How Are Rugged Tablets Tested for Ruggedness?

A rugged tablet manufacturer doesn't get to just include the word 'rugged' on their products and call it a day. Rugged tablets are put through strenuous testing and must meet certain performance guidelines in order to truly be considered rugged by industry standards. The rugged tablet industry has adopted testing standards developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the U.S. military (MIL-STD 810G), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), among other organizations. Tablets are tested against vibration and tumbling, extreme temperatures, humidity and liquids, and drops.

MobileDemand tablets are designed and tested to not only meet, but in most cases, to exceed these industry expectations. The engineering department at MobileDemand uses creative and brutal methods for testing the durability of their products. They have developed proprietary testing equipment that subjects the tablets to conditions which mimic real world scenarios, including:

• Hammering nails
• Rolling down hills
• Repeatedly going through a carwash
• Tumbling over 1,000 times in an IEC compliant 1 meter height tumble test chamber
• Vibrations from a clothes dryer and paint can shaker

We require our products to perform reliably under more adverse conditions and to a higher standard than those required by the current MIL-STD 810G and SAE guidelines. For example, MIL-STD 810G standards for drop testing requires items to survive a total of 26 drops: once on each face, edge and corner. According to the standard, the 26 drops can be divided among up to five samples of the same test item, and the item is not required to be operating. In other words, the product being tested can fail the drop test up to five times and be replaced with another, undamaged unit to complete the test cycle. MobileDemand rugged tablets have been tested to survive the 26 cycle drop test with only one unit in operating mode.

Interested in finding a rugged tablet solution? Contact a MobileDemand Rugged Tablet Expert or call 319.363.4121, and we can help you find the right tool for the job.