B6: Course Reflection

During this course we learned about a multiple technologies including BIM programs, AI applications in construction, and studied concepts about how technology with advance in the future. The most significant assignment for me was the group project in which Samantha and I studied how Dynamo could be useful in our senior design project's Revit file. We tried to automate how the rooms where number, how to count elements in our file, and how to code the occupancy throughout the spaces. This was a really good way to practice, especially with the tutorials we followed. I think the same concept applied for the assignment on Microsoft Access because we had a guide of what to do but were able to make it our own and learn the program through the process of trial and error. Since my major is digital building systems I feel that learning these programs will help me save a lot of time when creating drawings so that my time can be spent on more detailed items rather than tedious/repetitive things.

I also really enjoyed the group activities and discussing our ideas about what technology would be like in the future for our weekly blogs. Although a lot of the time we had goofy answers and over exaggerated, it made us be able to think of really creative ideas and made the class really fun. I think that allowing us to be imaginative and slightly unrealistic with our ideas at first lead us to research into topics that weren't actually that far off. For example, my groups underwater data center started off as a fun idea and then when we really researched it we discovered that - although its expensive- it's very possible and Microsoft has been developing that technology.

My biggest takeaway from this course was that technology is not as far away from the advancements that people may believe to be unrealistic. Concrete blocks are being 3D printed, BIM technologies can help predict how outdoor conditions will effect a buildings indoor qualities, AI systems and sensors are monitoring conditions within buildings to keep them more consistent than ever, and robot dogs are doing back flips. The possibilities are endless but it is also our responsibility to make sure what we create is safe. I hope to apply these concepts to my career by being able to connect smart devices in a building to a network in order to make a cohesive controls system within a building to help regulate and monitor conditions from a phone (ex: Nest for heating and cooling).