New Technology on College Campus Can Detect When Students Are in Their Dorms

College dorms have been known to produce some stinky odors.

Hass School of Business at University of California-Berkeley (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

But thanks to the efforts of Colorado-based technology company TERRALUX, Inc., the unwelcoming smells of dirty laundry, scum and mildew, and dirty dishes could be a thing of the past. The University of California-Berkeley last week was the first of what could be many college campuses to take on that infamous stench.

According to KPIX-TV in San Francisco, the Rocky Mountain state company has developed an odorless fan which is able to automatically detect less than desirable smells and then power itself on to get help get rid of the smell. It's just part of a series of steps the university has taken to make campus life more comfortable.

The college is also installing more LED lighting, which it says will help save thousands of dollars per month in electricity costs. The lights can detect body heat and thus know when a room is occupied. In turn, the lights will dim whenever a room is empty. Similarly, the air conditioning or heating systems will turn off when the last person leaves the room. The systems can also monitor the air quality by measuring the levels of carbon and other harmful elements.

Perhaps the best part of all is that these systems can be controlled from one's smartphone, tablet, or computer. Whoever said campus technology should be entirely academic?

(H/T: KPIX-TV)

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