The ATE industry's hybrid theory
S. Vidyasankar, Senior Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan www.frost.com -- Test & Measurement World, 12/1/2007 2:00:00 AM
If the first thing you think of when you hear “hybrid theory” is Linkin Park’s debut album, then you may be missing the most important trend in automatic test equipment (ATE): the introduction of hybrid systems that employ combinations of GPIB, VXI, PXI, and LXI interfaces.
GPIB, the interface bus from the 1970s, is a low-cost architecture that is still widely used. When VXI was introduced in 1987, many thought its high-channel-count capability would replace GPIB. Yet, the older bus had a huge installed base that continues to grow.
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| PXI revenue worldwide in 2010 will more than double 2006 PXI revenue. VXI revenues will tail off gradually, while the aerospace and defense segment will continue to sustain the market for VXI. |
Similarly, when PXI appeared in the 1990s, many predicted the end of VXI. Instead, PXI is exploring new avenues and markets for growth rather than replacing VXI.
LXI, introduced in 2005, is the hot topic now. The technology uses standard Ethernet LAN hardware and software to simplify communications for instrumentation that is now mostly GPIB. LXI will not make GPIB go away, however, but will extend the speed for instrument interconnections and provide synchronizing capabilities not available in the older bus.
Each technology has its own merits and demerits and is suited to different applications. Some companies are promoting a single technology as the ideal bus that meets all application needs. But the most evident truth is that no single bus technology can solve every T&M application. These platforms are not competitive but rather are complementary.
When one size does not fit all, what is the solution? The answer may lie in the convergence of bus standards in hybrid test systems. This trend is likely to shape the future of the ATE market.
Hybrid test systems contain multiple bus-connectivity solutions—GPIB, VXI, PXI, and LXI, as well as PXI Express and USB. Hybrid systems are especially handy when users cannot get the desired instrument capabilities in a preferred form factor. Cost reduction and performance improvements seem to be the main goal of the next-generation software-defined test systems, and the trend toward hybrid test systems has only facilitated this.
The mix-and-match approach lets users choose instruments based on capabilities and pricing options when designing or upgrading a test system. Hybrid test systems are becoming a reality, and test engineers and equipment vendors should embrace the coexistence of multiple platforms and understand the tradeoffs of the platform options before designing new instruments and test systems. Vendors must cooperate and coexist in order to have a foothold in the future of the industry.
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