TESTING THE IoT By 2020, more than 50 billion devices will be digitally connected, representing $19 trillion in business opportunity. As systems increase in size and complexity, engineers and scientists face new challenges when networking and synchronising devices to make intelligent decisions.
A
lthough the Internet of Things may sound like marketing jargon to some test managers, smart sensing devices are poised to become the centre of a new technology revolution. Industry players such as Microsoft, Raytheon and Qualcomm have already achieved distributed sensing, intelligence and analytics through differentiated software and hardware platforms. For progressive test managers, IoT is the opportunity to achieve rapid improvement, higher throughput and lower test costs. The Internet of Things (IoT) is reaching the test and measurement industry at an interesting time. Sceptical test managers may have heard about the next tech disruption, but some may have a hard time recognising how the technology could impact their systems. The same test managers have been at the helm of distributed sensing and analytics technology for decades — the same technology IoT proponents proclaim is driving progressive change. The technology may seem familiar to automated test organisations and there is significant opportunity for forward-looking test managers to profit from this megatrend. The key is to understand how the IoT applies to test and measurement, and learn from established companies that are using a platform-based approach to benefit from this technology. By using a proven software and hardware platform, test managers can reap dividends of productivity today while preparing their organisations to thrive tomorrow.
10
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
So, what is the IoT? Usually it refers to systems that were formerly treated as isolated entities but are now sources of relevant data. Some examples in the consumer space include: smart appliances, thermostats and power meters. The IoT is also changing industrial processes and business operations — this is the area where test managers can make a difference. The tools used in the Industrial IoT (IIoT) range from test and measurement instruments such as oscilloscopes, multimeters and function generators to fully integrated smart testers. The secret ingredient that takes these tools from mere isolated things to IIoT-enabled devices is a combination of technologies: device-to-device communication, automated analytics and scalable systems. Fortunately for the test and measurement specialists, this is not uncharted territory. Industry leaders have implemented these technologies through software platforms for more than a decade.
A device-to-device communication network At release in 2006, NI LabVIEW 8.20 software was notable for including a web server for building test and measurement systems. Why would someone automating data acquisition need a web server? For automated test developers at Microsoft working on testing Xbox 360 controllers, this technology presented an opportunity for unprecedented device-to-device communication. Combined with GPIB, serial and other network communication protocols such as TCP/
WWW.ELECTRONICSONLINE.NET.AU