Microsoft invented robots that disassemble defective or worn-out hard disk drives, potentially by the millions, to recycle those valuable materials. At the 2022 Global Hackathon, a team created robots that dismantle hard drives, destroy data by destroying platters, and recycle the remaining parts to extract valuable materials, avoiding the current practice of shredding entire hard drives. The robotic system uses computer vision to recognize different HDD types and locate screws for disassembly. It carefully removes components, destroying only the data-carrying platters, while salvaging parts like magnets and printed circuit boards for reuse. Microsoft uses dozens of different hard drive models at its data centers, and most of them place screws in different places, so Microsoft certainly had to implement some kind of AI to dismantle and recycle its HDDs using robots made by Dobot Robotics.
Around 20 to 70 million hard drives reach the end of their lifecycle each year, and in 2022 alone, Microsoft shredded two million hard drives. It is unclear whether the number includes shredded and dismantled/recycled HDDs or just shredded drives, as even at Microsoft, not all HDDs are recycled. According to Microsoft, this new 'NoShred' approach aims to achieve a 90% reuse and recycle rate of hard drives by 2025. The robots ensure data security by destroying only the data-carrying components while recovering valuable materials like neodymium. It should be noted that in many cases, companies that are supposed to shred their drives do not do that, and these end up collecting dust in storage rooms or going to scrapyards. Microsoft's efforts extend beyond internal improvements. The company is working with hard drive manufacturers and governments to influence global e-waste management policies.
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