Logitech gives ITdaily an exclusive insight into its research and development laboratory, where work is being done on the hardware of the future.

Getting a glimpse into the heart of a company’s development is a rare opportunity for a journalist. Manufacturers rarely want to give away the secrets they’re working on. If you scour every corner for details, you might get a glimpse of a device that won’t be on the market for two years or more. Or not at all, but instead serve as inspiration for something else.

Logitech gave us the opportunity to visit one of those famous R&D labs where they work on hardware. Next we went to Cork in Ireland where the company recently moved into a completely new office.

Everything is brand new and dozens of different types of meeting rooms catch our attention, but our hearts only start racing when it’s time to visit the R&D lab.

Cork, Ireland

Logitech has a handful of R&D centers around the world, each with their own focus. In Cork, they work primarily on mice and gaming controllers, with support from the other centers. Conversely, the Cork center also supports the other product categories when needed.

Our tour was split into two parts. The first is the inspiration room for the designers, with windows that allow good visibility. The second is the studio where everything is manufactured and tested and where the windows are covered with anti-glare film. Before we entered the bunker, it was the inspiration room’s turn.

Inspire and feel

The room in which designers do their work and lay the foundation for a new product appears particularly bright and colorful. Creativity clearly has to flow here. In addition to the various workstations for employees, all of which are flex desks with Logi Dock Flex on the table, the inspiration room catches the eye.

Here, designers can capture a wide range of devices, materials and surfaces. They can immediately feel the difference between ABS and recycled (PCR) ABS for hard plastics or TPE and PU for soft plastics. Other metals, surfaces, everything is at hand in the most striking colors.

In addition to equipment, there are also drawers full of fabric, material or surface samples. These are all reference samples approved for production that designers can get their hands on.

What’s striking is that among Logitech’s products we occasionally see products from competing brands. This often depends on the use of unique materials, a special finish or an interesting color combination. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take any photos of these.

3D printing in 360,000 colors

From theory to practice: We go down to the ground floor to the research and development laboratory, where products are physically designed. No prying eyes are allowed, the privacy film is stuck all the way around halfway up the windows.

Unfortunately, it is very quiet when we pass by. Even though we are not allowed to take photos, the photos in this report were made available to us, there is still a fear of prying eyes.

We start at the workplace, where the material is molded. We see iterations of the Logitech MX Anywhere 3S in clay and plastic until the shape was what we wanted. According to the designers, clay remains a useful product for experimenting with shapes. 3D printing prototypes is the next phase.

Many 3D printers in the R&D lab. Besides a traditional Ultimaker model and the Formlabs resin printer, the Stratasys J750 is the best of the best. It allows you to print in 360,000 colors and work with different materials from flexible to rigid.

Lots of drops and clicks

The look dictates the product, but without electronics there is no interaction. There are several workstations where they can work with circuit boards or maker boards to get early prototypes up and running.

For metal parts, such as the chassis of a gaming steering wheel, there is a separate room where machined parts can be made from a block of metal.

You notice that there is no shortage of (often expensive) hardware in the research and development laboratory to be able to develop everything thoroughly.

Finally, there are also automated machines that simulate real-world use. Here, the development team wants to get an idea of ​​whether the product is built sturdily enough. So we see a device that does nothing more than drop tests. Another robotic arm endlessly clicks a mouse or opens the cover of a webcam.

Child in a candy store

If you look at the photos above for devices that have not yet appeared in prototype form, you will be disappointed. We were not allowed to take any photos ourselves. Everything you see has been delivered.

This is understandable, but also unfortunate. During our tour we were able to see more things, which made everything more tangible. Many devices were completely opened up on the test bench and the way in which competitors’ products were compared to their own devices was fascinating. The only thing we were allowed to photograph is the brand new Logitech MeetUp 2, which was released last week.

Above all, we feel like a child in a candy store, with details everywhere that we want to go into more detail. Unfortunately, the hour is almost over. Far too short to be able to see all the details properly. On the other hand, we shouldn’t be writing about it anyway. A research and development laboratory remains a mystery that you (and we) now have a somewhat clearer picture of.