Editing Automatic test equipment (section)

===Test script processors and a channel expansion bus===
One of the most recently developed test system platforms employs instrumentation equipped with onboard test script processors combined with a high-speed bus. In this approach, one "master" instrument runs a test script (a small program) that controls the operation of the various "slave" instruments in the test system, to which it is linked via a high-speed LAN-based trigger synchronization and inter-unit communication bus. Scripting is writing programs in a scripting language to coordinate a sequence of actions.

This approach is optimized for small message transfers that are characteristic of test and measurement applications. With very little network overhead and a 100&nbsp;Mbit/sec data rate, it is significantly faster than GPIB and 100BaseT Ethernet in real applications.

The advantage of this platform is that all connected instruments behave as one tightly integrated multi-channel system, so users can scale their test system to fit their required channel counts cost-effectively. A system configured on this type of platform can stand alone as a complete measurement and automation solution, with the master unit controlling sourcing, measuring, pass/fail decisions, test sequence flow control, binning, and the component handler or prober. Support for dedicated trigger lines means that synchronous operations between multiple instruments equipped with onboard Test Script Processors that are linked by this high speed bus can be achieved without the need for additional trigger connections.<ref>Cigoy, Dale. R&D Magazine.[http://www.rdmag.com/Featured-Articles/2007/02/Smart-Instruments-Keep-Up-with-Changing-R-D-Needs/ Smart Instruments Keep Up With Changing RD Needs] Retrieved January 4, 2009.</ref>