Scientists Turn Old Smartphones into Data Center Clusters

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in partnership with Google, have proposed an innovative approach to recycling outdated smartphones. As part of the project, old Pixel devices were repurposed into computing clusters for data centers. The primary goal is to reduce electronic waste while creating budget-friendly alternatives to traditional servers.

Scientists discovered that even three-year-old smartphone processors deliver higher single-threaded performance than server-grade CPUs in SPEC benchmarks. To build the cluster, displays, batteries, cameras, and other unnecessary components are removed, and the Android OS is replaced with Linux. This enables the use of orchestrators like Kubernetes and optimized workload management.

Testing revealed that 25–50 smartphones provide computing power equivalent to a dual-socket server CPU. A cluster of 20 devices can support applications for a class of 75 students, while 2,000 smartphones can simultaneously serve hundreds of such groups. The project is particularly relevant for educational institutions with limited IT infrastructure budgets.

While promising, this solution is not suitable for large-scale AI data centers, which require specialized servers with high reliability. However, for universities and small organizations, it offers an effective way to cut costs and carbon footprint. The full system is expected to launch by the end of 2024.