Internet Reading

            The Internet reading on Access Science this week was the least informative required reading article. It appears to be very outdated, even for the 2008 copyright date. The information in the article was all information that I have read or heard before. Internet technology has advanced rapidly over the last decade so a future reading in this class on this topic should be much more recent.

            The second article I read was “Multi-Disciplinary Design Collaboration for Developing a BIM Model Using a Hybrid Client-Server and P2P Network Model.” This conference paper proposes a collaborative Client-Server/P2P hybrid network model for interdisciplinary BIM design. The goal of this Internet-based model is to improve efficiency and interoperability between design teams in different disciplines. A global Client-Server network would connect different teams and manage permissions for editing. A local P2P network would allow individual members of one team to concurrently work on the project. The BIM model would be divided into sub-models consisting of related components, increasing efficiency. As a team finishes work on a sub-model, they send it to the next team. When revisions are required, it can be sent back to the other team for changes. All data would be transmitted in the same format and backup copies would be automatically saved when the model is sent between teams.

            This paper addresses the major problem of coordination between multi-disciplinary design teams which is essential for intelligent design.  However, it is only a theoretical model that does not test the proposal or address the interoperability technical issues. This hybrid network model shows how the Internet can be used to increase efficiency and coordination for design of intelligent buildings. It would be interesting to see how well the model could work in a real application. The main obstacle for its implementation is interoperability, finding a way to transfer data between teams in the same format.