{"id":202247,"date":"2025-06-21T10:01:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T10:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/202247\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T10:01:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T10:01:26","slug":"old-smartphones-being-used-to-build-new-data-centres-for-sustainable-smart-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/202247\/","title":{"rendered":"Old smartphones being used to build new data centres for sustainable smart tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Researchers Researchers from Estonia have developed a low-cost method for extending the lifespan of discarded smartphones through sustainable computing \"Lee Lee Bell<\/a> 20\/06\/2025 15:13 3 min <\/p>\n

Smartphones are churned out by the billion annually, with the average user discarding them for a newer model after just a year or two. However, researchers in Estonia have found a clever way to give such outdated tech a second wind.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A team at Estonia’s University of Tartu\u2019s Institute of Computer Science has managed to repurpose discarded smartphones, turning them into working micro data centres.<\/strong><\/p>\n

From this, they’ve shown how they can still play a part in powering just about everything – from public transport systems to underwater marine monitoring<\/strong>, and all for about \u20ac8 (\u00a36.85) per unit.<\/p>\n

Not just theoretical<\/p>\n

\u201cInnovation often begins not with something new, but with a new way of thinking about the old, re-imagining its role in shaping the future<\/strong>,\u201d said Associate Professor Huber Flores, who led the project.<\/p>\n

‘Innovation often begins not with something new, but with a new way of thinking about the old…’ – Prof. Flores.<\/p>\n

To get there, the team removed the old phones\u2019 batteries – reducing any risk of leakage – and powered them with the help of external sources. Four handsets were then bundled together into a low-energy, compact prototype housed in 3D-printed frames<\/strong>, effectively creating a data centre small enough to fit on a desk, or even underwater.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe prototype demonstrated how old devices can support environmental monitoring without the need for new technology<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not just theoretical. The prototype has already been tested in real-world trials<\/strong>, including urban and marine environments. In cities, it\u2019s helped count bus passengers, and at sea, it\u2019s supported automatic monitoring of marine life – tasks that would normally require a scuba diver and some manual data wrangling.<\/p>\n

Old phones, new jobs?<\/p>\n

The research team argues that reusing smartphones like this offers an easy win for digital sustainability. With over 1.2 billion phones made globally every year<\/strong>, and most ending up in landfills or forgotten drawers, it\u2019s a problem looking for a fix.<\/p>\n

\"Will<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSustainability is not just about preserving the future, it\u2019s about reimagining the present, where yesterday\u2019s devices become tomorrow\u2019s opportunities<\/strong>,\u201d said Ulrich Norbisrath, Associate Professor of Software Engineering.<\/p>\n

Norbisrath added that the ideal solution would be a shift in consumer behaviour, hopefully seeing them buying fewer, but better devices.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reference of the news: <\/p>\n

Supporting Sustainable Computing by Repurposing E-Waste Smartphones as Tiny Data Centers, published in IEEE Pervasive Computing<\/a>, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Researchers from Estonia have developed a low-cost method for extending the lifespan of discarded smartphones through sustainable computing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3164],"tags":[3284,2814,10688,70,3809,3695,326,53,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-202247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-computing","9":"tag-data","10":"tag-recycling","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-smartphone","13":"tag-sustainability","14":"tag-tech","15":"tag-technology","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114720780323296646","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}