Course Reflection

As the term comes to a close, it is important to reflect on what was learned, what I got out of AE 510, and how I can apply the knowledge I gained to my future career. I think the experience I got from this course was through multiple avenues, but I should begin by saying that AE 510 was not exactly what I anticipated when I signed up for the course. At the beginning of the term, I assumed that with the title “Intelligent Buildings” the course would focus on what makes an intelligent building and the various components of an intelligent building that allow it to operate dynamically and intelligently, While perhaps more practical and applicable to my career, what we actually learned were various software packages and systems that are used within the AEC industry, in particular, BIM (Revit) and databases. This is not to say that I did not enjoy what was taught in the course, it just wasn’t necessarily what I anticipated based purely on the title.

With all of that being said I believe that AE 510 was extremely valuable as an aspiring structural engineer. In particular, I know for a fact that my upcoming co-op at EwingCole will require the use of Revit regularly. While not proficient by any stretch of the imagination, I certainly feel more comfortable with the software having used it a great deal throughout the term. Aside from the technical skills and experience, I feel as though the in class discussions regarding BIM, how it works, and how it can better be utilized in the future, will serve me greatly in the professional work environment, allowing me to pick up on new types of tasks and areas of Revit I would not necessarily know about if I didn’t take AE 510.

While I don’t anticipate regularly using a database in my immediate future, they are certainly a tool that is used within the AEC industry and beyond, one in which I now have a basic grasp on. Before taking this class, I believed a database to be no different than an excel spreadsheet--a place to put and organize data. I now recognize, through AE 510, that databases are powerful tools that allow the creation of extensive relationships between various types of data. And while I do not intend to focus on data manipulation in my career, I absolutely see the value in databases and can now talk about them intelligently, something I could not say before this class.

Overall, while not necessarily what I expected, I believe AE 510 is a class that introduced me to topics and provided me with exposure and practice in heavily utilized tools within the AEC industry. I hope to use the skills I learned on my upcoming co-op and beyond, as I begin my professional career path.

Comments:

Alec: I'm glad you went out on a limb and decided to take part in this course, even though it is outside your major. It seems as though you got a lot out of the class and that there may even be some layover with your interests in the automotive industry (sensors, specifically). Overall, I think it will definitely serve you well in the future, to know the basics of a fast moving industry that very well may have some overlap into your field as well.

Harvin: You bring up a good point about the guest lecturers, one which I forgot to even touch on. It was really great to hear from a wide range of industry experts and professionals about how what we're learning applies to the real world; that's not something you get in a lot of classes but it certainly makes what you're doing in class feel more "real".

Tyler: Similar to you, I also only had experience with AutoCAD before this class, so at first, BIM was very intimidating to me. That being said, going into this class, I knew that my co-op would utilize Revit so I was looking for a class that would help me gain experience, which is why I was happy to take part in this course. For that reason, I agree with you when you say that your favorite part of the term was the Revit project as it was nice to gain experience in such an important and powerful program.

B5 - Relational Database Theory

A database is an organized set of data generally accessed across a computer system. Interaction between a database and the end user is generally done through the database management system which helps bridge the gap between the data and the user by interacting with and analyzing the data. When databases become more complex, computer scientists tend to rely on formal design and modeling techniques to understand and create databases. In general there are two primary types of databases: relational database systems which became popular in the 1980s and rely on rows, columns, and tables as well as a specific language known as Structured Query Language (SQL). More recently, non-relational databases gained popularity, typically referred to as NoSQL, however, I am going to briefly focus on relational databases for the purposes of this post.

Relational database theory was initially proposed by EF Codd in 1970. The model sorts data into tables (also called “relations”) of rows and columns. Rows, referred to as “tuples” represent instances of that type and columns represent values attributing to that instance. A relation is defined as a set of tuples that share the same attributes. Each row in a table has a unique key. Rows can be linked to other rows in other tables through the addition of a column for the key of the linked row. While the relational database theory continues and can get much more complex, I am just covering the very basics of relational database theory.

Relational database theory is used today, and is being implemented in some instances to improve efficiency. Amazon Aurora, for example is a relational database built for the cloud that “combines the performance and availability of high-end commercial databases with the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of open source databases” [1]. According to Amazon, Aurora is up to five times faster than standard databases and provides security and reliability without sacrificing costs by automating repetitive, time-consuming administration tasks such as “hardware provisioning, database setup, patching, and backups” [1].

While my knowledge of databases is still minimal (due to the fact that we have yet to cover them in class) I do look forward to learning about what a database is, the fundamentals of relational databases, and how they apply specifically to the AEC industry.


Sources:

[1] Amazon Aurora – Relational Database Built for the Cloud - AWS. (2019). Amazon Web Services, Inc.. Retrieved 12 February 2019, from https://aws.amazon.com/rds/aurora/
[2] Relational Databases 101: Looking at the Whole Picture. (2019). Agiledata.org. Retrieved 12 February 2019, from http://www.agiledata.org/essays/relationalDatabases.html
[3] Relational Database Theory. (2019). Archive.oreilly.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019, from http://archive.oreilly.com/oreillyschool/cours



Comments:

Alec: I really like your article. After doing research on databases, it was difficult for me to immediately envision ways that the AEC industry could directly utilize databases. I’m curious what percentage of firms use formal databases currently and how many use the idea of databases but in an informal, less efficient manner.

Ren: I enjoyed reading your take on this topic. You seemed to take a more technical approach explaining and defining the key terminologies. This was something I struggled to do as I still have not mastered databases conceptually. I think your explanation, specifically regarding the need for keys, was very thorough.

Yidi: Your article explains how databases can be utilized in the AEC industry. Similar to Alec’s article, you identify the array of data that a construction firm may need to keep track of at once, which, I agree, is certainly a place wherein databases can be utilized. My question is that for larger firms, it seems that databases are the only solution to managing this amount of data, so what are firms who aren’t using databases utilizing to keep track of their numbers? I’m curious what the alternatives are to databases. Great article though.

B4 - Project Description

For the AE 510 term project, I will be working with a friend in the class, Nick Maloney, designing a building model. AE 391 (Junior Design) requires the development of a mixed-use building on Drexel’s campus to house the CAEE and COMAD departments. We will be using our project as a vehicle to extend our current knowledge of BIM software. This will include a comprehensive building model (above and beyond the very basic project requirements) as well as an exploration into the use of Dynamo visual programming to expedite and automate aspects of the design process.

For this project, a focal point we have kept in mind is to not just use the basic design requirements for AE 391, but to enhance the project to go above and beyond, utilizing techniques and technologies learned in AE 510 to augment the building design. To document our progress throughout the term we have been keeping a journal of our progress as per Professor Mitchell’s suggestion. This will help keep us on track to ensure that we are reaching our goals and document our struggles, breakthroughs, and insights throughout the lifetime of the project.

As of now, the architectural system of the building has been designed to completion, with only minor changes being made to its form and aesthetic. This process took several weeks of hard work and was completed in Formit, AutoCAD, and, primarily, Revit. Currently, we are working on the structural design of the building, utilizing RAM to frame the building. We have also begun delving into Dynamo, a technology introduced to us in AE 510. As of now, we have a functioning script that will automatically insert dimensions between gridlines dynamically and we are continuously looking for ways to incorporate Dynamo in both our design, as well as documentation processes to increase our efficiency. If anyone reading this has experience with using Dynamo for a building design project and has suggestions as to areas it can be implemented to increase efficiency, please let me or Nick know, as this is an area that I see the most room for potential difficulties due to our lack of experience with the program.

Comments on Other Projects:

Alec: I find your topic really interesting. While we did delve into robotics and their use in the construction management sector a bit, I feel as though we did not go very in depth into the subject, likely because they are still a ways away from being fully integrated into this industry. Coming from a Mechanical Engineering background, it will certainly be interesting to hear your take and insight into the field of robotics, ways they are being utilized today, and perhaps areas of growth within the next 5-10 years. Best of luck on this project.


Christian: Wow, augmented reality in the CAE industry--how exciting! While to me, it seems like something out of a science fiction movie, it really is the natural next step to the building design interface. As you mentioned AR could vastly improve how we see conflicts and potential areas of concern in design as well as improve communication between the various stakeholders of a building. Imagine the mistakes that commonly happen during construction that could be prevented before construction begins due to a more complete picture of the design being seen by the designer and construction management team. I think this is a really cool topic and I hope that there is enough information online about this topic, but if the speaker last week said this was already being researched and experimented with in the field, then I am sure that sources of information will not be a problem.


Ren: As someone who has no experience in the healthcare field, the idea of building design within the field, and how many critical interchanging parts there are within a single building never really crossed my mind until I read your project description. At my previous co-op, I was designing small row-homes of wood construction, only using AutoCAD because of how simple the designs were--Revit simply wasn’t required. Structures within healthcare seem to be on the opposite end of the spectrum--they are so much more complex that Revit is actually critical to account for all details and aspects of a particular building. My only potential area of concern might be that this is too general--even within healthcare aren’t there a wide range of facility types and needs? Perhaps delving into the different types of buildings within the healthcare industry and their specific needs, could be a good idea. Just a thought. Really great stuff though, best of luck.

The Future of BIM and AEC

Last week, we watched the first half hour of Bill Allen’s “The Future of BIM will not be BIM-and It’s Coming Faster than You Think” speech from Autodesk University. In the talk, Allen predicts that within the next 10 years the AEC industry will change drastically towards the way of automation and what he calls “Building Information Optimization.” Allen claims that “rather than manually drawing walls, doors, and columns . . . we will feed the computer ‘rules’ instructing us a building’s optimal footprint, structural load capacity, and thermal performance.” In short, Allen is hypothesizing that in 10 years, the AEC industry will be exponentially faster through automation and a drastic acceleration in computing power applied to BIM technologies. While I do believe that this is the future of our industry, I think that a ten-year time frame is rather optimistic and unrealistic.

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In my opinion, the technologies described in Allen’s talk aren’t that far off from existing now -- many of the applications he discussed are already being implemented. The issue is rather, disseminating these technologies and methodologies into modern practice. In my limited experience in the AEC industry, I’ve worked for a very large company (Jacobs Engineering), a very small firm (Larsen and Landis), and will be working for a mid-sized firm (EwingCole) this Spring. Each of those firms had their own practices with their own procedures, some of which were on the cutting edge, but many of which were on the antiquated side of the technologies available. Both firms I have worked for still primarily used CAD-based design (both AutoCAD and Microstation) rather than BIM, a technology that Allen is saying is beginning to fall by the wayside. While my experience and scope of knowledge is extremely limited (so take it with a grain of salt), to say that the norm of the AEC industry in ten years will be near complete automation of design, when international firms such as Jacobs are still using Microstation and AutoCAD rather than Revit for some of their larger projects seems like a dubious claim. Again, this is not to say that these technologies aren’t already being adopted (Kayleigh from Burohappold, for example, showed us how Dynamo accelerated her processes tenfold), but rather that I don’t see them being uniformly adopted within the next 10 years.

To be clear, I believe that the technologies explained by Allen are the future of the AEC industry. With the power of automation in design and the acceleration of computation power, it only makes sense that the changes he predicted will be adopted and become the norm soon. However, seeing how long it has taken the AEC industry to adopt simpler technologies such as BIM and drones it is hard for me to believe that these technologies will be the norm in 10 years. As the older company principals and industry leaders who have concretized their methodologies begin to retire and clear the way for newer/younger management, I predict that we will begin to see changes such as those described by Allen, I predict, within 20-25 years rather than 10.

Comments:

Alec: I think your comments expand upon the points made by myself and peers, and I agree with the difficulties of implementation that you bring up. I think the only place that we disagree is the premise that these technologies will be integrated into the AEC industry within 10 years. You say that they will but with very hard work. I agree that it will be difficult but personally, cannot see there being enough of a push among industry leaders to accept these new methods of design. I think there are still far too many industry leaders who do things "the way they've always done them" and have a certain mentality about design that I just don't see being overcome within 10 years.

Nick: I agree with your comments wholeheartedly. I think a critical point that you brough up that I forgot to address was that of money. It just doesn't make sense for smaller firms to get involved with automative products such as Dynamo when they seem to be doing fine with Revit or even AutoCAD. This idea makes me think back to the last firm I co-oped at, Larsen and Landis. The 12 person firm rarely did designs larger than a simple rowhome, and therefore, didn't need anything more advanced than AutoCAD for drafting. Why would a company like Larsen and Landis spend an exorbinant amount of money on a product like Dynamo, have to completely retrain their staff, etc. when they are already getting tons of business from Architects that like their current methods and their finished products?

Jenny: Interesting take. I did not even entertain the possibility of incorporating 3D printing into building design as it relates to programs like Dynamo, but I can certainly see that being a prospect in the distant future. Of course, automated processes and machine learning will have to catch up in the industry and become wholly adopted in the AEC industry, so much in fact, that designing buildings without any automation will be considered archaic, and only then do I think the technologies of 3D printing as it relates to building construction will be combined with automated design. Of course, in the time it takes for the complete adoption of automation in AEC, the 3D printing industry will make large leaps as well, leading me to believe that this could potentially be showing up in around 50 years time. We are still a way away, but I like your interest in 3D printing.
 

B2 - A brief history of Parametric Modeling

3D modeling has been in development since the 1960s. The need for 3D graphical representation was clear, and many potential fields were looking to benefit from it, including engineers, architects, filmmakers, and game designers. The first major step occurred in 1973 when the ability to create and edit solid 3D volumes was developed independently by various institutions. In the early stages of 3D modeling, two major forms competed for dominance: the boundary representation approach (B-rep) and Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG). B-rep represented shapes as a closed set of bounded surfaces which was set by the user, and built-in computational functions in place to allow these shapes to have dynamic dimensions. Commonly used shapes were built into the software (such as cylinders, cones, cubes, pyramids, etc.) but abstract shapes could be user-defined and then extruded or revolved. In CSG, a shape was represented as a set of functions combined through both algebraic and boolean expressions. The primary difference between CSG and B-rep is that CSG stored an algebraic expression to define a shape while B-rep stored the results of the user provided definition as a set of operations. While this may not seem like a significant difference on paper, because the methods had major differences in their back-end systems, they also had major differences in their capabilities. For example, in CSG elements could be edited and regenerated on command, while B-rep was better for computing mass properties of solids, rendering, and checking conflicts between objects.

Interestingly enough, it was eventually realized that these two methods should be combined allowing for editing within the CSG tree. By utilizing the editing capabilities of CSG and combining them with the visual benefits of the B-rep display interface, more complex designs could be made from compositions of basic shapes. Today, practically all parametric modeling tools use this combination for both editing and visualization. Without this innovation, modern parametric modeling would be impossible.

While seemingly unimportant, I think it is interesting to delve into the history of such a powerful design tool to help further our current understanding of the system and platform. Moreover, after knowing this information, I will surely keep it in mind and perhaps have a deeper understanding and appreciation of Revit as I begin utilizing and becoming more comfortable with the software over this term and in my upcoming co-op.

Comments:

Alec: Interesting post. I found your point about construction managers being involved in a BIM model and the design process before the build phase true to an extent, however, there is something to be said about why this isn't always the case. In AE 390, we learned about the "Integrated Design Process" which is a method building design wherein all major stakeholders and designers in a building (i.e. architects, MEP engineers, structural engineers, construction managers, contractors, owner) take part in the design process from day one. This is contrary to the traditional method of an architect being commissioned to design a building, drawing plans, handing them off to the engineers, etc. with little to no communication between these stakeholders. In general, it seems that the integrated design process yields more effective and efficient buildings as all systems are working in harmony, however, from people I've talked to in the industry, it seems that this method isn't always used because it slows down the design process significantly. Here's a video if you're interested in the integrated design process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIX-J83lmaI

Gabe: I enjoyed your reflection on the chapter--it was interesting to see another take on the same reading that I did. While I focused more on the history of BIM you seemed to write more about the functionality of BIM (ie how it works and how it detects errors). It also seems clear to me that learning about how BIM works enhanced your previous knowledge and experience with Revit, giving you newfound knowledge and a new perspective on a program you are already familiar with. As someone who does not have an extensive Revit background, I will make sure to keep your comments regarding the parametric capabilities of Revit in mind when learning and gaining experience.

Jenny: I liked your post. Your main point--that BIM can be used by managers to prevent collisions and/or construction issues before construction and thus save money--is one that is extremely important but could often be overlooked by engineers. Our peer, Alec Silverstone, brought up a similar point saying that using BIM for clash detection can not only save money, time, and effort, but also can keep managers and construction teams more involved and "in the know" on the design process, something that can help create a more efficient building and save money in the longrun. 

Sources:
[1] Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook : A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. Vol. 2nd ed, Wiley, 2011. EBSCOhost, ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=364239&site=ehost-live.

B1 - Facebook, Fear, and the "Black Box" of AI

In the age of smartphones, automated vehicles, and even microwaves that connect to the internet, it is almost natural to get caught up in buzzwords and popular terminology such as AI, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, etc. While these terms likely mean little to many Americans, it is becoming rare to meet someone who does not own a smartphone which inherently utilizes software that incorporates the buzzwords that mean so little to those people and simultaneously allow smartphones to perform to their full potential such as mapping services like Google Maps or voice-assist capabilities like Siri, Cortana, and Google Assistant.

With such advanced capabilities in a constantly expanding and ever accelerating field, it is fair to question or even be concerned by what is actually taking place. Of course, major leaks in information such as Facebook’s data leak to political consultant Cambridge Analytica, which resulted in the improper data leakage of approximately 87 million users to a company employed by a 2016 United States presidential candidate, only add fuel to the fire of paranoia and fear among the public regarding privacy, data, and shared information. In episode #109 (entitled: Is Facebook Spying on You? [1] ) of the Gimlet Media podcast about the internet, Reply All, hosts Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt discuss the daunting reality of how much information websites like Facebook actually have on their users. The basic thesis of the episode is that, while to many users of Facebook it may seem like the social media platform listens to users through their smartphone microphones, in turn allowing them to place timely and well-targeted ads based on user’s recent interests, discussions, or purchases, it simply doesn’t need to based on all the information they already gather through other means. One basic example of this is a feature called Facebook Pixel, which is basically a way that Facebook can track what its users are doing all over the internet, even when not on Facebook. In the words of host Alex Goldman:

[Facebook Pixel is] installed on millions of websites. So when you go to one of these sites with Facebook Pixel on it, it watches what you do and reports that information back to Facebook. It can see how long you linger on a certain webpage, it can see if you purchase something, it can see if you put something in your cart on a website and decide not to buy it. It’s kind of like an internet surveillance camera. [1]

So, just with Pixel, Facebook can target ads to users based on the data it collects about what websites they’ve been on recently, what purchases they plan on making, what travel they plan on making, etc. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Facebook, among many companies that employ artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc. likely has such intensely layered, complex algorithms at play on the back end of their software, that it’s very possible that the vast majority of employees at Facebook don’t necessarily know how it all exactly works. So while companies like Facebook are notoriously private about how their algorithms and machine learning actually work, it’s very possible that they likely just don’t know, in an entirely comprehensive way, how things work.

So along with privacy issues, the idea of artificial intelligence being a “Black Box,” namely, the idea that data goes in one end and some desired output comes out another end without being entirely sure how it all happened, has certainly seeped into the public sentiment and general fear regarding AI. Already we see this fear of the unknown having tangible effects on the public; a report by AI Now Institute “recommended that public agencies responsible for criminal justice, health care, welfare, and education shouldn’t use such technology.” [2]  While varied in form, I believe the general “Black Box” fear boils down to the idea that computers, and in particular AI, are so advanced and integrated into our everyday lives and we have such a limited understanding as to how any of it actually produces the outputs that it does, that the consequences that can evolve from our lack of understanding as humans could one day have devastating effects, especially as AI continues to progress and software continues to accelerate its rate of learning.

So is this fear, namely, that AI’s seemingly magical and incredibly convoluted methods of producing wide-ranging results could potentially be dangerous or even devastating to society as a whole, valid? Should we run from the “black box” of artificial intelligence and the software that it produces? In my opinion, and the opinion of New York Times journalist, Vijay Pande, no. While in the world of science-fiction, computer learning naturally leads to the enslaving of humans, the lack of knowledge regarding AI and machine-learning processes, should really be seen as something more human than a computer. Just take a moment to think about how many decisions you make every day that you don’t fully understand. As Pande explains:

But we make decisions in areas that we don’t fully understand every day — often very successfully — from the predicted economic impacts of policies to weather forecasts to the ways in which we approach much of science in the first place. We either oversimplify things or accept that they’re too complex for us to break down linearly, let alone explain fully. It’s just like the black box of A.I.: Human intelligence can reason and make arguments for a given conclusion, but it can’t explain the complex, underlying basis for how we arrived at a particular conclusion. [3]

Thinking about human intelligence as a “black box” it actually could be reasoned that AI is actually more transparent than much of human knowledge. In contrast to the human mind, decisions and biases can be outright analyzed and scrutinized within the world of artificial intelligence, and as bugs and gaps are found and refined, more insight into the reasoning of AI can be uncovered. So while the unknown may seem daunting, I personally don’t see the growth of Artificial Intelligence as anything to fear.


Comments on other posts:

Christian, I found your post very intriguing. The prospect of being able to 3D print structures would not only be a breakthrough from a structural/materials point of view, but also from a "constructability" point of view. Construction costs and times would be slashed which would drive productivity immensely. Obviously, as the tech progresses, interesting new issues would have to be addressed such as what will happen to the construction management industry and a host of additions and potential amendments to standardized codes. While highly impractical, I think it would be interesting to create a small city of entirely 3D printed residential homes as a sort of "experiment" to see how the life cycle of the structures would hold up. All in all, a very interesting topic. 

Gabe, I found your point on the last article it really interesting, as it touches on an interesting subject regarding the future, and how our society will adapt with technology. One example of how we might not properly adapt is what is called the "Automation Paradox" which is basically the idea that while tasks like driving, calculating, etc. become more and more automated, we lose the need to perform any of those tasks on our own and eventually ignore them entirely. This becomes a serious problem when technology may fail or malfunction, especially in times where quick decision making is the difference between life and death. Take automated cars for example. If we forget to drive all together imagine if the car began to malfunction while inside and the difference between life and death was simply knowing the basics of driving. That's not to say that we should avoid or fear automation/technology, but rather, we should use it as a means of progression, not as a crutch.

Nick, this is really fascinating stuff. The prospect of 3D printing structures on other planets is mind-boggling and incredibly ambitious, yet I feel as though it is also a really practical implementation of the technology. Similar to what you said, while new technologies always bring upon disruption of the current labor force, they also bring upon new jobs that don't exist yet, careers that we can't even think about because they don't exist yet.

Sources:
[1] Goldman, Alex, host. "Is Facebook Spying on You?" Reply All, Glimet Media, 2 Nov. 2017. https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/109-facebook-spying.

[2] Knight, Will. "There’s A Big Problem With AI: Even Its Creators Can’t Explain How It Works." MIT Technology Review. N. p., 2019. Web. 11 Jan. 2019.

[3] Pande, Vijay. "Opinion | Artificial Intelligence’s ‘Black Box’ Is Nothing To Fear." Nytimes.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 11 Jan. 2019.

About Me

Hello there! My name is Albert Hanan and I am a fourth-year student studying Architectural Engineering (BS) and Civil Engineering (MS) through Drexel's BS/MS Accelerated Degree Program. I am from Renton, WA a city just 20 minutes South of Seattle (by car). It's a nice city and it's within close proximity to a major city as well as some very scenic nature, as are many cities in Western Washington. Below you will find two annotated maps of Washington.

Western Washington (Annotated)

All of Washington (Annotated)

I have had two co-ops thus far, the first at Jacobs Engineering and the second at Larsen and Landis. At Jacobs Engineering I worked in the transportation department focusing on the I95/Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange project. While the company was great and my coworkers were very nice, the company was so large that by the end of my first co-op I decided that I would try my hand at a smaller firm and focus more on structural design. Fittingly, my next co-op was at Larsen and Landis, a very small structural engineering firm in Fishtown. Here, I gained experience in drafting, structural design, and professional report writing which was truly invaluable. For my third co-op, I have accepted a job with EwingCole in their structural department. While not as large as Jacobs Engineering, EwingCole is a mid-sized engineering firm based in Philadelphia with offices in New York, North Carolina, and California.

That's me

When not in the classroom I enjoy playing basketball, playing guitar (not very well), and hiking. Last term, a friend and I decided that we enjoyed talking about basketball so much that we'd create a podcast about it. It's called Sorta, Kinda, Basketball. Neither of us has much podcasting experience, and we're not experts on any one subject, but we have some decent banter. We're going to try to get more episodes out this term (the end of last quarter got very busy for both of us, postponing new episodes). If you want to check it out, here's a link. Or don't. Whatever you'd like to do is okay with me. That's about all there is to know about me, if you ever want to say "hey" don't hesitate, I think I'm pretty friendly. Again, if not, that's okay too.

I personally define an Intelligent Building in today's world to be a building that utilizes digital intelligence to dynamically interact with the building's inhabitants and environment to better the user experience. I think the most important aspect of this definition is the fact that the systems must be dynamic, adapting to the environment and user. This can be done through artificial intelligence, machine learning, the internet of things, etc.

Dummy Post - Student Names

This is here to allow me to make your last names as labels.