PathWave Test 2020

  
  

  1. Introduction
  2. How does PathWave Test 2020 address market challenges?
  3. Key Features and Business Benefits
  4. Q&A and Additional Information
  5. Related Information
Introduction

PathWave Test 2020 suite is the latest release of Keysight’s software for design verification, automated validation, and test that includes:

  • PathWave Test Automation, a set of highly integrated test execution software to drive high-efficiency test plans for faster test throughput.
  • PathWave Desktop Edition, a desktop environment providing access to the PathWave platform, the electronics industry’s first ecosystem for open integration of design and test software.

PathWave Test 2020 is a platform-based test suite that can reduce time-to-market for electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) building digital and wireless products for 5G, IoT, and automotive markets. The software streamlines test data processing, sharing, and analysis to address the shortcomings of homegrown test tool integrations. For test development and engineering teams, PathWave Test 2020 supports rapid workflow solution development and deployment with interoperability for existing test software.

With PathWave Test 2020, Keysight is taking a major step forward to provide a solutions-building and integration platform. PathWave Test 2020 is a collection of software tools that work in unison to accomplish more than the individual components could achieve. The software enables test engineers to easily move between measurement, automation, analysis, and reporting to accomplish their work.

PathWave Desktop Edition extends the PathWave platform with advanced integration capabilities that enable orchestration of multiple design and test processes to improve operational efficiency. PathWave Desktop Edition provides users access to the platform for launching and managing applications in the design and test ecosystem. Advanced integration technologies in PathWave Desktop Edition allow fast solution development and deployment, unlocking insights for a digital transformation in engineering enterprises.

How does PathWave Test 2020 address market challenges?

PathWave Test 2020 addresses two important challenges currently facing electronics industry OEMs: 1) keeping pace with the rapid rate of change and innovation in the industry; 2) extracting greater value from data, workflows, and processes that comprise the engineering environment.

The first represents an opportunity to radically shift mindset and engineering approach to achieve digital transformation of complex R&D and test tasks. Customers can integrate their own tools and environments with Keysight’s open PathWave platform ecosystem. Open interoperability reduces the time required to develop test solutions and mitigates the support burden to maintain proprietary software and processes.

The second challenge represents an opportunity to raise the level of insight in the engineering enterprise to rapidly scale interdependent processes for much higher operational efficiency and competitive advantage. Customers adopting a platform-based test approach with PathWave Test 2020 can streamline product development processes within both their enterprise test workflows and their individual work tasks. The software supports more efficient test processes especially for those that require shared data and analysis for making faster, more informed decisions. Deeper insights and more informed decisions lead to better utilization of people, processes, and technologies that contribute to digital transformation of the engineering enterprise.

The key to solving these problems is in the adoption of a platform-based design and test approach that dramatically improves handling of valuable engineering data. The PathWave platform is an abstraction layer enabling data processing, sharing, and analysis at the highest levels to generate valuable operational insights from complex design and test workflows. PathWave consists of applications, software tools, hardware instruments, work tasks, and workflows. Individual tools and instruments contribute to improved efficiency in work tasks. Tool suites integrate the data into functional workflows. PathWave performs management oversight across work tasks and multiple workflows to orchestrate an agile and connected design and test process.

Electronic design and test platforms are like a symphony maestro conducting musicians to perform classical music. PathWave orchestrates interoperability and shorts product development cycles. PathWave raises the design and test abstraction level from task or function to an integrated workflow solution. The platform produces results that are not possible in its absence – greater automation and engineering productivity, faster time-to-market, and reduced manufacturing risk.

At the core of the PathWave platform is mission critical operational technology that provides the tools, solution workflows, and infrastructure. The framework enables high-level insights that fuel significant improvements in engineering and business operations. Large-scale enterprises are demanding these insights to meet today’s design, test and measurement complexity challenges. The PathWave platform delivers not only the necessary foundational technologies of a platform-based test architecture, but also the tool workflow integration and process management capabilities to unlock the greatest value from shared engineering data. The benefits of adopting the PathWave platform-based methodology are improved product development cycles and more rapid innovation in support of digital transformation.

Key Features and Business Benefits

PathWave Test 2020 provides data sharing and management between software components including test automation, advanced measurement, signal creation and generation as well as data analytics. Design verification, automated validation, and test engineers using PathWave Test 2020 significantly accelerate test workflows and product innovation with its application-tailored solutions.

PathWave Test Automation
Key Features:

  1. Graphical user interface for test plan development, optimization, and management
  2. OpenTAP, open-source core sequencing engine
  3. Tools to easily visualize, compare, and share test results

Key Benefits:

  1. Fast test execution - run more efficient test plans in less time
  2. Easy integration into existing test infrastructure to maximize productivity
  3. Faster time to insights

PathWave Desktop Edition
Key Features:

  1. A common user experience across design and test software
  2. Common data models and best-in-class measurement science
  3. Instrument discovery, licensing, and installed design and test software

Key Benefits:

  1. Improve execution across development teams
  2. Develop and deploy products faster
  3. Make informed decisions more quickly

More information on PathWave Test 2020 is available at PathWave Test Software.

Q&A and Additional Information

Will the PathWave platform be available in a cloud version?

PathWave infrastructure is built on a modern web-first technology stack that is ideal for private and public-cloud deployments. Our platform R&D priorities come directly from customers. Many of our existing customers and applications are currently on the desktop so that is a natural starting point for them. The plan is to extend PathWave into the cloud in the near future.

How are tools integrated into the PathWave platform? What does open mean with regard to PathWave platform? Is there an API and solutions developer tool kit available for PathWave?

PathWave is open in multiple dimensions. Foremost, it is an open platform-based architecture for accelerating solution development and deployment. It connects with customers’ existing enterprise software and environments making them interoperable with Keysight and external supplier tools. It contains open source components including OpenTAP that leverage the power of community R&D. The plan is to make a PathWave solutions developer tool kit available for open integration of third-party applications in the near future.

What are the advantages of using PathWave to integrate tools, workflows, and processes when customers’ proprietary methods have been working for years? Why should customers invest in making the shift to a platform-based test methodology?

Technology rate of change is accelerating and innovation in the electronics market is moving rapidly. In order for companies to keep up, they need a supported commercial platform that can scale with complex enterprise product innovation requirements. A commercial platform is more sustainable than proprietary environments and methodologies because it leverages a shared data model and clearly defined communication between engineering applications. Using a platform, it is easier and less costly to move from one project to the next. Adoption of PathWave accelerates time-to-market and solution development and deployment. It also provides the infrastructure technology and resulting insights necessary to successfully implement digital transformation in the engineering enterprise.

How much investment is required by customers to adopt PathWave platform?

Platform adoption is an evolutionary process which is why it is so important to select one that is open, scalable, and predictive in nature. Connecting tools, workflows, and processes requires significant time and resources. Customer investment in moving to PathWave as their preferred operational platform for agile design and test will provide returns across the engineering enterprise for years to come.

To learn more about connected, agile design and test, read Keysight’s TestOps Manifesto and white paper How TestOps Speeds Electronic Design and Test.

About Keysight Technologies

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) is a leading technology company that helps enterprises, service providers, and governments accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world.  Keysight's solutions optimize networks and bring electronic products to market faster and at a lower cost with offerings from design simulation, to prototype validation, to manufacturing test, to optimization in networks and cloud environments. Customers span the worldwide communications ecosystem, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics end markets. Keysight generated revenues of $3.2B in fiscal year 2017. In April 2017, Keysight acquired Ixia, a leader in network test, visibility, and security. More information is available at www.keysight.com.

Related Information
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Contacts:

Geri Lynne LaCombe, Americas and Europe
+1 303 662 4748
geri_lacombe@keysight.com

Fusako Dohi, Asia
+81 42 660-2162
fusako_dohi@keysight.com