UC Berkeley student Derek Low is a master of science and technology. Here he uses his vast powers to create a dorm room that reacts to his every whim, even if that whim is playing irritating house music.
He calls the project B.R.A.D. — Berkeley Ridiculously Automated Dorm — and while I am not seeing any ridiculous, I see plenty of automation. Using only the power of his mind, some readily available consumer electronics, and several hundred dollars, Low has taken all of the arm movement and step-taking out of opening and closing his blinds and adjusting lighting conditions.
And then there’s party mode.
Party mode takes me back to when I was 15 and my friend John Dykes and I decided to tape thousands of strands of torn magnetic cassette tape to the ceiling, aim a fan at it, turn on the strobe light and proceed to trip balls. It was a monumental effort and the end result, while impressive, would never be seen by anyone else, because we had no friends except that one girl who stole us Swatches from the mall so we’d like her.
If only we had YouTube back then.
Berkeley Ridiculously Automated Dorm (BRAD) [YouTube via Reddit]
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