Summer is upon us, butterflies may be soaring around everywhere, but none like these.
A group of researchers in the United Kingdom has created a set of butterflies made of recycled cellphones. O2, a London mobile operator launched an O2 Recycle scheme to show that cellphones can be put to good use even after we’re done with them.
The designers used a variety of cellphone hardware including circuit boards and SIM cards.
These “Social Butterflies” are connected to a tablet and express their own personality. When you call the number displayed on the tablet the butterflies respond in different ways. They can put on light shows with their lasers or even flap their smartphone-composed wings.
The robot butterflies took about seven months to build and involved spending time at the Museum of Natural History in London to gain insight into butterfly movements.
“There's an environmental need to dig out old gadgets so they can be used again, rather than lying unused and unloved in a drawer. O2 Recycle offers a simple, sustainable way to recycle unused gadgets and receive a cash payment in return. We all have a role to play in making sure that old technology lives on even when we've finished with it,” Bill Eyres, head of sustainability at O2 , told Yahoo UK.
The robots are now on display at the Museum of Natural History in London for all to observe.
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