Brian Moore, an engineer who specializes in designing and building devices that double as commentary, made a prototype for an LOL Verifier.
The 3D-printed device sits between a keyboard and computer and only allows the user to type “LOL” if they’re actually laughing out loud.
Moore said he recorded more than 100 laughs to train a machine learning algorithm to recognize real and fake guffaws.
If the device’s accompanying microphone doesn’t register a genuine laugh, it replaces “LOL” with a different phrase like “that’s funny.”
“I remember when ‘LOL’ meant laugh out loud, a real chortle. And now it means nothing. [But now] we can restore the authenticity of the ‘LOL,’” he said.
To build the LOL Verifier, Moore used Seeed Studio and Teensy microcontrollers, Tinkercad software, and Edge Impulse to train the AI.
Moore has used his design and engineering skills to build lots of other devices with dubious levels of usefulness.
His creations include a Bluetooth-enabled pull cord for immediately ending Zoom calls and a camera for showing off your sneakers while working from home.
