Drop testing has changed
When using the MIL-STD-810G for testing, lightweight items such as mobile computing equipment have to be dropped onto two-inch plywood backed by concrete. And since there is no telling how a mobile device will land once it’s dropped, the standard specifies that an item must fall once on each face, each edge, and each corner, for a total of 26 drops. The MIL-STD-810G allows spreading those 26 drops among up to five test items.
The DOD knows that not all drops are equal. Materiel used by the military ranges from small items slipping out of a solder’s hands all the way to massive crates dropped out of helicopters. To account for that, the DOD has different requirements for different classes of equipment. The class where almost all mobile computing gear falls in — with the largest dimension of no more than 36 inches — must pass those 26 drops from a 48-inch height.
One problem with the MIL-STD-810G “transit drop” is that it primarily deals with items falling off a truck when loading and unloading equipment. This isn’t relevant to the most likely drop scenario in mobile computing — dropping a device while operating it in the field. For that reason, drop testing has changed in the MIL-STD-810H that replaced the MILD-STD-810G in January 2019.
Some of the changes do not apply to handheld computers. For example, the DOD was concerned that the drop surface was not adequately defined for very heavy equipment in the old standard and addressed that. Mobile computing gear, however, is still dropped to concrete or 2-inch plywood backed by concrete.
