AUSTIN, TX -- NI today released of its annual Automated Test Outlook report delivers a comprehensive view of the key trends expected to impact automated test environments with the proliferation of connected devices, from preparing to test mmWave communication to effectively using manufacturing test data to propel business results.

The report is notable in that there aren't any major eye-openers, but it underscores the range of complex issues facing test engineers today. For example, while semiconductor companies develop extreme volumes of test data which must be collected, stored and accessible in quick order, other engineers grapple with ensuring legacy systems -- namely, the B-52 bomber -- stays aloft some 100 years after its introduction.

In compiling the annual 13-page report, NI takes feedback from its more than 35,000 customers, which is then integrated with the firm's researchers' outlook. It also relies on input from academia and test engineering advisory councils. Results are organized into five categories, with a major trend from each highlighted.

NI identified the following segments and trends:

• Computing: Harvesting production test data. Semiconductor organizations pioneer real-time data analytics to reduce manufacturing test cost.
• Software: Life-cycle management is all about software. Obsolescence, OS churn, and compatibility challenge long life-cycle projects—an age-old problem warrants revisiting.
• Architecture: The rise of test management software. Off-the-shelf test executives are effective solutions for the influx of new programming languages.
• I/O: Standardizing platforms from characterization to production. RFIC companies employ IP reuse and hardware standardization across the product design cycle to reduce cost and shorten time to market.
• Business Strategy: Making (mm)waves in test strategy. Test managers are adopting modular solutions to economically validate high-frequency components