Posts published on September 21, 2017

Dorm of the Future: Student Residences Can Change with IoT

BY DAVID GUTIERREZ

The Internet of Things is growing, and the things are becoming more interesting every day. These days an increasing number of smart home devices are already widely used in many modern apartments. Whether it is a smart light bulb, a thermostat, or a personal assistant that orders lunches for you, name a home appliance and you will probably find a smart analog for it.

If you rent an apartment or live in a student dorm, it can be harder to pick out devices that you can use in your accommodation. When you don’t own your home, there are different rules dictating you what modifications you can apply to adapt living spaces to your needs. However, this is no longer an issue.

What is a Dorm of the Future?

 IoT technologies in private houses have evolved from a concept to a widespread solution that is now used on campuses and in higher education.

Colleges and universities are already using smart lighting, HVAC systems, and other mechanical equipment to optimize facilities. College dorm security has been reinforced by connecting door locks, video surveillance and alarms to the remote control system. The Internet of Things makes it possible to control virtually everything, from student behavior to air quality in dorm rooms.

While colleges and universities are evaluating their existing infrastructure and gradually implementing IoT solutions into their educational process and student campuses, there are already several high-tech dorm rooms that demonstrate the benefits of smart living.

A Berkeley student, Derek Low shows off BRAD (Berkeley Ridiculously Automated Dorm), which he outfitted with motion detectors, curtains that open and close with the help of a smartphone app, and, of course, a “romantic mode” including a disco ball and music.

Twin beds, no privacy, and noise 24/7. This is life on campus. Arizona State University in Tempe has ruined this stereotype forever with winning Stanford and MIT as a most innovative school in higher education. Why is that?

Taking into account their forward thinking and implementation of smart dorm strategy, ASU is using the Internet of Things to provide quality education as well as comfortable living for all students.

Using the latest Amazon technologies for smart home appliances, the university is installing personal assistants in engineering dorms. They call them “Ask ASU” devices that will help resolve related issues. Moreover, all students will have the opportunity to build on the platform and suggest how to broaden the technology across the university. Moreover, the university has.

The university has set up so called virtual ‘beacons’ in classrooms to find out trends in student attendance, which allow administrators to identify students who might need any assistance with their studies. The university also wants to replace traditional IDs and provide students with wearables that will bring more security to the campuses.

While ASU has already adopted the IoT technologies, other universities are currently in the developing stage. Duke University has built a smart home that demonstrates what a campus should be in future. In this laboratory students can live with access to all the different smart home technologies, so they can come up with ideas and try to build a prototype to make life better.

Dorm life isn’t for everyone, but a wide range of smart devices can make it as comfortable as possible to live in campuses. There is still a lot of uncertainty about how many smart devices will be connected on any campus and how it will impact the student’s lives. However, the adoption of IoT in higher education has already begun and will bring a lot of changes with an array of automated systems.

David Gutierrez has worked in the field of web design since 2005. Right now he started learning Java in order to get second occupation. His professional interests defined major topics of his articles. David writes about new web design software, recently discovered professional tricks and also monitors the latest updates of the web development.