Facebook Hardware Lab

2016: Opening of production laboratory for production of new devices

At the beginning of August, 2016 Facebook announced opening of production laboratory thanks to which the company is going to accelerate development and testing of new devices.

At opening of Area 404 there were many journalists

Object under the name Area 404 was located in the city of Menlo Park (the State of California, the USA) and is in the territory of the Building 17 complex on which the Internet company headquarters is located. The floor area of a new workshop is 2.2 thousand square meters, more than 50 people will work there.

Zone for handworks

Facebook reported that creation of Area 404 became a part of the 10-year development plan of the different equipment, including devices in the field of virtual reality and artificial intelligence and also unmanned aerial vehicles, panoramic cameras, satellites, server and telecommunication equipment (the access point installed on columns Wi-Fi signal transmitters, etc.).

Turning multi-purpose machine

Especially for laboratory the latest equipment for development and testing of electronic devices was purchased. In particular, the workshop is equipped multi-purpose turning and vertically milling machines, installation for hydroabrasive cutting of materials, an electron microscope, the computer tomograph and different high-precision measuring devices.

For Area 404 the latest equipment for development and testing of electronic devices purchased

As the vice president of Facebook Jason Taylor who is responsible for work of data centers reported, the company needed the platform within which development teams of different projects could exchange not only the equipment, but also the ideas. A main objective of this laboratory is joint work of engineers and developers, Taylor noted.

Installation for hydroabrasive cutting of materials

Electron microscope

Facebook develops own server hardware

Panoramic camera of Facebook

Modular Yosemite server

Switch Facebook Wedge 100 created within an initiative of OCP

The started Facebook development center is divided into two parts: one is intended for testing and debugging of electronic devices, and the second — for works with prototypes of new products. Did not open investment into this object of Facebook.^[1]

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