In the United States, the military standard (also written as MIL-STD) is enforced by the Department of Defense and maintained by the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy. It exists to ensure that products meet specific requirements for various defense-related purposes.
Military tablet PCs and rugged, military-grade tablets go through a series of tests to ensure their durability. MIL-STD-810 is the U.S. Department of Defense military standard for environmental test specifications for equipment. This military standard was developed for use in DoD applications and has since been adopted into commercial standards. Its introduction began in 1967 and has continued with new revisions at regular intervals.
The most frequently referenced version is MIL-STD-810G, published in 2008.
There are more than 40 military standards and a wealth of test methods covering a wide range of use cases. Some of the most popular MIL-STDs used to test rugged laptops and tablets are:
To put it briefly, MIL-STD-810 addresses a broad range of environmental conditions. It consists of test methods, each of which tests different parameters.
For this reason, companies across all industries turn to MIL-STD-810G to validate their products as "ruggedized".
Whether you use your notebook in active field deployment or simply expose it to harsh conditions at the workplace, you want to make sure your device is equipped for the toughest environmental conditions.
The MIL-STD-810 standard has been developed and refined over the years to establish precise environmental test conditions for electrical equipment. The current standard is MIL-STD-810G, which includes the strictest tests of any MIL-SPEC version before it.
The MIL-STD-810 environmental durability standards were originally created in the 1960s by the U.S. Department of Defense as a tool for developing military equipment for use in combat zones. MIL-STD-810G is the latest iteration, a massive document spanning more than 800 pages. It contains detailed instructions for conducting 28 survivability tests, ranging from exposure and high altitude to extreme temperatures, vibration, and drops. Because of the seal of quality associated with meeting an actual U.S. military standard, laptop manufacturers have embraced the 810G specifications and use them as a marketing tool.
A military-grade computer is a computer that meets the requirements of MIL-STD-810. This means it has undergone rigorous test procedures, which include:
The device must be able to withstand sudden mechanical shocks or abrupt changes in motion.
If you plan to operate a device at high altitude, it should be proven suitable for that purpose. The MIL-STD-810G standards ensure that devices remain operational at an altitude of 15,000 feet.
MIL-STD-810-certified devices can be used outdoors in tropical regions with up to 95% relative humidity.
If you plan to operate the device in an environment exposed to strong vibration (for example in a commercial vehicle, a forklift, or a watercraft), you should use a military-grade computer that has undergone vibration testing.
The MIL-STD-810G standard even tests devices in an explosive atmosphere to ensure they can withstand hazardous substances.
This is only a small selection of the conditions a device must withstand to meet the MIL-SPEC standard. Additional tests expose the device to rain, solar radiation, fluid contamination, low and high temperatures, gunfire vibration, fungus, salt fog, and more.
When choosing a rugged notebook, always look for MIL-STD-810 certification. All Robustbook laptops and tablets meet this important standard, which means they are suitable for use in rugged vehicles, industrial workplaces, outdoor construction sites, and other unpredictable environments.
Greater durability means a longer-lasting device that is always ready for immediate use, no matter where the job takes you.
MIL-STD-810G is a collection of performance and development guidelines created by the U.S. Department of Defense for military equipment and applications.
The guidelines of the military standard specify the type of environment in which a device must function in order to meet the requirements. The MIL-STD 810G standards are the recognized guidelines for rugged laptops and devices, since they must function under the harshest working conditions.
Standard tablets cannot withstand the effects of drops or dirt, which pose a risk in the field. Even if the screen remains intact, that does not mean the internal components are drop-proof, especially not to Military Standard 810.
For this reason, the tablet manufacturer tests each of its rugged tablet PCs against the MIL-STD-810 drop test standards during the research and development phase. This involves a total of 26 drops onto all surfaces, edges, and corners of the tablet.
If you choose a drop-resistant tablet, you can be confident that neither your rugged mobile computer nor your most critical mobile workflows will fail due to accidental impacts, dents, and drops that occur during rough handling, transport, and daily use.
Thanks to tablets carefully drop-tested to MIL-STD-810, the days of accepting downtime or productivity losses from frequently replacing and repairing other, more fragile laptop or tablet computers are over. Now, employees in every industry sector can have access to military-grade rugged tablets built to withstand drops in the field.
RobustBook offers rugged laptops tested to the MIL-STD-810G standard with the Durabook S14I, Durabook S15 and Durabook Z14I devices. Robustbook also offers rugged tablets with the Durabook R11L, Durabook R11 and Durabook U11I devices. If you need a rugged notebook or tablet with MIL-STD-810G, do not hesitate to contact us.