A tour of the El Dorado laboratories
Within the journey that Expansión took in this space, it was possible to see why the institute has had an alliance with Lenovo and Motorola for 24 years, since some of the tests they do are carried out in the 5G laboratory or the photography laboratory.
To give an example of the tests that can be done in this space, the telecommunications laboratory that has been in existence for 10 years, has managed to have an investment of 15 million dollars and has carried out tests on some 38 products.
It has a specialized team to test the network and the battery of the equipment. But they not only work with manufacturers, they also do so with carriers around the world where tests can last up to 72 weeks and where they seek to verify that the devices that are about to hit the market have an optimal response to radio frequency networks. those that are exposed.
“Many of the tests and innovations that are carried out in this laboratory will be able to be seen in the market in two or three years, so we not only test equipment already developed, but also on prototypes that are about to be manufactured,” said Sobbol.
One of the most complete laboratories is the photography laboratory, where the performance of phones is evaluated with different light, texture and color tests. Made up of professional photographers in El Dorado, it is possible to test equipment for the most common uses of users: social networks, photography for advertising, macro or gastronomy photographs.
With various spaces, lights, fabrics and objects, it is possible to check whether a phone camera is properly calibrated or not. They also have alliances with companies like Google, where they not only help in tests of this type, but also in the optimization of the algorithms that will later reach the mass market.
The audio laboratory is also one of the most used by the technology industry and there you can do sound tests that range from seeing how the keys on a computer sound to being able to do sound cancellation evaluations of the devices.
Entering these laboratories is knowing a little more about the development process of devices that will go on the market in the following months, and it is possible to witness that dozens of specialists in different areas are involved in the design processes of these new products.
Campinas, a tech hub in Brazil
It should be said that Campinas has become known as the Silicon Valley of Brazil, because it is home to 32 of the 500 largest IT companies in the world, according to data from El Dorado.
The region brings together 15 R&D centers, 18 higher education institutions and five technology parks. In the last two years, plans to turn it into a smart city of the future were revived by the Science, Technology and Innovation Council.
The city also has a startup accelerator, which rewards innovation and provides free training to managers on innovation. The legal framework was modernized and today the city offers tax incentives for new businesses as well as established companies.
This began in 1970, when the Campinas region had few industries and had an economy based on agriculture. But now, in Sobbol’s own words, “government, industry and academia are required to make innovation not only for the technological field but to boost the economic activity of the companies that develop here.”