Today test data is being generated like never before and we suddenly find ourselves flooded with a deluge of data. Test data being generated during the development cycle of a product, simulation of products or systems, crash tests of products etc, if managed properly holds the key to improving systems and products for better performance and quality. For example, some critical applications like flight crash testing employ several hundreds of sensors to record various parameters and this crash event data plays a very significant role in making important design decisions. Huge costs are involved in conducting the test and it is very essential that maximum amount of data is collected for post-analysis. Hence test data management along with data acquisition plays a very important role in extracting useful nuggets of information from the test data.
We clearly understand the value that effective test data management brings along; and have helped several customers integrate test data management along with data acquisition so that they reap maximum benefits from their automation solutions. For example, one of the Automated Test Equipments developed by us; for the reliability testing of multi-output power supplies could process and stream data to the hard disk from 24 channels at the rate of 10,000 samples per second. This data could then be used to extrapolate the trend in the values of the critical parameters (Read more about this solution)
We can help you store your data in suitable formats and efficiently integrate the capabilities of commercial off-the-shelf software like Origin, NI DIAdem and NI Data Finder to enhance the analysis capabilities of your automation solution. (Know more). Soliton has also developed a large number of proven and tested data management utilities which can be easily integrated into your projects for excellent analysis and visualization capabilities. Check out our products portfolio for more detailed information on these tools.
| Attribute | Systems without proper test data management | Integrated test data management systems |
Multiple File Formats |
Test data is stored in a wide variety of file formats like ASCII, binary, text etc. | Test data management allows the integration of a wide variety of file formats. |
| Data Archiving | Data is not available in a proper manner for future reference. | Test data management helps to easily preserve data for future references. |
| Data Mining | Since the data is scattered across various files, it is very difficult to extract any useful information from the data | Test data management software helps in isolating meaningful trends and patterns which in turn provides valuable business insight |
| Easy Retrieval | Files may not contain descriptive information and hence it becomes very difficult to extract the required information | Permits the organization of available data for easy retrieval |
| Cost | Designing specialized databases for the test data can be very expensive | Integration of test data management along with data acquisition helps provide higher return on investment. |
NI DIAdem is an interactive software package for managing, analyzing, visualizing and reporting test data. DIAdem is designed to help engineers make informed decisions and meet the demands of today's testing environments which require quick access to large volumes of scattered data, consistent reporting and data visualization.
Origin is a complete graphing and data analysis software package that provides a suite of features catering to the needs of scientists and engineers. Origin imports data files in various formats such as ASCII, Excel, NI TDM, DIAdem, NetCDF, SPC etc.
As William Pollard rightly puts it,
“Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed and available to the right people in a format for decision making it is a burden, not a benefit”