New Ultra-Responsive Lighting System At UC Berkeley Can Sniff Out, Fix Stinky College Dorm Rooms

BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- Greasy pizza boxes, layers of shower scum and several weeks worth of dirty laundry evoke classic scenes from a college dorm room. But now with a new technology being installed at Cal this week, those smells could be left out.

It's made possible with a new cloud lighting technology called LEDSENSE built by Colorado-based TERRALUX Inc. It works by bringing artificial intelligence into buildings on campus using an ultra-responsive design that can also be controlled from a computer, tablet or smart phone.

These new lights can detect body heat, know when a room is occupied, monitor air quality including carbon dioxide levels and volatile organic compounds and communicate with other building systems to adjust heating, cooling and lighting levels as needed.

Aside from making buildings on campus more comfortable, it's also expected to save the university thousands of dollars on electric bills each month, largely by detecting whether a room is occupied. If it's empty, the lights will automatically dim and heat or AC will be switched off to reduce energy costs.

And perhaps the most practical element for newly liberated adults sharing new confined spaces is the odor detecting fan, which automatically starts as soon as it sniffs a smelly situation.