Richardson, TX – The Remote Instrumentation Controller, Model 1000 (RIC-1000), from ASSET® InterTech, the leading supplier of open tools for embedded instrumentation, has been named a finalist in Test and Measurement World magazine’s Best In Test awards program for 2009.
The RIC-1000 is a test controller for ASSET’s ScanWorks® embedded instrumentation platform. The typical configuration of a JTAG or boundary scan test station calls for the controller to be installed in a personal computer and then connected by cables to the circuit board that is being tested. The compact RIC-1000 comes in a self-contained enclosure which is cabled to a circuit board or other unit under test (UUT) and communicates remotely over the Internet or an Ethernet network to a ScanWorks platform. The RIC-1000 applies tests locally and communicates results to the remote ScanWorks station.
World Wide Test
“It’s similar to the World Wide Web in that a test engineer can perform design validation, apply tests or debug a circuit board or assembly anywhere in the world via the RIC-1000 and the Internet,” said Alan Sguigna, vice president of sales and marketing for ASSET. “In terms of cost-effectiveness, the RIC family gives both large and small companies the ability to pinpoint their human and test technology resources wherever and whenever they are needed.”
The RIC-1000 incorporates local intelligence and implements a client/server architecture in relation to a remote ScanWorks station. Each Remote Instrumentation Controller can be assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address. As a result, a test engineer at a ScanWorks station in the United States could apply tests via a Remote Instrumentation Controller over the Internet on a circuit board being manufactured in a factory in Asia, for example. The need for a ScanWorks test station running on a personal computer and other equipment local to the Remote Instrumentation Controller and the circuit board being tested is eliminated. In fact, one ScanWorks station can access and apply tests through any number of Remote Instrumentation Controllers located anywhere in the world.
ScanWorks® – The Embedded Instrumentation Platform
ASSET, through its ScanWorks platform, is applying the experience it has gained from two decades as a leading supplier of boundary-scan test tools to the development of open embedded instrumentation tools. The boundary-scan infrastructure that is embedded into chips and circuit boards is one of several technologies that can form the basis for an embedded instrumentation toolset. In recent years, ASSET has significantly enhanced its ScanWorks® platform with embedded instrumentation capabilities such as CPU-emulation functional test, signal integrity analysis utilizing embedded Intel® IBIST (Interconnect Built In Self Test) technology and others.
With its advanced automation, data acquisition and data analysis features, ScanWorks will continue as a leading platform for structural boundary-scan test. It has become the boundary-scan system of choice for practically all major communication and defense/avionics suppliers, including Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola, Alcatel-Lucent, Tellabs, Huawei, Raytheon, Rockwell, Lockheed Martin, BAE, ITT, Northrop Grumman, GE Aviation and others. In addition, ScanWorks’ adoption by companies like Microsoft for its Xbox 360 video game console and Delphi for its automotive electronics demonstrates that ScanWorks will continue its leadership as boundary scan proliferates in computers, set-top boxes, consumer electronics, industrial controls, automotive and other industries.
About ASSET InterTech
ASSET InterTech is a supplier of open tools for embedded instrumentation to engineers doing design validation, test and debug. The ScanWorks platform provides automation, access and analysis tools in one environment. Users can quickly and easily validate and test semiconductors, circuit boards or entire systems during every phase of a product’s life, including design, manufacturing/repair and field maintenance. In addition, chips can be programmed in-system after they have been soldered to a circuit board. ASSET’s MicroMaster product line employs CPU emulation technology to perform extensive functional test and diagnostic routines on circuit boards and chips, and to program logic and memory devices in-system at high CPU speeds. ASSET InterTech is located outside of Dallas, TX, at 2201 North Central Expressway, Suite 105, Richardson, TX 75080.
Trademarks: ASSET, the ASSET logo and ScanWorks are registered trademarks of ASSET InterTech, Inc. All other trade and service marks are the properties of their respective owners.
