Teradyne bus test system emulates multiple protocols

The Bi4-Series of serial bus test instruments (BTI) from Teradyne Inc.'s Assembly Test Division is claimed to be the first "synthetic" instrument capable of assuming a wide range of serial bus protocols required in military and aerospace test environments.

It features a built-in "morph-ability" allowing it to assume the bus protocol language of serial communications buses used in operational or factory environments. Because it is able to both emulate and test serial buses, the BTI eliminates the need for individual, protocol-specific test instruments, thereby reducing the overall cost of test, simplifying the test process and the deployment of multiple test systems.

The device features a load-and-forget programming environment and has four independent bus modules that support MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1773, TIA/EIA-RS-232, TIA/EIA-RS-422, TIA/EIA-RS-485, H009, and ARINC 429 standards.