New light has been shed on how devices within Microsoft are developed thanks to a discussion from engineers responsible for piecing together the Kinect. At a chip conference, Xbox 360 Kinect engineers spoke about the challenges faced when designing the rather robust camera peripheral, saying that they ensured even a fall to concrete would not stop the device from working.
“We knew this thing was going to be viewed as a toy and so it was going to be abused,” said engineer Scott McEldowney.
The design was over-engineered for a reason. With consumers breaking peripherals, the design had to stand up not only to said consumers, but to the elements as well. Abuse, projectiles, drops, carless shipping, surges and even lighting were all meant to hardly scratch the device.
“You had to test it by dropping it on concrete,” said Microsoft engineer Dawson Yee. “That was the level of robustness.”
Why all the care? Besides seeing over 8 million units sold in its first holiday season, it seems like the damage done with the infamous RRoD will continue to play a part in quality control for Microsoft.
“We went as far as the material limits would allow us,” commented Yee.
[Thanks VentureBeat]
