We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Modular Laptop Design
HEADLINE: Redesigned Computers Could Reduce E-Waste
TEASER: Dell working on an eco-friendly laptop
PUBLISHED AT: 02/23/2023 at 9:20am
BYLINE: Tina Trinh
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER: Deana Mitchell
VIDEO EDITOR: Tina Trinh
SCRIPT EDITORS: Stearns, Bowman
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA original, Microsoft Teams
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:50
VID APPROVED BY: wpm
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: There is a previously produced LogOn version of this script))
[[((INTRO)) People generate more than 50 million tons of electronic waste every year, including copiers, televisions, and computers. Laptops are part of the problem, but engineers at Dell Technologies are working on a new approach to help keep them out of landfills. Tina Trinh reports.]]
((Nats))
“Go through the security hole …”
((NARRATOR))
Trevor Morrison is taking apart a laptop.
((Nats))
“And we’re going to remove both speakers …”
((NARRATOR))
What typically takes over an hour to disassemble now takes only a few minutes.
Morrison is an engineer at Dell Technologies headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, and the laptop is a prototype called Concept Luna. It’s an attempt to address the global problem of e-waste —
53 million metric tons in 2019 alone.
((Mandatory CG: Dell Technologies))
A traditional laptop contains multiple screws, cables
((End Courtesy))
and adhesives, making it a challenge to take apart.
((Trevor Morrison, Dell Technologies Engineer))
“If you have something of a display that's very difficult to detach, it takes too long, you may not recycle because it makes it difficult.”
((NARRATOR))
Concept Luna does away with all of that. It has interlocking, interchangeable parts that make it easier to repair and recycle. Broken parts can be switched out without replacing the entire laptop.
((Trevor Morrison, Dell Technologies Engineer))
“Maybe the keys are getting grimy or has dirt or something like that or getting wear on them, but the electronics underneath are perfectly good and can be reused. So that's an example where we can make changes to the keyboard lattice on top. Change that out and have a longer life.”
((Mandatory CG: Dell Technologies))
((NARRATOR))
Dell says the design of Concept Luna could cut a laptop’s carbon footprint by 50% - good for the environment and consumers.
((End Courtesy))
[[For radio: …says Shanika Whitehurst, associate director of product sustainability with Consumer Reports. She spoke to VOA over Teams]]
((Shanika Whitehurst, Consumer Reports Sustainability Expert))
“Instead of now another two-thousand dollars going to purchase a new piece of equipment,
((Mandatory CG: Dell Technologies))
there's the capability to be able to repair it yourself or take it literally down the street and
((End Courtesy))
someone else can repair it.”
((NARRATOR))
That someone else could even be a robot. Automated systems like this could one day repair modular laptops on a massive scale, keeping an even bigger proportion out of landfills.
For businesses, the sustainability impact and cost savings could be substantial.
((Mandatory CG: Dell Technologies))
Especially if Concept Luna’s use of telemetry becomes a reality. Data collected from individual parts could provide insight on their remaining lifespan.
((Trevor Morrison, Dell Technologies Engineer))
“. . . data that we can take over time, so like, how many keystrokes are on a keyboard, how many usages of a trackpad.” // “It takes all of the history, and it knows, it’s like, OK, there’s 90 percent of life left in this keyboard, there’s over 90 percent of life in the battery.”
((NARRATOR))
Businesses that decide to replace their laptops could still keep discarded models out of waste streams.
((Shanika Whitehurst, Consumer Reports Sustainability Expert))
“The older ones that need some reconfiguration can come out, they can be reconfigured and they can be shipped out to yet another organization.”
((NARRATOR))
. . . organizations like schools and universities, which can still get a lot of use out of them. It’s a circular model to reduce electronic waste and cut costs for consumers.
((Tina Trinh, VOA News, New York))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
BylineTina Trinh
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English