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T
he adaptive test platform from
Finnish equipment manufacturer
PKC Electronics heralds a new era
in the testing of electronic devices,
which until now was mostly still carried
out manually. As mobile devices such as
smartphones, tablet PCs or navigation
devices with their touch displays and
sophisticated audio or video functions
become more and more complex, so too
does the task of thoroughly testing them.
The user interface performance tests,
touchscreen swipe tests, operation of the
keys and switches on the sides of the
mobile devices and the speaker and
microphone tests require extensive and
quality-assured test procedures. The
rapid expansion of the smartphone and
tablet PC market is also set to further
heighten the demand for reliable test
devices. In 2013 alone, 1.4 billion
smartphones were in use worldwide. The
number of tablet computers grew from 17
million in 2010 to 195 million last year.
Demand calls for automation
“Today, it is important for us to be able to
offer turnkey test devices where all you
have to do is quickly change the adapter
for the different terminal formats and
retrieve the right software for the test
routine at more or less the touch of a
button”, explains Kimmo Hyrynkangas,
Test Solution Business Area Manager at
PKC Electronics in Finland. “Many end
users need to change the adapters and
associated programs twice a day on
average”, continues Hyrynkangas.
“With the Chameleon brand name, PKC
Electronics has developed exactly the
flexible test device we require”, states
Marko Anttila, Operation Manager at
Elektrobit. Elektrobit is a Finnish
manufacturer of mobile devices and
infotainment systems for vehicles.
“Equipped with the corresponding
adapters, the solution allows even small
and medium-sized series consisting of
10,000 to 100,000 units to be tested
quickly and reliably”, he adds.
Highly flexible solution
The high level of flexibility and adaptability
of the test device enables customers to
respond to the wide variety and ever
decreasing product life cycles of mobile
devices. Development times are
shortening all the time. Extensive tests
now have to be carried out as early as the
development phase. Ideally, the test
systems should be able to be used in both
the development phase and during series
production. End customers also need to
integrate multiple test functions in a
(A) Approaches any position within
its working space:
the mini planar
surface gantry EXCM.
(B) Highly automated:
the only task
performed manually is positioning of
the mobile devices.
(A)
(B)