Anatomy of the next generation of ATE

This paper provides an overview of several initiatives leading to the next generation of ATE and notes that the single biggest problem in ATE today is not the incorporation of advancing technology to achieve ever higher test capabilities in newly fielded ATE, rather it is the management of legacy and new ATE over a twenty year or more life cycle. This paper discusses the benefit of creation of logistically compatible testers. Logistics compatibility is obtained by identifying common test capabilities of current unique testers and consolidating those test requirements into common test resources. Adding to the common test resources is the savings/benefits through the implementation of an evolving Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard which allows multiple sized interface test adapters (ITAs) to work with different ATE. The IEEE-PI 505 receiver-fixture interface2 directly supports a compatible family of testers concept. The paper notes there are several enabling technologies evolving in the industry that facilitate the common instrument approach such as virtual or synthetic instruments (SI), programmable bus emulators or bus simulators. These have the flexibility to consolidate large numbers of obsolete, unique communications cards into a single test equipment asset. This paper also discusses the advances in software technology that will become prevalent in future ATE. Maintenance of test programs can be complicated and costly when using multiple operating systems and multiple test languages. Consolidation of the test language and operating system into an easy-to-use, COTS-based software development environment reduces recurring maintenance and training costs. Network-centric ATE approaches are also considered in this paper with the benefits provided. The use of network and Web-based management of tester software and TPSs is noted as a great benefit in the reduction of software maintenance costs. Use of a network connection and even the Internet allows software and on-line manuals to be managed in one location and provides for automatic updates, guaranteeing the use of the latest official versions of manuals and software. The paper also discusses that Network and Web-based testers allow for information flow in the other direction, thu- s facilitating a centralized database to collect UUT failure data for tracking repair piece parts and for determining high failure rate issues and/or UUT repair history. The final factor noted in this paper is the use of standards that provide for interfaces that are common and inter-operable across the industry. All the concepts presented form the anatomy of viable future ATE systems. If these concepts are not implemented in ATE designs, we as tax payers will continue to foot the bill for costly band-aid solutions in support of the war fighter.