Microsoft has brought me to the surface hardware lab from time to time, showing me how his engineers check the possession and clothing that goes into this product. They are usually a common engineering demonstration, but last month I was invited to Microsoft’s headquarters in Washington’s Redmund to see how the company created two of its new small pro and surface laptop devices. And this time, I was glad how Microsoft uses magnets, robots, drop tests and smoke to complete its laptop and tablet design.
The first stop on this tour took me inside Microsoft’s Advanced Protie -Type Center, where the surface engineer is preparing the prototype permanently to improve fit and eliminate a new product like the surface Pro 12 inch. A new challenge for this device was to get a level pen to connect to the back part of the pill – and stay there.
Microsoft wanted the stylus to be attached to one hand, but still tough when you slide it in a bag. Engineers designed various magnets, then tested their effectiveness with machines that recorded the force and distance needed to remove the pen. The team then tweeted its tests and designs to ensure that every level of supporters have a permanent feeling.
The same test is used for constipation design and magnetic keyboard. Microsoft has created various tests to pass on the prototypes of the keyboards and measure failed rates to ensure that they can be attached at several angles. This is especially important on a small keyboard, and I’m examining myself when I review the level of 12 inches.
Microsoft has also been obsessed with performance and battery life on its quality -powered laptop devices over the past one year, and presented them as MacBook Air Clareers. Although the new level supporter has gone into a fan lace design, Microsoft is sticking to a new 13 -inch surface laptop to help cool the chips from the inside and provide competitive performance. Since there is a fan inside, Microsoft has to imitate air flow through the cooling system to ensure that its prototypes are hitting their goals without rotating very quickly.
Surface engineers use smoke to do this, as many PC gaming YouTubers like the air flow of modern case designs. Through the rear, smoke is pumped through intake vents and outputs to show that the air flow through a part of the device may be blocked and does not perform much better. The flow of air on a small device is even more important, where thermals are more compulsory.
Once the Microsoft engineer is happy with the cooling level, the fan prototype is tested inside the thermal chamber. The temperature is set around 35 degrees Celsius, 95 Fahrenheit, to see how well the fan and cooling perform in such heat. Microsoft measures areas such as the palm rest section of the laptop to ensure that they are living within thermal limits and is still comfortable to use the device. Engineers also look at the hot spots with the thermal imaging cameras to ensure that the laptop is not heating much.
Thermal and surface pen tests are interesting, but they are not as fun as the true world’s violence. Microsoft showed me how it drops and breaks their surface devices with their surface devices. From the early days of Microsoft’s tablets, I have not seen a drop test on the Surface Lab Tour, so I am glad to see that the company is brave enough to try again.
A drop chamber is designed to verify Microsoft’s fake data against the fact of droping a device on the concrete floor. The drop chamber had the key to developing Microsoft’s removable battery pack on its latest level devices, for example, to ensure that no drops would puncture battery.
Microsoft says it does not hurt the level of the pro 12 inches to a two -meter height on a hard wood floor, but when he performed the same test on a solid floor, he faded in front of my eyes. It was still active, but under the pressure of concrete, Chassis became a part. A few years ago, I mistakenly dropped a similar level pro -review unit and the screen was broken, so hopefully these drop tests mean that the latest model is much tougher than ever.
When Microsoft does not engage in droping the surface prototype, engineers also zip their pills and laptops from electric discharge. This ensures that you have no strange experience with electro static discharge that may cause the software crash or even fail in the USB port. Tests above the regulatory limits of Microsoft tests to ensure that extreme scenarios will not hit its hardware. The company also has a special radio frequency chamber to test the frequency intervention in the sealed room.
My favorite part of the Surface Labs Tour was watching Microsoft’s robot in action. The company has set up robots to tap its level of prototype screens 8,000 times to ensure that the entire touch panels work each time and no touch is false or false. The robot can also change the device used to tap the screen to imitate different forms of the finger.
A room where I was led, was full of small and large robots. A large robot in the corner was busy swipes on a level screen that indicators work properly. At a distance of a few steps, each other smiled while the surface pen was used to attract. Since it was Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, a robot arm was drawing a doodle to celebrate the company’s milestone. In the same room, small robots were examining the rejection of the palm and leaning with the pen. If the robots ever get up, I don’t want to work in this room, that’s definitely.
After appreciating the robot, Microsoft took me into a Calm places on the ground: An anichoic chamber, which was holding it World record of the world’s calm space. The room is suspended and isolated from the isolated room, which is also different from the noise of Microsoft’s surface buildings. Microsoft uses this room for audio testing, and it felt to me as if my ears were closed.
I stood inside the Anikok Chamber to hear how the audio operates in the limits of the Microsoft level laptop, which has no clear speaker. Instead, audio is pumped through the keyboard, something that is unusual for a laptop. The audio team has to compromise the keyboard design on a 13 -inch new level laptop, so when it is pushing the small gaps between the keys and chassis, it does not blow or resonate. Microsoft could just add regular speakers to its level laptop, but the team decided to make some smart engineers to make an extra space for a row of function keys.
The focus on such detail really summarizes everything about the approach design of hardware design with Microsoft level. Over the past decade, Microsoft has advanced the limits of what PC design is expected, especially with products like surface book or surface studio.
The latest surface devices have only shrunk, but Microsoft’s lab tour has shown that a lot of engineering is still needed to make them smaller. I really hope that the complex approach to developing this new pair of Microsoft-level devices is a sign that the company is still committed to advance the boundaries of hardware innovation-is known for some levels-so that in the future, bring us more interesting and category appreciation design.
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