Question L1-C2

The question is about the environmental impact of robotics. The question is: "The Thymio robot is produced in China and massively used to teach digital education in schools in Vaud, Geneva, Neuchâtel (>20’000 Thymio). What action, among the following, would be the most beneficial to reduce the impact on the environment of this necessary action in schools?". Three possible answers are offered to the students;

Answer A: Produce all the robots in Lausanne, which would remove the impact due to transport from China.
This answer is not correct: object distribution has a small relative impact on all the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) indicators in the case of the Thymio. This is because production has larger impact and because many components are manufactured in Asia in any case.
In the explanation of the student we would like that the student mentions that object distribution has a small relative impact on all the LCA indicators in the case of the Thymio, and many components are manufactured in Asia and would need transportation anyways. Likewise, object use has a negligable relative impact on all the LCA indicators in the case of the Thymio. However, object manufacturing has the highest relative impact on all LCA indicators in the case of the Thymio, making a longer lifetime very important for reducing impact.
 	 	 	 	 	 
Answer B: Bring back in Switzerland the know-how needed to repair the robot, allowing to extend the lifetime of the robots before requiring replacement.
This answer is correct: object manufacturing has the highest relative impact on all LCA indicators in the case of the Thymio, making a longer lifetime very important for reducing impact.
In the explanation of the student we would like that the student mentions that to make informed decisions regarding environmental impacts, one looks at LCA indicators for a specific object, which in the case of the Thymio yields manufacturing as the main cause of environmental impact across the whole life-cycle of the robot. Therefore extending the lifetime of the robot by repairing it has an important impact. It reduces manufacturing and therefore the main environmental impact.

Answer C: Train the children and teachers to use the robots in a way that uses less electrical power.
This answer is not correct: object use has a negligable relative impact on all the LCA indicators in the case of the Thymio.
In the explanation of the student we would like that the student mentions that to make informed decisions regarding environmental impacts, one looks at LCA indicators for a specific object, which in the case of the Thymio yields use as a negligible component, especially in respect to manufacturing.