College students share a common set of grievances: homework, lack of sleep — and doing laundry.

However, thanks to IBM and USA Technologies’ latest smart-chip innovation dubbed “e-Suds,” doing laundry might not be so bad.

The basic idea behind the system is fusing wireless technology and the Internet with a laundromat.

Dave Stone, spokesman for IBM, said e-Suds equips laundry machines with smart chips networked to a server hosted by the company.

Because the laundry machines are networked together, students can visit a Web site to find when a washing machine will be available in their dorm’s laundromat.

Once a machine is free, students can drop off their clothes and pay for their wash using ID cards. Students will also be able to choose options such as the dispensing of soap and fabric softener.

After the wash is done, students will be notified by e-mail to pick up their clothes from the laundromat.

IBM chose to begin using the system with college students because of their technologically skills, Stone said.

“We just felt that college students are early adapters of technology and users of the Internet, so it seemed like a logical place to start,” he said.

Currently, e-Suds is being tested at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., in the college’s Vanderslice Residence Hall.

Joe Schott, director of Vanderslice Hall, said the system was well received by students because of its convenience.

“I think students enjoyed having the option to see if their machines were [available] online,” Schott said. “It could be a time saver … instead of having to take a trip to the top floor to check if any machines are available, you could now check online.”

Schott also said there were few problems with the system.

“If anything, it was an added convenience,” Schott said. “There were no reports of students having problems with it. There was a little bit of a transition from the old system to the new system, but once the questions were answered, there were no complaints about the system itself.”

While Northwestern has no plans to switch to e-Suds, Tom Board, director of technology support services, said he believes the entire university would make the decision instead of just the housing and technology administration.

“I think that Northwestern would consider it … but this is really something that the university has to examine on a case-by-case basis to determine what is the benefit, the cost and how those balance out,” Board said.

Students said they have mixed feelings about whether the system would make life easier at NU.

“It seems kind of complicated,” said Weinberg freshman Tony Colton. “They try to make it seem a lot easier than it really is.”

However, Hayley Montgomery, a Weinberg freshman, said the system would be convenient for residents of a dorm’s upper floors.

“It is a big pain for you to have to run up and down the stairs to see if the washing machines are free … so that would be really nice,” she said.