How to mitigate hardware obsolescence in next-generation test systems

Abstract

Automatic test engineers are faced with replacing obsolete software and hardware in systems that remain in operation longer than individual components are supported. Replacing obsolete hardware can be especially challenging because of the need to modify test software in order to support new instrumentation. Changes to test software in order to support new instrumentation might affect multiple areas of the application and require time-consuming development or costly revalidation. This paper explains how you can mitigate hardware obsolescence with the use of well-designed hardware abstraction layers.