Old Smartphones Gain New Role As Sustainable Data Centers

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 06/06/2025 at 23:50

Updated on 06/06/2025 at 23:52

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Researchers Transform Old Smartphones Into Small Data Centers, Offering a Sustainable Alternative to Reduce Electronic Waste and Resource Waste.

Every year, billions of smartphones are produced, used, and rapidly discarded. The constant cycle of replacing these devices has raised growing concerns about the environmental impact of electronic waste.

Now, an innovative study proposes a new utility for these old devices, transforming them into small data centers.

The Challenge of Smartphone Disposal

Globally, over 1.2 billion smartphones are manufactured annually. The production process of these devices requires large amounts of energy and natural resources, in addition to releasing significant volumes of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

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The Proposal From the Researchers in Tartu

Seeking a practical solution, researchers from the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Tartu in Estonia presented an innovative approach.

Led by Huber Flores, Ulrich Norbisrath, and Zhigang Yin, in collaboration with Perseverance Ngoy and international colleagues, the group developed a way to repurpose old smartphones as small data centers.

The research, published in the IEEE Pervasive Computing journal, demonstrated that old devices can be adapted to store and process data efficiently. Additionally, the cost to build these small data centers is relatively low: approximately 8 euros per device.

Practical Applications for the New Data Centers

The researchers highlighted various possibilities for using these repurposed data centers. One example is urban environments.

At bus stops, for instance, the devices can be used to gather real-time data on passenger flow.

This information allows for the optimization of public transit routes and schedules, improving service and reducing energy consumption.

The first prototype was assembled by connecting four old smartphones, without batteries, replaced by external power sources.

The structure was built with 3D printed cases and supports, creating a functional and safe system. The removal of batteries minimized the risk of leaking harmful chemicals into the environment.

Subaquatic Tests Show the Potential of the Idea

To test the robustness of the system, the prototype underwent an unusual challenge: operating underwater. In this scenario, the small data center monitored marine life, identifying and counting submerged species.

Traditionally, this task would require divers filming and bringing the footage to the surface for analysis. With the new system, processing was done automatically, in real-time, in the underwater environment.

Reducing Electronic Waste with Creativity

The results obtained by the researchers show that technologies considered obsolete can still play an important role. With simple adaptations, discarded devices can continue to be used, fulfilling useful and sustainable functions.

“Sustainability means not just preserving the future, but reinventing the present, where yesterday’s devices become tomorrow’s opportunities,” emphasized Ulrich Norbisrath, associate professor of Software Engineering.

The research offers a promising path for repurposing electronic equipment and may inspire new solutions to the growing problem of electronic waste.

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Old Smartphones Gain New Role As Sustainable Data Centers

Researchers Transform Old Smartphones Into Small Data Centers, Offering a Sustainable Alternative to Reduce Electronic Waste and Resource Waste.

The Challenge of Smartphone Disposal

The Proposal From the Researchers in Tartu

Practical Applications for the New Data Centers

Subaquatic Tests Show the Potential of the Idea

Reducing Electronic Waste with Creativity

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Old Smartphones Gain New Role As Sustainable Data Centers

Researchers Transform Old Smartphones Into Small Data Centers, Offering a Sustainable Alternative to Reduce Electronic Waste and Resource Waste.

The Challenge of Smartphone Disposal

The Proposal From the Researchers in Tartu

Practical Applications for the New Data Centers

Subaquatic Tests Show the Potential of the Idea

Reducing Electronic Waste with Creativity

A giant half-ton ring fell in Kenya from space, and more than a year later, scientists still do not know where it came from.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

Bavarian archaeologists unearthed a medieval skeleton that had an articulated iron hand in place of its left arm, and the discovery reveals that doctors were already creating sophisticated prosthetics over 500 years ago.

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More than 1,500 Chinese workers transformed an entire railway station in just one night and reduced a 7-hour journey to 90 minutes with a high-speed line of 200 km/h.

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