Why do we throw away electronics when they break?

With electronic waste on the rise, recent EPFL robotics graduate Ken Pillonel has turned to UA-cam to make a statement about the repairability of our devices.
Full article: actu.epfl.ch/n...
Article en français: actu.epfl.ch/n...
Ken Pillonel's website : kenp.io/
His UA-cam channel: / exploringthesimulation
EPFL: www.epfl.ch/
#repairability #electronicwaste

[@1108star]

You have one of the keys to make our world a better place. Keep it up. Bravo.

[@tiddy-fje]

The deep passion/curiosity they convey is truly motivating ! Even though I work on totally different subjects 😅

[@pierre-jeanmartin3677]

you are the future of our nation 🇨🇭

[@Enoch-Root]

I'm lucky enough to live in China fairly close to Huaqiang Bei, the market that you mentioned. I've been wanting to get back into mathematics and programming for some time and also start learning about electronics.
The issue with repairing electronics now though seems two fold to me, one many products are glued together to try to prevent repairs. The other issue is surface mounted microelectronics aren't something that can be repaired by hand unlike older electronics.
Another issue likely to become more common in the future is that many items are going to require online connections to servers, and much like many modern video games, when those servers go down the product then becomes useless. I really think a law is needed requiring companies to make the server code available when they choose to stop hosting themselves. Preservation attempts are currently rendered useless when companies shut down servers.

[@kaourintintamine1383]

I think the main issue is just electronics are evolving way too fast. What’s the point in repairing your iPhone 5 when it’s hopelessly outdated or your 5th gen intel core that’s 40 times slower than the brand new 13th gen

[@Enoch-Root]

@@kaourintintamine1383 Are CPUs still progressing at such a high rate of speed? I lost interest in the progress of PC hardware a long time ago, it's been well over decade since the latest hardware was any benefit for people outside of gaming, video editing or crunching huge amounts of data. I was still using my OnePlus 6T up until a few months ago when it fell down and the screen developed a problem, otherwise would still be using it with custom firmware which would let me use a recent Android release.

[@TheVariousA]

planned obsolescence.

[@kaourintintamine1383]

@@Enoch-Root the 2x speed markup now comes around every 2-3 years, added to all the extra hardware innovations, if we consider for eg a smartwatch, which would be a myriad of extra sensors, battery life, screen improvements, design innovations and algorithms working on them, then it’s safe to say that for a “technology hooked” consumer there’s little to no interest in 4+ years product longevity.
Innovation has also become this deadly consumer obsession in having all the new gadgets, and electronic businesses have become quite adept at adding extra things to gadgets at a breakneck rate.

[@Lordosvk]

I always try to repair thinks not trow them away. But electronics is really dificult companies make them so complex and not repareble.

[@Carl-Ernst-Otto-Kunze]

Good luck

[@sauravs8625]

Just about to apply for EPFL internship from india

[@mumbucorporation7243]

Mate, you should be some minister for environmental protection, people need to change their throw away mentality.

[@TheVariousA]

right to repair!