The latest move by one of the giants in social network –Facebook- is that they have ventured into production of hardware. They are not just about giving you pictures of your family and friends and political news that is trending, they have gone ahead to venture into building data servers, Wi-Fi drones as we as virtual reality goggles.
In order to hasten the production of these things, Facebook on Monday announced that it was acquiring Nascent Objects which is a Silicon Valley on a small range still in its startup and has the ability to make the process of creating prototypes of physical hardware much faster.
The startup will become part of Building 8, which is the company’s hardware development secret initiative.
Building 8 head, Regina Dugan on the company’s page noted their excitement at being able to design, build and deliver hardware products in a matter of weeks instead of the normal months or years it would have taken. She added that they are working together create hardware that will take the time it takes to create a software.
It was after Facebook got hold of Dugan from DARPA owned by Google that they announced their intention of Building 8. Dugan was formerly in charge of Advanced Technology and Projects known as ATAP which is a hardware unit that is similarly related while in DARPA. In August, the company launched its one-in-a-million facility called Area 404 at Menlo Park, California, campus which is meant for building the hardware. The facility is equipped with heavy duty machines for milling, workbenches, and electrical labs.
During the acquisition of Nascent Objects, the company made it known on its website that the technology they use makes use of hardware design, 3D printing, and circuitry. The attraction for the startup is basically its specialty in ‘modular electronics’ that makes it possible for the user to exchange hardware parts that are interchangeable.
This new move into hardware building is part of Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook plan for the company that has turned 10 years. Part of the plan is internet access, betting big in artificial intelligence and virtual reality. It is said to be part of Mark’s mantra that he repeats which is aimed at making the world be connected and more open. For the company, this also means staying ahead in the world of computing.
