Don't Want to Throw Out Your Old Mac Computer? You Aren't Alone.
Macs are so cool that people are discovering innovative ways of reusing them when they upgrade to a new computer because they're too attached to let the machines rot in a landfill.
CIO — For some people, deconstructing a computer can lead to a tangled mess of wires. Yet others are finding that by rewiring or recycling their Macs they're stumbling upon some very creative projects.
More than just information storage facilities, computers also function as brains. A group consisting of more than a dozen students from the Humboldt University of Berlin and the Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Osnabruck set up an Artificial emotion Project part of artificial intelligence, to study how to create emotion in machines. One aspect of the project was to create a WALL-E-type robot, whose "brain" consisted of a Mac mini.
Joscha Bach, PhD, who is currently working in a technology startup company in Berlin, Germany, was part of the project. "We had developed components for a so-called cognitive architecture, called a 'MicroPsi'. This is a computer model of how humans perceive, act, have emotions and make plans. We looked for ways to test our software. And we came upon the idea of a fleet of little robots," he says. " MiniPsi was the logical title for the Mac mini version."
The Mac mini was a small enough computer that the group could use it to create a small robot that ran on wheels. However, the downside was its demanding power supply, Bach says.
Yet in the end, the Mac mini-based robot completed its task. "Our little robot navigated the lab floor, could build maps of its environment and search for light sources," Bach says. "We have learned quite a few things about adapting our software to the demands of real-time, real-world navigation."
Not every Mac mini ends up being a research project's robot brain. Some are turned into the masterminds behind car stereo systems.
Though there are plenty of mp3 player options for car stereos out there, Mike Welch, director of Technical Services at Emblemax, wasn't satisfied by their two to three hours of music life.
Welch wanted a small case computer and two years ago a Mac mini was his only option for a computer this compact. The rest of the parts came from eBay, Home Depot, MP3Car and a nearby junkyard. Welch used his experience from a former University of Maryland class called "Future Truck", through which students upgraded a Ford Explorer to run on alternative fuel and electricity. The rest of Welch's knowledge came from online research, particularly at MP3Car, where he found information about building car stereos with Mac minis.
Though some rewiring was involved, like linking the Mac mini's power supply to the automatic locks and ignition, Welch says that the hardest part of the project was modifying his junkyard found bezel— a radio's front that hides the internal parts. Unfortunately, getting the bezel to fit the Mac mini took three weeks—of alternatively applying epoxy and sanding to get the bezel's dimensions just right—so the completed project looked generic enough to deter thievery.
Although he's enjoying his car's Mac mini—which holds 220 to 230 albums, a GPS system, and is set up for both television/movie watching and video game use—Welch says he won't install a similar system for anyone else for less than $3,000. Nobody said technology comes without a price though, especially the most innovative designs.
