FRIDAY FUNNY: Following Up On Viral Geekiness

Last week, FacilityBlog covered a viral story about the efforts of several MIT computer students who took it upon themselves to convert their science building into a gigantic working Tetris game. This retro inspired retrofit met its 21st century counterpart this week when one UC Berkeley freshman, Derek Low, transformed his dorm room into something as well. He calls it BRAD.

BRAD (which stands for “Berkeley Ridiculously Automated Dorm”) “responds to Low’s every whim—opening curtains, playing music and turning on/off the lights via a variety of inputs, including voice command, motion sensor and a remote control.” [“Automated Dorm Room Brings Dorm Life Into The 21st Century” by Reggie Ugwu, ComplexTech, May 1, 2012.]

Check out BRAD in action:

The reception towards BRAD along with potential building code violations it presented to school officials put Low in an awkward position. Jeremy Hsu of InnovationNewsDaily (May 2, 2012) writes,

Not everyone in the dorm is psyched about the automated dorm room’s peek into the future of smart homes — or perhaps college officials just decided to take a closer look at whether Low’s renovations have crossed the line for Berkley’s housing policies. Low mentioned his notice to appear at a student judicial hearing when InnovationNewsDaily reached out to him.

Still, Low already has a solution that’s likely to leave everyone happy.

“I’m moving out the dorms in two weeks and moving the entire setup to my own apartment,” Low said. “The whole system is quite mobile, actually, so that won’t be too difficult.”

To see the complete specs for Low’s BRAD experiment, visit his web page, Laboratory @ Home: Product of an Overly Impulsive Teenager.