What you need to know
- Microsoft uses robotics and AI to disassemble defective hard disks and recycle valuable components for a 90% reuse and recycle rate by 2025.
- This is part of the company’s plan to achieve carbon negativity by 2050.
- In 2022, Microsoft shredded two million hard drives, which is harmful to the environment.
As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in tech and environmental sustainability, I find Microsoft’s latest initiative to be both innovative and commendable. The use of robotics and AI to disassemble and recycle defective hard drives is a great step towards achieving their carbon negativity goal by 2050.
Based on an article by Blocks & Files, Microsoft makes use of robots manufactured by Dobot Robotics to break down faulty hard disk drives and reuse valuable materials like aluminum platters, neodymium magnets, and a stainless steel chassis (as reported by Tom’s Hardware). This initiative contributes towards Microsoft’s larger mission to achieve its sustainability and environmental objectives.
In line with common practice, malfunctioning hard drives are frequently destroyed, resulting in a large pile of hazardous waste that hinders our efforts towards sustainability. However, a team headed by Ranganathan Srikanth introduced an innovative concept using robotics to dismantle crucial components of hard drives for recycling. This approach not only supports sustainability but also safeguards the environment in a dual benefit.
In this scenario, robots use computer vision to tell apart hard disks and pinpoint where screws are positioned during the disassembly phase. The majority of the disk’s components, such as magnets and circuit boards, are reused, with only the data-storing platters being discarded.
It’s common knowledge that Microsoft uses various kinds of hard drives in its data centers. Given this, it could be challenging for robots to determine the position of screws on the diverse models. To tackle this issue, the company makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist robots in identifying the locations of the screws during disassembly.
According to Tom’s Hardware, a sister site, approximately 20-70 million hard drives reach the end of their service period each year. In 2022 alone, Microsoft destroyed around two million hard drives. However, it is uncertain whether this number refers to shredded hard drives, dismantled hard drives, or a mix of both methods.
According to Ranganathan Srikanth:
A single hard drive isn’t much of a prospect, but consider this: In 2022, approximately two million hard drives were destroyed. That’s enough data to fill as many as nine jumbo jets like the Boeing 747.
Microsoft intends to implement the “NoShred method” to achieve a 90% recycling or reuse rate for hard drives by 2025. In 2020, Microsoft unveiled an ambitious strategy to mitigate its contribution to climate change, striving to become carbon-neutral by 2030 and even removing its previous carbon emissions from the atmosphere by 2050.
Microsoft plans to discontinue support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, and they’re using strong promotional tactics to encourage users to switch to Windows 11 instead. The main worry, though, is the strict hardware prerequisites that Microsoft has set for Windows 11.
Consequently, a public interest research group filed a petition requesting Microsoft to reconsider cutting support for Windows 10 detailed that over 40% of users still run Windows 10. It further explained the decision to cut the OS’s support would negatively impact Microsoft’s sustainability goal, as it would lead to the “single biggest jump in junked computers ever.”
Read More
- DOP PREDICTION. DOP cryptocurrency
- INDEX PREDICTION. INDEX cryptocurrency
- LDO PREDICTION. LDO cryptocurrency
- EUR PKR PREDICTION
- CORE PREDICTION. CORE cryptocurrency
- PSP PREDICTION. PSP cryptocurrency
- JASMY PREDICTION. JASMY cryptocurrency
- FXS PREDICTION. FXS cryptocurrency
- T PREDICTION. T cryptocurrency
- DMTR PREDICTION. DMTR cryptocurrency
2024-09-16 23:09