Andrew Parsons, Wayne Chen, Erik Elkington
EE 198A
David Parent
6 May 2014

The Laser Locking Mechanism’s Waste Although the touchless security interface that our group is developing will help countless individuals in hospital settings by limiting the spread of germs, the components and materials that our project requires will eventually become trash. Resistors, microcontrollers, and laser diodes will be mass produced so our device can be sold at a competitive price and once newer versions and models come out, older revisions will be discarded. The dumping ground for a significant portion of e-waste is currently Africa.
There are fields of old computers and electronic parts which are no longer needed by the western world in Africa. Because the continent is heavily divided and throughout history has been abused economically and politically, Africa will continue to be the world’s dumpster. The hard metals that are needed for components of the laser locking mechanism also need to be retrieved from somewhere. Minerals such as zinc and tungsten are common exports from Africa to the U.S. and other developed nations. Africa’s war torn countryside has left many villages ruled by small military regimes that force villagers to work in mines for little to no pay to get these minerals. Much like the blood diamond issues that have risen up, minerals for electronic components have an ethical price as well. Our product will need these materials much like any other electronic device and the demand for the ores will keep the slave labor institutions in Africa alive and well.
While the negative pressures that our product will introduce to Africa are fairly straightforward, there are positive influences our product will bring as well. If touchless security becomes a standard for surgical/hospital settings in developed countries such as the U.S., the technology will eventually spread to Africa. As the developed world improves aspects of its healthcare system such as new drugs or procedures, the standard for patient care