Samsung is starting a new “Upcycling” initiative to turn old smartphones and turn them into something brand new and one of the examples they are showcasing is an aquarium controller.
The premise is pretty simple, smartphone manufacturers have done a great job creating new demand for upgrading your phones, but many of us are simply tossing a perfectly good (and powerful device) into a drawer or closet only to collect dust.
Recycling is a good option, but it can still be a dirty process for the environment as there still is a bunch of waste released when they take these apart to harvest the parts inside.
The Galaxy Upcycling initiative was unveiled at the Samsung Developer Conference recently and we have to say, the example was pretty compelling. Why spend a couple of hundred dollars for a controller hub if you could just leverage an old device you already have?
Just with a cleaned up Galaxy S5 with a new operating system, you’ll have a more powerful computer driving your system than what is currently available in the market today. With commercial off the shelf sensors and hubs, it could be pretty inexpensive and simple to develop an internet-ready monitor that has built in WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular radio, GPS, camera, microphone, IR blaster and more.
Plus, with a robust developer community and app store, it could be pretty simple to not even have to create your own program and be able to buy the components from the site as well.
Of course, there are other great options too — like building a Bitcoin mining machine to pay for all your juicy corals and rare fish.
[via Galaxy Upcycling]
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