The Right Time For Standardization

Getting test instruments to talk and listen to your "device under test" used to be as simple as finding the right connectors. The advent of digital products changed things slightly but there were still mostly just "ins" and "outs" to get right; then instruments started to get outside controls and monitoring necessitating the agreement over buss designs.

We now have four accepted form factors -- GPIB, serial, VXI and PXI -- and things have just gotten way too complicated for the users, particularly those with heavy systems. Imagine that you are running a high-volume production line and a piece of test equipment fails; the backup equipment might do exactly the same as the failed unit but you end up unable to replace it directly because your programming is for the wrong form factor. Or you are doing extremely complicated systems test work, work which is heavily safety related (such as in airplane manufacturing.) The lifespan of a particular manufacturing line may be 20+ years, with changes for sure, but the test equipment at the end of that period is unlikely to be what you started off with. Currently, every time you change vendor, or sometimes even model number, you have to go back and rewrite the test routines.

Well, things are on the up-and-up. Since last summer a number of vendors and users have been meeting to try and find a solution to getting through the maze. The result is the Interchangeable Virtual Instruments (IVI) Foundation and the members have been working to identify what groups of equipment to class together, and how to offer users a simple "Plug and Test" system: So regardless of the vendor or form factor you know the equipment will do what you want, first time.

This is commendable, timely and necessary.

The original group was formed by: GEC Marconi, Lockheed Martin, Lucent Technologies, Marconi North America, National Instruments, Northrop/Grumman, and Raytheon TI Systems. Since formation the group has enlarged with the addition of Avantest, Anritsu, Boeing, GenRad, LeCroy, Racal, Rohde & Schwarz, Tektronix, and Wavetek. Membership is open to any other interested manufacturer or user. The first five classes that are being addressed with IVI drivers built on VXIplug&play driver standards are: Scopes/digitizers; digital multimeters; arbitrary waveform/function generators; switches/multiplexers/matrices; power supplies.

The degree of interoperability that this compatibility standard will allow is extremely important for users as they choose equipment in the future; it will considerably reduce support costs at larger users and will dramatically reduce the need to rewrite test source code. It will also allow users to feel comfortable within a class of instruments more quickly as they will know all the interfaces when they learn just one interface. The design of the IVI drivers has also allowed for the introduction of "run time intelligence" which reduces redundant commands and lets the instrument make decisions on the fly.

This is a development which we applaud, and would encourage other manufacturers to join the Foundation.

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