Discussion Thread

  • 1.  How do you think AI will impact (positively) our engineering work?

    Posted 03-30-2022 11:38 PM
    I recently had a discussion about AI and how new software and technology is impacting our design and workflows. Since then, I've seen more examples of how AI can improve and simplify our work such as automating pipe profiles or parking lot layouts.  We could have an entire discussion on whether you think AI will take over our jobs but I'm mostly interested to hear from people on ways you are already adopting AI in your work and ways you think AI will develop in the future that will help our profession.

    ------------------------------
    Nicolai Oliden P.E., M.ASCE
    Roadway Team Leader
    ETHOS Engineers
    Tempe AZ
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: How do you think AI will impact (positively) our engineering work?

    Posted 03-31-2022 03:17 PM
    I recently had a long discussion about this with some colleagues. There are some recent research on using AI to tell how novel a design is and it got me thinking. The paper was from an artist design perspective which seemed to advocate that novelty in a design iteration is the goal. In other words, a designer would input their first iteration and the AI would tell the designer all the ways the design is nothing new. This got me thinking about things where novelty isn't the goal. For instance, I do a lot of auditoriums. We know certain patterns and layouts that work well acoustically and for theatrical lighting and occupancy configurations. In something like that novelty may be good or it may not. Same is true when it comes to pricing. It was an interesting thought exercise. If designers aim 100% of the time for an AI guided novelty standard it may push the economics of it out of balance.

    ------------------------------
    Jesse Kamm PhD, PMP, A.M.ASCE
    Senior Vice President of Construction Management
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: How do you think AI will impact (positively) our engineering work?

    Posted 03-31-2022 03:18 PM

    Hi Nicolai! Glad to hear you!! this is the right moment to talk About it!!  Although in my country (Brazil), it hasn't the application progress to evidence & cover it in a appropriate way. And therefore is difficult to talk about it by my personal experiences with A.I. So, What  I Only could do is to observe the phenomena, as well.  

    One of videos that I recently watched linked to this talk,  it's how they want to apply. . . In a recent video released by the White House: 

    A Session performed by the President and CEO of Siemens corporation: Barbara Humpton: 

    President Biden Makes an Announcement Delivering on his Made in America Commitments

    ( at 7:00min to approximately 9:30min)  

    "THEY WILL EXPAND WHAT IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE" B.Humpton



    ------------------------------
    Andre Newinski S.E., A.M.ASCE
    Engenheiro Estrutural
    AN
    Santo Angelo
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: How do you think AI will impact (positively) our engineering work?

    Posted 04-12-2022 10:10 AM
    Personally, I'm hoping AI can be used even for more rudimentary tasks, such as to more effectively QA H&H models and point out issues to modelers that they otherwise still have to look for "manually".

    ------------------------------
    Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
    Civil Engineer
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: How do you think AI will impact (positively) our engineering work?

    Posted 04-13-2022 10:23 AM
    I agree with Christopher, and to some degree I already feel a positive impact. I run a bridge and tunnel inspection program and with the ability to fly drones capturing not only video but thermal imagery, and the ability of software to geospatially associate findings with locations on developed models, and to be able to generate flat plan view or elevation images of components, the inspection world is already be revolutionized.  Beyond this, though the technology is really just some visual basic programming in Excel, the ways we can capture notes in the field is far simplified, with far less time flipping pages and hoping nothing blows away and more time making observations.  After a few rounds of these type inspections, I can picture easily being able to compare how something looked 4, 6, 10 years ago with the present with just a couple taps standing in the field, giving inspectors far better insight into rates of deterioration.

    ------------------------------
    Reed Brockman P.E., M.ASCE
    ASCE Pre-College Outreach Committee Member
    Chair, Public Awareness & Outreach Committee, Boston Society of Civil Engineers (BSCES/ASCE)
    Vice President, AECOM
    Boston MA
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: How do you think AI will impact (positively) our engineering work?

    Posted 04-14-2022 08:51 PM
    In water resources engineering where engineers work in flood controls and water management (hydrology and hydraulics), where I used to be a trainee, engineers used softwares such as ArcGIS, Google Earth, HECRAS, HECHMS, CAD, Microsoft Excel, etc. Softwares mentioned are helpful to make things done, however, engineers still need to do site visit, and buy a data from a local government (available data for the project like terrain, surveying, or whatever it is), review the history of the study area (past natural disasters occurs), make actual computation after a computed data of AI, and used AI to process the work and help engineers analyze the problem, and see the results of the AI softwares. In conclusion, which AI is very useful, but still needs human expertise to make the problem solving, analyze, give descriptive recommendations, etc. However, I guess some AI in manufacturing, clerk, queueing, are no need for a human effort. And for some engineering treatments AI takes place to make things done (same goes with the technologies used in medical health). With that said, in the future AI have a high possibility to takes place humans. It's amazing the AI is studied, precisely measured, and revised many times to work perfectly, the technologies we've been using is inevitable helpful in many ways.
    While in "...ways you think AI will develop in the future that will help our profession." That's a human effort to make a brainstorm and only humans can do. Indeed, we are very powerful, and hope it takes account and responsible for making AI for the future. Below I listed  things that I think need an AI:

    • Image Processing of design structures, automatic give substructure/ superstructures design like columns, beams/ girders, wall footings, column footings, footings, slabs, trusses, roof trusses etc. With its details, and visual data.

    Due to some structure failures, maybe AI can be a solution.

    • Surveying of terrain using google earth only.

    During pandemic/ weather phenomenon, site visits are limited for projects, and using google earth is useful to make alternative to observed project locations. 

    • AI communicates report and analysis. 

    Final reports can be overwhelming and long. What ifs sudden sickness of the engineer occurs, this will help explain the report/ gist of the results of studies. 

    • AI to sensor weakness and strengths of the foundation/ soil/ underwater soil/ weather conditions of project study area. 

    Very ambitious but nothing is impossible with science, it can helps prevents a lot of construction failures.

    •AI to read image processing, softwares activities, final reports, and questions its weakness and strengths of the results.

    Construction failures happens when engineers tends to have a blind spot to some details. If AI can only detects those errors, it can save time and cost.

    • AI robots to make the study area process alone. 

    This is very lazy but I guess very possible, imagine inputing project locations, and data, then the softwares will do alone the work by simply clicking one command. 

    Disclaimer: Some mentioned is I don't know if it's already existing, and I just get some ideas with internet article " Top 6 Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering." Who knows if this really possible, but human expertise can only brainstorm to continues discovery, and innovation.




    ------------------------------
    Llala Chrishaye Ocampo Aff.M.ASCE
    Student
    City of General Trias Cavite
    ------------------------------