Test Automation Environment / Software for Hardware Applications

Question

I am an electrical engineer, so my experience with software testing is limited. My application is not a software testing issue. I need to develop a Python software package to interact with the RF circuit board to perform various test and measurement procedures. I want the software to be general enough so that in the future add new test cases, change parameters, etc. It was very simple and did not take time, so we will focus on the results.

As far as I read the available test automation tools, I found that they are intended for software tests, and not for hardware applications.

I was wondering if you have any suggestions or have come across a framework / tool / arch. It is suitable for hardware applications.

Answer 1

There are several automated test frames that you can try - although although they are designed to test software, you can probably use them to test your hardware. Check out the nose , Robot Framework, or unittest .

Keep in mind that testing equipment often includes other tools; be sure to include (or simplify them later) any additional components used to monitor your device in your test software from the very beginning, since adding new devices can become difficult at the end of the project.

Answer 2

I am also interested in finding something like this. In addition, I would like to be able to create simple forms of the GUI using drag and drop, as we did in Visual Basic 6.0, and also have a nice interface for the database with the query designer.

So far, the closest I've seen is DABO, in which there are some elements, but it is not quite adapted for the task of hardware testing.

Answer 3

We also found the same problem when most of the available tools are designed to test software rather than hardware. These tools are very good, but they lack support for testing electronics.

In response to this, we developed an automation testing system that combines many different tools that allow: - releasing firmware; - Download firmware to an array of electronic devices. - Definition of test procedures. - Automated test planning. - Collection and processing of all data to verify the health of the device.

The basis of this test system is written in python and uses many python modules that allow you to use com, process data, save results and visualize test data.

Please see the link below for details on how this all works. http://bduncanltd.com/brochures/automation_test_system.pdf

Feel free to contact if you need more information.

[e-mail]

Answer 4

Take a look at picopia. I have used it before, and this is pretty good, although at first I studied a little.