As revolutionary as computers have been for the human civilization, they are unfortunately also one of the biggest contributors to landfills and plastic, electronic waste at the moment. That being said, there are a number of innovators around the world that are hard at work trying to ensure that computing becomes a lot more simpatico with the future of the planet. Check out the following green computer concepts.
Hand powered Mitra PC
Designer: Yogesh Kumar Baghel
Mitra, which means ‘friend’ in Hindi, is an eco-friendly portable computer. The clamshell PC is cylinder-shaped and is intended to provide computing to farmers in rural India. The PC concept boasts of a built-in LED projector, solar charging interface and a hand cranking mechanism that would allow users to recharge the battery when an electrical outlet isn’t close by. We don’t think it supports Angry Birds but the green gadget would surely ensure that real birds get to have a future on the planet.
Lawn PC
Designer: David Veldkamp
The Lawn PC is a green computing concept which comes with its own independent power generating unit. Featuring modular 3”x 3” squares, the design of the Lawn allows individual components to be detached and upgraded which is very recycling friendly while the power generation unit allow the unit to generate 876 KWh of power that would have otherwise been supplied from the fossil fuel generated grid power.
O Project Dell personal computer concept
Designer: Luis Luna
Featuring a host of eco-friendly features, the O Project PC concept comes with recyclable components that can be recycled. However, the best aspect of this computer concept is that it would come with a “skin” manufactured using bamboo and cornstarch polymers. This skin would be completely biodegradable and allow users to safely dispose of their old computers when the model gets obsolete.
Igglu modular PC concept
Designer: Rob Mansfield
Designed to maximize resource and energy efficiency, Igglu Modular PC concept focuses on allowing users to easily update their computer systems without having to worry about the waste that such an upgrade usually involves. Thanks to its modular construction, the Igglu can be fitted with new hard drives, RAM, graphic cards, PCI drives and optical drives when an update is needed while the old modules would be easily recycled or reused by the company in budget-friendly units.
Power Flower PC concept
Designer: Unnamed Dell innovator
By far the most innovative green computer concept in existence, the Power Flower PC Concept proposes the use a hydrogen fuel cell instead of the traditional Lithium-ion battery which is kind of environmentally unfriendly to manufacture. The concept also does away with regular PC components like cables, peripherals, physical sockets or other power sources and comes only with a microphone and a speaker on the face camera and a projector that allows any flat surface to be used as the display.
