Carlos Hillinger - AE410 - B4
Term Project
My project is going to explain how we can use new emerging technologies to improve lives in developing countries. It will explain how the use of technologies that are changing the way we build in developed countries can directly impact in the economy and development of underdeveloped countries. The project will focus on solving construction-related problems, but will also address other areas such as healthcare and farming.
I will address the main factors impacting the difficulty to develop of some countries and compare them to other countries with similar characteristics that have managed to developed. This factors are the countries' government and their geography & meteorology. I will also include some benefits of building in such countries, such as less regulations that will make engineers' lives easier.
Other topics I will address are "main problems to be solved" and "technologies already being implemented" in the construction industry of developing countries. I will vaguely research and write on most topics because I do not want to loose focus on my main point, which is how to implement new technologies to improve construction and lifestyle in developing countries. As I will focus on construction, I will also write about improving farming, healthcare and resource provision, which in my opinion are critical to think about when looking to improve a lifestyle or construction methods.
The main technologies I will research on, and think how to apply them will be: "3D Printing", "BIM technologies", "Robotics" and "Online Education". Most of the previously stated technologies we have talked about in class. The reason why I included Online Education is because it is "newly" developed technology, and because I believe that to improve a country you can't just do things for them, but show them how to do them, give them the tools, and allow them to build their own country.
I will finish my project by showing two real life scenarios and how to improve those countries with the technologies I researched and each of their unique characteristics. So far, I chose to use Venezuela and Madagascar as my scenarios, because of their uniqueness, but I may end up changing them.
Finally, I will write a conclusion on whether I think my research was helpful and how someone (or me) could continue to research and write about this topic. I hope my topic will help my classmates understand how to address construction problems in undeveloped countries with technology, and make them aware of their situations to inspire them to contribute to this cause in the future.
Comments:
Kerry:
Kerry, I think you chose a very interesting topic. Technology is not something we can only use to improve the way we build, but also to improve the way we use our building. I think that appliances is something that definitely falls under ways of using our building. It could also be fun to look into other technological improvements that you can add to a construction. A good example is induction charging for electrical vehicles. It was actually implemented in a residential building for the first time here in Philadelphia, in the building Walnut 500, which opened this year.
Sherry:
Sherry, I enjoyed reading your post, it is definitely a very important technology to look at. The advances in BIM and Revit will allow us to change we build and change the way we address a problem in any construction. I like that you mentioned that Revit could help you predict how would a building react to extreme weather conditions. It is a long shots but with good research as backup, you could make some very interesting points about it.
Nay Ye Oo:
Sonny, I think yours is one of the most interesting topics I have read so far. Maybe I find it interesting because I also share a concern for all these emerging technologies. It is something I will also consider in my project, maybe not to the same extent, but will definitely share a similar perspective to yours. I also think that advances in construction is going to affect the amount of engineers needed in the field, but I would predict at least 10 years until we see an important impact. I would love to read your project once you are done, as well as discuss this problems in class. Great topic.
I am coming from a developing country, so I can understand your statement about difficulty in applying new technology to improve lives on these countries. In fact, lack of investment, group of interest and law regulations in construction are tightening any innovative idea that is trying to emerge to the public. There is one problem that I want to share with you. It is about operating and maintaining those technologies which you will present about in Week 10. There is a huge probability that it would require high budget, and high-skill engineers to maintain technological devices, and the local government would practice corruption while operating those devices. Anyway, I am looking forward for your presentation, which I will reserve as one of the options to discuss while going back to home.
ReplyDeleteHello Dung, thank you for your comments. I will certainly keep that in mind when developing my project. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me.
DeleteCarlos,
ReplyDeleteI like how you will talk about the technology development levels for different countries. It will be interesting to see what challenges some countries face, while other countries are able to avoid the same problems. As someone who was born in America and have only been immersed in our construction industry, it may be eye opening to me seeing some of the things we take for granted, being a novelty elsewhere. I hope you don't stay too vague in your report, as you mentioned above, just so there is enough substance and information for each country.
It seems like your topic is a little broad. For your own benefit, you may want to try to narrow it down since you are essentially trying to improve all aspects of these countries. I think the construction development research is very interesting, however. I would be interested in knowing how to help these countries develop with a budget. I am sure that this is something that would have trouble funding, so it may be important for you to figure out the least expensive, most effective option to supporting these countries. Best of luck on your project and I look forward to seeing how your project develops.
ReplyDeleteCody, thank you for your comments. As I mentioned above, I will not try to improve all of their aspects, I will vaguely talk about all aspects while focusing on the construction industry.
DeleteCarlos, I like how you are taking your topic and focusing it on other countries. technologies here are so advanced and able to accomplish so much that it is not a common thought or even a clear understanding of how other countries are developing their infrastructures. I like how you are going to research the background on the area as to understand the dynamics and limitation that may be imposed on building structures, economically and politically and even availability of resources.
ReplyDeleteCarlos,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic to focus on. I believe that the main area to focus most of your time on is the 3D printing. In many underdeveloped countries their infrastructure limits their abilities tremendously. I believe looking further into 3D printing of bridges for countries like this is time well spent. Will we ever get to the point where it will be more economical to send a team of 2 or 3 guys and some “robots” to construct bridges for these countries? I believe looking at some of the economical aspects of all of these new technologies is also a beneficial route to look into. I only bring this up because in this country, I believe the main reason as to why the construction industry has not changed is due to the fact that technology is expensive and we don’t need it. We have been building buildings, roads, bridges, etc. for hundreds of years without robots, scanners, and more so why change it?
Carlos,
ReplyDeleteI love your topic. More so because I believe that it is very applicable. Coming from a basically a developing country, I can definitely see how this is applicable and important. I do worry that there is too much information to cover within the scope of your topic. So I would like to suggest narrowing to one or two topics just like you did with the case study examples and elaborate on it. Great job!