Report charts engineering trends and challenges

NI Trend Watch 2019 delves into the following topics to inform and help automated test and automated measurement organisations prepare for the fast-approaching and exciting future of technology.

• 5G Ushers in a New Era of Wireless Test – 5G wireless devices will be more complex. Engineers must rethink the highly optimised techniques that have been used to test previous generations to enable the viable commercialisation of 5G products and solutions.

• Imminent Trade-Offs for Achieving Autonomous Driving – Autonomous driving could have a major societal impact, but the industry must manage looming cost, technology and strategy trade-offs as it shifts from single- to multi-sensor advanced driver assistance systems.

• Keep Pace With a Standardised Development Process – Test engineers are capitalising on an old trend to keep pace with a quickly modernising test environment. They are going beyond hardware and software to standardise the process used to build and maintain test architectures.  

• Making the IoT Work for Test – While the IoT is increasing device complexity and, in turn, increasing test complexity, it can also greatly enhance automated test workflows. 

• Multi-Industry Convergence Disrupts Test Strategies –Convergence has potential to speed innovation and deliver products never imagined, but it also severely complicates test. Partnering and learning across industries can result in beneficial perspective on complex test challenges. 

“These engineering trends are disrupting industries and product testing, leading to complex, unprecedented challenges,” said Shelley Gretlein (pictured), NI vice president of global marketing. “However, they also drive extraordinary innovation, which requires a fundamental shift in our approach to automated test and automated measurement – a shift that is grounded in software-defined systems.”