Sarah Hollis - Reflection

Firstly, a number of skills have been gained which, as well as being CV worthy, will help directly with future employment; these are Revit and Databases. As well as this we have learnt about AI and Robotics which has helped me to predict the future. Predicting the future is not just an interesting topic of conversation. It can help when choosing which job to go for, or which programs to spend time learning. With the world seeming to be switching to 3D, one can predict that Revit is still extremely worth while learning, whereas AutoCad is getting dated and may not be around for much longer. This is not to say that all technologies which are not brand new are worth throwing in the bin. Databases still have a use in todays world. They provide a mechanism to organize, locate and change huge groups of data with ease.
Learning how to create a family was one of my favorite and worthwhile tasks in this module. Whilst being helpful for future employment, it also showed how Revit works with reference lines and grids. This knowledge can be applied to many more tasks on Revit to get a successful outcome.

Andrew,

I agree that this is a course that I would not normally have chosen and it covered topics about the future which I had never really thought about before. It has definitely given me some useful knowledge which could definitely impress future employers.

Dee Dee,

I also really enjoyed the guest speakers. It was nice to hear about their experience in the industry as well their opinions about the future projections for the construction industry. It was a different approach as we do not tend to have guest speakers in my other modules but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thach-Course Reflection

Overall, I really enjoyed the class. The purpose of the course was to have students become more comfortable with the technologies that make a building an intelligent building. Also, to make students aware of the different databases that designer and owners use to collect and find data. I believe that this was accomplished by Prof. Mitchell. After the class I am not more comfortable using Parametric Design applications like Revit and I now have an understanding of how it can be used more in the industry. The Revit project was a great project to help students who never used Revit before get a simple introduction and for students are experienced a chance to get more practice with it outside of work.

I really enjoyed the concept of the blog post as it forced students to research different topics that all fall under the category of intelligent building. This includes artificial intelligence, sensors and networks. Adding the part where students comment each other’s work seemed like a lot of work but it was helpful because it allowed us to learn from each other and understand people’s perspective on the various topics. I believe that this class has taught students a lot about topics we were not aware of before, thus making students more prepared for the future.

My favorite component of the class was the videos and the guest lecturers. I think they were very helpful and insightful. The topics that were discussed were interesting and the lecturers made students very comfortable. For students who were on fringe about entering that specific field, it helped guide them to the right field. In terms, of things I did not like, I just wish that we were given a bit more time to complete the individual projects. I felt rushed at times and felt that it was one of the reasons why some of my projects lacked detail. In conclusion, I think I learned a lot from this course and I am happy that I had the opportunity to take before graduating.

Comments

Dee Dee:

I agree with you because the guest lecturers were one of my favorite parts of the class. I think that they brought their expertise to each lecture. I too think the new overwhelming movement of robotics and AI is worrisome just because I’m afraid that it will lead to the demise of the human race but it can be because I am paranoid.

Lauren,

I really enjoyed you personal input about the applications you use at work and how you were able to tie it into the things that were covered in class. Your thoughts about sensors was really good and you made some really insightful points.

Brad,

I really enjoyed you blog post, I think it was very insightful and you summarize the benefits of the class very well. I like how you were about to tie in your other classes into post. INFO 210 did teach us about the theory of database but it was helpful that this class had us actually create and edit our own database using something other than SQL.

Week 10 - Course Reflection - Nay Ye Oo

AE 510: Course Reflection

I came into this course with no knowledge about what the term Intelligent Building means at all. And I expected to learn more about what makes a building intelligent and how technology is applied in the field of civil, architectural and environmental engineering. As a BSMS student, I talked to some seniors about to complete the program and they recommended me to take this course because there were some principles and projects that would help out in future classes. Now that I have taken this course, I do see the value in the projects assigned in this class and how useful it is - database project.

I always liked excel and would use it as much as possible in any type of project during my Drexel life as a student and being exposed to Microsoft Access was an eye opener. I might not have been able to complete achieve a full understanding of the program's capability but now I can pick it up whenever I have the time to explore its full functionality better and be able to apply it in my future career.

My favorite parts of this class would be the lecturing videos that feature any type of innovative technology or application of it in the construction industry and the guest lecturers that Professor Mitchell brings to class. I always categorized the CAEE engineering as the most archaic type of engineering, at least when comparing to similar engineering branches such as computer, electrical and mechanical. Personally, the videos shown in class are a bit stretched out in the sense that using AI in construction is plausible but not efficient enough in terms of cost. But give or take a couple decades and we might just be seeing an actual impact of technological advances in construction. The more palpable improvement we can see is in the design phase. Software such as AutoCAD, Revit, Naviswork, Rhino, Grasshopper and more have all definitely made our lives as civil and architectural engineers easier and more efficient.

So to conclude, I am glad I took this class as my grad elective as it is an eye-opener for me to remind me that the engineering path I chose still has a lot of more room for development. It is just a matter of time and resources.


Comments

Johnson
Good point on talking about the applicability of this class in our future profession. I definitely got exposed to naviswork and software that are 'next-level' to that of Revit. And since I am planning to pursue a career in design, I think it is very helpful to have taken this class. For your final project, 3D laser scanning sounds like an interesting piece of niche knowledge to pick up on so I am glad this course was also helpful to you too.

Odorizzi
It seems that we picked up interesting and beneficial nuggets of information from this class. Databases was completely new to me so it was great to have another tool to add to our belts of engineering knowledge. Unfortunately, I did not have as much prior Revit experience to expand on that front. So kudos to being able to take the extra mile with the Revit project and even making your Final project about it. Hopefully I get to watch you present on Thursday.

Tufano
It is nice to be able to meet with fellow BSMS students in our undergraduate classes because it gives us a chance to work with 'like-minded' people. Also majority of the class is based on class discussions, online discussions and group work where everyone gets a chance to collaborate and discuss. I think this sense of non-traditional way of teaching really shines out compared to the more traditional approach of lecturing and listening because I get to work with a group of people who have such different ideas and opinions that the learning experience is exciting and informative.

B7 - Maita

I, initially, enrolled into AE 410 because it was a professional elective that fit my schedule and seemed to be interesting and somewhat relevant to my major. After ten weeks, this course has been a lot more than I thought it was going to be. It was a course that was sort of based on getting out of it what you put into it. Professor Mitchell presented the class with a lot of information on the topics covered and at some times that information was overwhelming. But it was presented in a way where it could be easily understood and used in the in-class assignments. Although we covered some topics that I thought I was familiar with (Revit, BIM, etc.) other topics like databases and even some aspects of Revit and CAD, like Dynamo, that I had no idea existed. One aspect of the class that I really enjoyed were the blog posts. Although they seemed somewhat repetitive and tedious, it was informative to read other students opinions and thoughts on the topics we were learning in class. The blog post format was also set up that depending on what group you were in, you researched different topics. I think I learned a lot more about these topics from reading student’s interpretations than I would have by reading the articles myself.

I think that Intelligent Buildings was a really great class that provided me information that I probably would never have learned if I never took the class. Being an AE with a structural concentration, my major tract never really touches on many of these topics in depth. I think that AE 410 provided relevant information even though it was not directly related to my concentration. Going forward in the rest of my time at Drexel and in my profession career, I would want to learn more about the topics of intelligent buildings. The field is ever changing as technology becomes more and more advanced and it can be used to improve buildings from every aspect, including the design phase and the implemented technologies.

Comments:
Dee Dee: I agree with your point about the guest lecturers; I think that having someone come in and explain and show how all the technology and things we were learning in class are used in industry added to the class.

Sarah: I think also that the Revit project was one of the more enjoyable parts of the class. I do not have a great background in Revit so it was cool to learn how to do some of the more technical things like making a family.

Brad: I agree that the way the scheduling of the class was set up was beneficial to learning. It gave Professor Mitchell a lot of time to go over the topics he was presenting in full without having to rush through anything.

Dee Dee Strohl - Blog 7

Final Reflection

Like a lot of my classmates have said, AE 410 was like no other class I have taken at Drexel. It covered topics I was only briefly introduced to and allowed me to explore them further. The class was interesting and relevant to my major without being computation based. Though geared towards the digital building concentration, I still found it helpful as a mechanical concentration—especially with the discussion of sensors and BAS. Spending several weeks talking about topics allowed for a well-rounded discussion of them.  The class structure allowed you to learn a lot about the subjects, present what you’d learned, and discuss with your classmates. I liked that we had time to discuss with our groups and work with others for the final project. It’d made the class more interactive and expanded my knowledge by using my classmates as resources.

The discussion of robots and AI was something I had only briefly learned about. Though incredibly interesting, I also find it worrisome. Robots and AI are such a powerful tool and we need to be cautious with how we use it. Though I already used Revit and other BIM software in other classes and at co-op, I had no experience with databases. That portion of the class was entirely new to me and gave me a perspective as to how they work and where they would be useful. With both BIM and databases, the class gave everyone a basic understanding that could be transferred into our classroom and other future experiences.

Not only is Professor Mitchell a wealth of knowledge, bringing in guest presenters to show their experiences with the topics was also helpful. It was cool to hear how this software impacts their jobs and where they see the future of the technology going. One point that I saw as a theme in the class is that this technology is ever-changing and that we need to be prepared to learn with those changes. Keeping that idea in mind while finishing up at Drexel and moving on to a career will be critical. Though the powers of Revit and BIM in general are amazing, it’s only a quick stop in the timeline of the technology—it will continue to expand in capabilities and user understanding.

Overall, I learned a lot in the class and looked at topics I was not familiar with. I was able to connect with my classmates through discussions and use them as resources in understanding what we were learning about the technology and the application of them. I initially took the class to check off part of the professional elective requirement, but ended up seeing how relevant it is in the design and construction fields today.

COMMENTS:

Allison Abad:

I agree that this class was a nice break from the computation-based classes we usually see as engineers, it was a nice way to see a different aspect of the field and hear from people already in the industry. Like you, the database was a challenge for me but was practical for our majors. The class was geared towards digital building concentrations, but it was still interesting and insightful as a mechanical concentration.

Brad DiGiovanni:

I agree that the class schedule was nice—we were able to take a couple weeks to dive into each topic. Prof. Mitchell is very knowledgeable in these topics and did a great job of spreading that knowledge to us. I agree that the class did open our minds to the ever-changing technology of our society, though it worries me. We must embrace the changes or be left behind, but if technology goes too far, we could be in trouble.

Lauren Kujawa:

Like you, I’m unsure how often I will use the database knowledge we learned in this class, but all the topics we discussed were interesting and could become relevant to our jobs as time progresses. Andrew and I also wrote our paper on the differences between green and intelligent buildings. I also have learned about green buildings from other classes so seeing the intelligent building side was a positive change.

B7 - Wahbeh

Final Reflection:

Over this term I found this class super interesting as I've never taken a class looking at how future technologies can affect our industry. Civil engineering sometimes gets the connotation as an outdated and old profession although with our history can allow for better understanding of how we can impact the profession.

This can be done through intelligent building knowledge with elements in AI, Sensors, BIM, Databases, and design software. Throughout the duration of this course I learned a lot from different elements of Revit modeling, BIM modeling, Microsoft Access, and sensor modeling and being able to apply it to a program for an example project. Although technical knowledge was a fundamental skill from this course, I learned a great deal about how these different emerging technologies affect projects today and how they can affect them in the future.

This course I believe opened my eyes to another part of civil engineering and also motivated me for when I enter the workforce to explore different possibilities. I see myself using the application of BIM wherever I end up and also continuing my learning of future technologies.

In my final project, I chose a difficult project at analyzing sensors with BIM technology. Although I struggled to gain insight into this integration I learned a great deal about building science big data and the amount of sensors in smart buildings today.

Responses:

Marino, I liked how you saw all the opportunities in this course to be able to apply to your career. I love to see when other get as excited about growing technologies as I am. There is more to learn and I apprea

Liu, I liked your response to the organization of this course. I too enjoyed how the class was organized and how the flow of the class was.

Xiao, It was interesting to hear your transition into digital building concentration. Also I agree how all these practical exercises helped us understand the overlying theory.

B7 - Course Reflection, Odorizzi

AE 510 fostered discussion about the future and new technologies that I had not taken time to consider carefully before. It was refreshing to gain awareness of how new technologies are integrating into the construction industry and project how these developments will impact our future professions. I think it was useful to break down some of these developments at a fundamental level to help build our understanding of the topic, namely with BIM and databases. Having worked with Revit in the past, I was able to expand upon my previous knowledge of Revit through our family assignment, as well as by diving into depth with an interdisciplinary model for the term project. Databases were a topic I had never pursued in the past. I found the discussion of databases very interesting, and it was a useful tool to gain exposure to for future uses.

Another aspect of the course that I enjoyed were the blog posts. As annoying as they often are to complete, I enjoyed reading through other classmates’ posts and seeing their thoughts. Fo topics such as the introduction to databases, I found it a great way to compile information about the topic without reading in depth about each topic ourselves. The in-class blog posts that we did early in the term felt forced and I did not like those - but the weekly blog posts were enjoyable.

With regard to the course’s impact on my profession and future, it has definitely motivated me to investigate the technologies and software at the forefront of the industry. For example, Dynamo is in-built feature of Revit 2017 and I would be interested in spending some time exploring its capabilities. Other facets, such as impact detection software, would also be super interesting to learn. Gaining a knowledge of these niches may be advantageous in industry to set myself apart from other engineers, and would likely be a source of increased efficiency if I am able to gain proficiency in the software. AE 510 gave a very interesting overview of the concept of intelligent buildings and the technologies arising today to make these types of buildings possible.

Comment to Lauren Kujawa

I echo your comment that many of the topics and discussions we had in class were new to me - and I also enjoyed thinking about technology and aspects of intelligent buildings that I had never considered before. I would challenge your statements that both databases and sensors are not applicable to your career. Without knowing your concentration, I feel like databases and sensors have become integrated into our regular usage that we don’t recognize all of them. Perhaps you will not need to know the inner workings of the sensors like Professor Mitchell pushed us to explore, or need to craft a database from scratch, but I would be very surprised if your professional career was entirely void of databases and sensors.

Comment to Malik Anibaba

After reading your post, you made me think about “what did I expect of this course when I started,” and I think you articulate well that AE 510 encompassed a much broader scope with big-picture ideas that I was anticipating. I also discussed in my post the benefit of the blog posts to help the class collectively cover more content. I thought many of the topics we discussed were very interesting, and I agree that these discussions will help prepare us for the professional world.

Comment to Alyssia Deutsch

The classroom in the cadlab is ALWAYS cold - it’s absurd. I like how you discuss the blend between your technical knowledge and the real-life application of that knowledge that we discussed in AE 510. I think that is a key benefit to the course - it builds awareness of the technology being integrated into our profession. Now you know that you may need to read up on some AI applications for CMU design. I similarly felt that the course offers motivation to learn about these new software, like Dynamo, and continue to read and remain aware of the technologies associated with an Intelligent Building.