Berkeley student tricks-out dorm room

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BERKELEY, Calif., May 2 (UPI) -- Some people live for their tricked-out cars, but a University of California-Berkeley student lives in a tricked-out dorm room of his own design.

After several months, Cal-Berkeley freshman Derek Low created "BRAD," the Berkeley Ridiculously Automated Dorm, Berkeleyside.com reported Monday.

Low can remotely manage lighting and curtain positioning, create the perfect atmosphere for homework, set the mood for romance and impress fellow dormies with his "party mode."

Everything is designed to work through voice commands, wireless remote or a computer application. Low even has a motion detector that will turn on the lights and open the curtain when he returns from class, Time magazine reported.

Low's been around the tech block a few times, Berkeleyside.com said. Six years ago, he launched Laboratory Home, on online site that documented science experiments he conducted with a friend in Britain.

Low, who grew up in Singapore, is appears to have a heavily stamped passport, the Berkeley online publication said. On his Web site "Where's Derek?" -- a riff on "Where's Waldo? -- Low's latest recorded count is 211 cities in 33 countries.