Google investing $120 million on hardware testing facilities, 'Google Experience Centre'

Google is apparently bolstering its campus with new testing facilities for consumer devices, as the Mountain View company seems to be taking its own hardware more seriously. The San Jose Mercury News laid out the $120-million expansion plans for the Googleplex, which include wireless testing facilities for a new group known as "Google/@home." The group's projects sound very similar to the home entertainment streaming solution and personal communication device we hear about recently. Other notable additions include what appears to be a top-secret precision optics lab for something called "Project X," which may be a part of Sergey Brin's Google X, and a Google Experience Center. The latter is apparently a 120,000-square-foot private exhibition space where Google can show off its latest ideas and technology to important clients and partners.

The expansion plans, along with recent consumer device rumors and the company inching closer to officially acquiring Motorola, signal Google is going to dive into the hardware market in one way or another.