Everything you need to know about Facebook's mammoth 'Area 404' hardware lab
Hardware is definitely not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Facebook. Well, that's about to change.
A lot of things at the Facebook headquarters building at Menlo Park, California, are changing. The company has just set up its new 22,000-square-foot hardware research and development lab equipped with industrial machinery.
You will notice "Area 404", a new hardware lab built by the social networking giant, dominating the first floor of Building 17.
"One of the things we're investing a lot in - and have been for a long time - is the underlying infrastructure that powers everything we do," said Facebook head of engineering Jay Parikh. And most of the 1.65 billion people who use Facebook had no clue about it.
"Among the equipment are enormous milling machines (for making prototypes), an electron microscope (to get a closer look at parts that have failed) and a water jet cutter (a tool that cuts metal and other material using super high-pressure streams of water)," says Mashable.
Facebook will build prototypes of possibly everything - from future versions of Oculus to Surround 360 VR camera and Aquila, the solar-powered drone.
Though Facebook will not reveal how much they are spending on the facility, it appears to be a massive sum. First published: 4 August 2016, 3:53 IST
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