can very easily be substituted with smart technology. The are forays into greater computing devices that are said to make all of these innovations seem like childs-play, and that is due to the coming of quantum computing. I've have read in an article a while back that this quantum computing could unlock a technological revolution, but I am starting on a tangent, so here is where I'll end this portion here.

https://www.evernote.com/pub/aengineer/ae-510?linked=580959c7-1db9-431a-b15f-c5b16c358c3c&newReg=false#st=p&n=c1797e7e-57d7-4b25-b2bd-0ea0ee74c18e&t=e85a4816-bda5-44be-8eb3-095c2c9b26ed

The third topic, as stated before, is that of software. One article I felt was relevant to our field is the implementation of VR in the workplace."How Virtual Reality is Augmenting Realty" depicted examples of how the software came from science fiction to science fact and is being used by all sorts of fields. The author revealed that construction companies used VR software with an Ipad to show a rendering of the 74-story skyscraper on the construction site to visualize better how it would integrate with surrounding buildings. This augmented reality stated in the article can help see potential problems ahead of time by allowing design and construction teams better coordinate the result with potential issues throughout the project. In the VR/AR serves as a great communication tool that will be commonplace in most construction projects.

https://www.evernote.com/pub/aengineer/ae-510?linked=580959c7-1db9-431a-b15f-c5b16c358c3c&newReg=false#st=p&n=e6ecea76-8a3e-4bb1-9e97-826adc8f08a5&t=71c38867-fda4-4827-94a3-8aed57e05030

The last article reviewed was in the context of the future, which is itself a broad term. I seek to narrow this search by equating it to future technology. The article (The Tech That Will Invade Our Lives in 2020) describes potential trends that will make themselves a reality in 2020. The one that stood out to me as this is relevant to our course is the rise of smart homes. This being a synonym for intelligent buildings, the article states that "In December, Amazon, Apple, and Google came to what appeared to be a truce: They announced that they were working together on a standard to help make smart home products compatible with one another." This crossplay method makes it easier for the consumer to begin their forays into modernizing their homes with any smart home technology. This 'united front' these companies are taking shows great hopes in what the next advances in smart home technology will be.

https://www.evernote.com/pub/aengineer/ae-510?linked=580959c7-1db9-431a-b15f-c5b16c358c3c&newReg=false#st=p&n=b15d7680-c04d-4bcc-9d21-8910d8ba54dd&t=df61eb02-f50b-454a-bd8b-0e016822db0b

Comments

Hey Mike,
I briefly discussed the possibilities of quantum computers in my first blog post as well. It's pretty crazy how that we as a society are on the cusp of something that can so radically change our way of living. As you said, astronomically hard calculations could be done in seconds. I cannot begin to fathom what this could do to so many fields, whether its in medical research in which we find cures to almost any disease, or we accelerate our space program hundreds of years. This may be my geeky side, but this could make science fiction a reality which both exciting and a little terrifying.

Hey Jake

Looking about the portion about databases, I have a feeling we have a shared mindset in how crazy it in what one can retrieve from looking at one's search history. As you said, advertisements do this very same thing and probably even more. If I happen to google something like headphones, I'll get bombarded for ads on other sites like Facebook or Amazon to see if I'm interested in buying a new set. The scarier thing though is even if I'm just talking out about a subject, I'll see it appear on websites which indicate our technology is always listening in. I know I might be putting on my foil hat, but the way that geofencing, as well as how the ambiguous 'they' are listening in, is a direct result of growing technology.

Hey Madeleine,

It seems that the AI take over is upon us. But in all seriousness, your post caught my eye in that how our society's outlook to artificial and like mine are cautious in how AI is developing over the last few years.   It first started with the general public when Siri came out with Apple's iPhone. I know this is technically a Voice Assistant, but when people think of AI, they tend to see Alexa and Siri as prominent examples. As I posted on other's blogs that it is pretty scary of what information and be collected from them, and in turn, we are becoming dependent on this ease of access.

About Me: Brian Mynaugh

Hello Everyone,

Starting my foray into this intelligent building class we as a class are tasked in creating blogs throughout the term. This one is introductory of what I as a student bring to the class.

About myself, my name is Brian Mynaugh; I'm currently a senior doing a double major as both civil and an Architectural degree with the Architectural portion focussing on Digital Building. I'm primarily an AutoCAD user gaining a thorough proficiency in it while my use in Revit is only at an Introductory level.

What I am seeking from this course is to further my experience with Revit and gain passible knowledge to have relevant speaking points on the aspects of intelligent buildings.

For my first research with the last name of Mynaugh, I had to review blogs with relevancy to  Sociology, Sensors, and BIM itself. Out of the three, the one that intrigued me the most is that of sociology. The article I read about was that of how technology is changing our expectations of what can be accomplished as a human. In other words how we are setting unreasonable goals as we compare them to the efficiency of a computer. this effectively reduces people down to what they can achieve much like the efficiency of a robot. This train of thought was brought about by seeing the working conditions of Amazon employees and the standards they face.


What is an intelligent building? In my eyes, it is one that uses technology to control aspects of the building using autonomous means.

Students in the Intelligent Building

These students are taking Intelligent Building in AY19-2.   This post is mostly here to allow creation of the labels.

Varsha Ajith Abdulrahman Alhafath Dane Bell Douha Alqudaihi Mika Awai Isabel Brooks Cory Christopher Manon Flamini Jacob Hall Brian Huynh Vishist Jain Spencer Kociba Amanda Kolar Abigail Kryszan Michael Manley Reece Masucci Brian Mynaugh Andrew Norris Liam Ossenfort Stephen Pettit Pritesh Prajapati Michael Sciarra Ina Sison Madeleine Walker-Elders