2022 SODAQ, manufacturer of the general purpose asset tracker: TRACK, committed itself to take environmental and social responsibility and got rebranded as a ‘World-friendly IoT’ company. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the current TRACK product, performed by an external company, proved that decreasing the impact of the enclosure might provide a good opportunity to significantly reduce the total impact of the product. However, two new ‘Fast Track’ LCAs showed that the plastic enclosure only contributed less than 5% to the total impact, with the electronics being responsible for the rest. Therefore the goal of the project was to reduce the impact of the electronics.
In this project an attempt was made to find a solution for the most impactful and relevant components such as the PCBA and the PV panel. First sustainability issues of the current TRACK components were identified and then the sustainable opportunities and limitations of alternative technologies were discussed. To show at what point in time the new technologies are expected to become relevant, technology roadmaps were created.
As a conclusion of this world-friendly technology research, a vision for the future of the TRACK line was laid out in a product roadmap. To show how the integration of the more world-friendly components could translate into practise, the TRACK Core 5G concept was designed as a showcase product. The TRACK Core 5G prototype includes a solvent-based recycled polycarbonate (PC) transparent enclosure, with electronics printed on a recycled substrate and a flexible emerging PV panel.
To extend the lifespan of the electronics, circular product design guidelines were applied. The basis of the circular loops is that the components can be disassembled quickly. In the current product the time it takes to replace the battery was relatively long (80 seconds) and the PV panel could not be replaced at all. By using the disassembly strategies and the choice for a 'direct access' design, all electronic components, including the PV panel, can be disassembled in 6-17 seconds.
In order to extend the life of the most impactful components, the chips on the printed circuit board, the theory of modular design was applied. By using the material properties of the flexible PCB, a new strategy for upgrading the PCB was developed which brings down the initial cost and
offers more flexibility.