It's been a while since I last wrote a post - and with good reason. A lot of things have been going on, and then on top of it all, the COVID-19 virus appeared out of nowhere and put the world in a dire situation.

Since I completed my AP degree in Computer Science, I had to work out some formalities with my union and plan what to do for the next couple of months. I had to decide what I would prioritize now and how to re-structure my life to adapt to this new life situation of being a graduate.

Back in the office at Buildcode

As I wrote on an Instagram post a few months back: "even though the internship has come to and end, it's still not the last I will see of Buildcode", and I hit that spot on. After I finished my education, my priorities shifted towards finding a job, and I kind of did have an idea about where to start. Buildcode.

When my internship ended, I did not have enough spare time to continue working at Buildcode even if I wanted to, as the final exam project was right around the corner, and I had to prioritize all my time into the final project. I resumed contact wit Buildcode after the exam, and we agreed that I could pick up from where I left since the internship ended - which was to continue the work on Sitemotion, (which I will explain all about in a little while).

This meant that for the remainder of January and whole of February (1.5 months) I worked voluntarily for Buildcode. 1), to show that I wanted to complete what I started on and 2), to keep myself occupied, as I suddenly had a lot of free time now.

I started to get involved with what Buildcode had in mind, and it soon became apparent that I might actually get a job at Buildcode (I also could not keep working voluntarily indefinitely). I eventually got offered a position as a part-time software developer, starting in March.

I took the offer, as that meant I no longer had to worry about finding a job, and for me, a part-time job (3 days a week) was fine as I still have my second job as a bartender.

So what is Sitemotion about?

Sitemotion is a software product by Buildcode, aimed at construction managers, but ii also covers more general areas of construction and renovation. It's a digital product which enables clients to keep track of construction and their schedules. It will automatically notify them whether a certain wall or part of the building is ahead or behind the scheduled completion date. It's going to be primarily a web-based solution, but I wouldn't be surprised to see if it expanded into other areas in the future.

These are some of the core features of Sitemotion:

• You can order drone services for roof inspections, facade inspections and indoor rooms etc.
  
• You can view 3D BIM-models of the buildings/construction site
• Hook up your schedule on the 3D geometries of the BIM-model
  
• Upload point clouds to compare it to the 3D models
  
• It automates a lot of repetitive tasks

and lots more... but it's too unspecified still, even for me, to list them here.

If I were to cook it down and simplify it, I guess one could call it "a web shop for ordering drone services", but it has so much more. I also kept the list above short and as descriptive as possible, as there is a lot more to come, but that's for the far future.

What is my part in the development of Sitemotion?

I work with the web development part of Sitemotion. That means, making the website and all the functionality, both front-end and back-end. I did after all write "full-stack developer" on my resume, so they sure are upholding me to that.

I also have to integrate external solutions if needed. We also use a lot time on R&D (research and development) as we often find our selves in a place where, what we are attempting to make, has not been made before. This means I often get to spend some time researching about various solutions to the problems we encounter, and then I have to write a small report about whether I recommend one technology over another or not. I feel that is a lot of responsibility - to make sure we pick a suitable solution, as there always is the chance that the wrong one will have some limitations or drawbacks in the future.

My desk at the Buildcode office with Sitemotion in-progress.

As of writing this post, we are a team of 3-4 people working on Sitemotion in total.

One project manager (he's an all-around guy to be honest) and two python developers, who are working on some of the more hardcore number crushing scripts, responsible for producing the data that we deliver to our clients - and me. That's it. We are a small team, but it is in all our combined interest to make it work, and I believe we will.

We all know what's at stake here. I took a chance by saying yes to the contract and so did my co-workers. But that's the exciting thing about it too - going into something with an unknown outcome, not knowing what to expect. We are part of building something from the ground up, and if that isn't exciting, I don't know what is!