Effective Test Methodology Research Articles

Identification of secondary resonances of nonlinear systems using phase-locked loop testing

One unique feature of nonlinear dynamical systems is the existence of superharmonic and subharmonic resonances in addition to primary resonances. In this study, an effective vibration testing methodology is introduced for the experimental identification of these secondary resonances. The proposed method relies on phase-locked loop control combined with adaptive filters for online Fourier decomposition. To this end, the monotonic evolution of the phase lag around secondary resonances is exploited for their identification. The method is demonstrated using two systems featuring cubic nonlinearities, namely a numerical Duffing oscillator and a physical experiment comprising a clamped–clamped thin beam. The obtained results highlight that the control scheme can accurately characterize secondary resonances as well as track their backbone curves. A particularly salient feature of the developed algorithm is that, starting from the rest position, it facilitates an automatic and smooth dynamic state transfer toward one point of a subharmonic isolated branch, hence, inducing branch switching experimentally.

Fuzzers for Stateful Systems: Survey and Research Directions

Fuzzing is a very effective testing methodology to find bugs. In a nutshell, a fuzzer sends many slightly malformed messages to the software under test, hoping for crashes or incorrect system behaviour. The methodology is relatively simple, although applications that keep internal states are challenging to fuzz. The research community has responded to this challenge by developing fuzzers tailored to stateful systems, but a clear understanding of the variety of strategies is still missing. In this paper, we present the first taxonomy of fuzzers for stateful systems and provide a systematic comparison and classification of these fuzzers.

Proposed Test Case Generation Model using Fuzzy Logic (TCGMFL)

This research addresses the pressing need to enhance software testing, specifically focusing on white-box testing and basis path generation. Software testing is a linchpin in the software development process, ensuring software operates flawlessly and aligns with its intended objectives. However, this phase often incurs substantial time and resource investments. The primary aim of this study is to introduce an efficient and automated approach for basis path generation, a crucial component of white-box testing. The model commences by transforming source code into a tailored control flow graph (CFG), streamlining the automated generation of test paths. Central to this model is an algorithm for generating test paths (AGTP), meticulously traversing CFG nodes from source to destination. The algorithm’s design aims to comprehensively cover all test paths within the CFG. To enhance testing process efficiency, the model employs k-means clustering to generate and cluster inputs. Path coverage is rigorously assessed for each cluster, and fuzzy logic is used to determine the optimal path. The overarching goals of this research are to reduce time and financial costs associated with software testing while maintaining precision and efficiency. The model’s effectiveness in generating test cases is confirmed through the examination of multiple examples, underscoring its valuable contribution to software testing. This study marks a significant advancement toward more effective and cost-efficient software testing methodologies.

Compilation of a Solar Mirror Materials Database and an Analysis of Natural and Accelerated Mirror Exposure and Degradation

Abstract The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been conducting exposure experiments on solar reflectors for over four decades. Thousands of mirror samples from over 100 suppliers have been exposed to and monitored in a range of relevant environments. These test conditions include outdoor test settings and several controlled laboratory environments. These samples have been rigorously individually characterized using a series of reflectance measurements, visual inspections and, in some cases, in-depth composition analysis to identify degradation modes, reflectance losses, and other mirror properties integral to understanding the solar reflector’s life cycle. This article compiles the decades of measurement data into a concise statistical analysis. It includes exposure and degradation data for numerous reflector types, including secondary-surface reflector permutations of polymer and glass superstrates with silver and aluminum reflectors as well as front-surface reflectors. The results herein are intended to analyze environmental stressors and degradation trends among various historical and state-of-the-art solar reflectors. This article may be used to support solar reflector design, effective testing methodology, and inform manufacturing decisions moving forward. Presented are the results of the compiled database and an initial analysis for degradation rate modeling using full-spectrum and wavelength-dependent approaches. The database is a growing resource hosted on a live, publicly accessible website. In conjunction with the analysis presented here, the database provides a valuable resource to the solar reflector manufacturing and testing industry.

A Testing Framework for AI Linguistic Systems (testFAILS)

This paper presents an innovative testing framework, testFAILS, designed for the rigorous evaluation of AI Linguistic Systems (AILS), with particular emphasis on the various iterations of ChatGPT. Leveraging orthogonal array coverage, this framework provides a robust mechanism for assessing AI systems, addressing the critical question, “How should AI be evaluated?” While the Turing test has traditionally been the benchmark for AI evaluation, it is argued that current, publicly available chatbots, despite their rapid advancements, have yet to meet this standard. However, the pace of progress suggests that achieving Turing-test-level performance may be imminent. In the interim, the need for effective AI evaluation and testing methodologies remains paramount. Ongoing research has already validated several versions of ChatGPT, and comprehensive testing on the latest models, including ChatGPT-4, Bard, Bing Bot, and the LLaMA and PaLM 2 models, is currently being conducted. The testFAILS framework is designed to be adaptable, ready to evaluate new chatbot versions as they are released. Additionally, available chatbot APIs have been tested and applications have been developed, one of them being AIDoctor, presented in this paper, which utilizes the ChatGPT-4 model and Microsoft Azure AI technologies.

DESIGNING FOR LEGAL PRACTITIONERS: LESSONS LEARNED FROM LEGAL TECH DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

AbstractRecently, the design and digitalisation approaches have become increasingly utilised in the legal context, typically under the names of legal design and legal tech. One of their goals is to help legal practitioners be more efficient and to provide better quality and more comprehensive legal services. Also, given that both movements rely heavily on participatory and co-design, they will require increased support not only from design practitioners but also from design researchers and educators. Therefore, this paper investigates, from a design research viewpoint, the opportunities and challenges of developing and implementing legal tech, with a particular focus on legal practitioners. It reports on four cases of designing legal tech solutions and their implementation in a law firm. The main insights are related to the importance of value perception through participatory and co-design, the need for efficient and effective testing methodologies, and the opportunity to test a wide range of design methods and tools in the legal context. The paper also complements the legal design and legal tech literature with additional arguments on why designing in the legal context is challenging compared to designing in other domains.

Mass Screening of COVID-19 Cases by Sputum Testing

SARS CoV 2 virus is detected in the respiratory tract by using nasal/oropharyngeal and nasal mid-turbinate swabs, nasopharyngeal wash and aspirate, and an oral aspirate. The anterior nares are the most common place to collect samples due to its ease and little invasiveness. Sample collection requires experienced hands, and if the appropriate technique isn't followed, it might lead to false negative results and alter the final conclusion. Because of its size and robustness, India's healthcare system has over 700 districts each running National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) and experts in India have proposed modifying the CBNAAT machines used in NTEP program for COVID 19 testing by utilizing a new cartridge. After a second wave of COVID-19 cases, the number of cases in India is on the rise again. When dealing with a highly contagious disease, healthcare professionals are constrained by a lack of personal protective equipment, logistics, and infrastructure. The nasopharyngeal specimen and the procedure involved, make it a more difficult and riskier affair for healthcare practitioners to perform. If COVID-19 is combated with the NTEP's current infrastructure, human resources, and logistics, we believe that early detection of cases and overall containment will be maximized. Sputum samples can be self-collected in small plastic containers and sent to the nearest tuberculosis unit for CBNAAT analysis instead of using the professional technique of collecting nasopharyngeal swabs in Viral Transport Media. Sputum sample collection is a simple operation. Be it in urban tertiary care facilities or a rural subcentre. To collect sputum, healthcare staff can simply assist. In the current phase of the pandemic in India, where the majority of COVID-19 infections are asymptomatic, mass screening at the community level using effective testing specimens and methodologies becomes critical and the only choice. It would make sense to collect COVID-19 samples at the community level based on the scientific evidence in such a scenario, especially for a country with a population of over 1.3 billion people.

A rapid and sensitive lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for the detection of gluten in foods

The gluten protein found in a variety of cereal grains is a food allergen that can elicit a spectrum of immuno-inflammatory responses in people. Consumer awareness has prompted changes in food labeling requirements, expanded gluten-free food product availability and increased demand for effective gluten testing methodologies. To meet the challenges associated with gluten testing from diverse and complex foods we developed a lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) using a pair of novel gliadin monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Using a visual gold reporter, we show sensitive gluten detection (150 ng/mL) from complex food substrates using a fast (<5 min) and easy testing methodology. In this report we characterize the binding properties of a cohort of newly generated gliadin monoclonal antibodies suitable for gluten detection using multiple assay formats and introduce a novel plug-n-play test strip platform with integrated test components in a single-use format.

A review of principles in design and usability testing of tactile technology for individuals with visual impairments

ABSTRACTTo lay the groundwork for devising, improving, and implementing new technologies to meet the needs of individuals with visual impairments, a systematic literature review was conducted to: a) describe hardware platforms used in assistive devices, b) identify their various applications, and c) summarize practices in user testing conducted with these devices. A search in relevant EBSCO databases for articles published between 1980 and 2014 with terminology related to visual impairment, technology, and tactile sensory adaptation yielded 62 articles that met the inclusion criteria for final review. It was found that while earlier hardware development focused on pin matrices, the emphasis then shifted toward force feedback haptics and accessible touch screens. The inclusion of interactive and multimodal features has become increasingly prevalent. The quantity and consistency of research on navigation, education, and computer accessibility suggest that these are pertinent areas of need for the visually impaired community. Methodologies for usability testing ranged from case studies to larger cross-sectional studies. Many studies used blindfolded sighted users to draw conclusions about design principles and usability. Altogether, the findings presented in this review provide insight on effective design strategies and user testing methodologies for future research on assistive technology for individuals with visual impairments.

DaemonGuard: Enabling O/S-Orchestrated Fine-Grained Software-Based Selective-Testing in Multi-/Many-Core Microprocessors

As technology scales deep into the sub-micron regime, transistors become less reliable. Future systems are widely predicted to suffer from considerable aging and wear-out effects. This ominous threat has urged system designers to develop effective run-time testing methodologies that can monitor and assess the system's health. In this work, we investigate the potential of online software-based functional testing at the granularity of individual microprocessor core components in multi-/many-core systems. While existing techniques monolithically test the entire core, our approach aims to reduce testing time by avoiding the over-testing of under-utilized units. To facilitate fine-grained testing, we introduce DaemonGuard, a framework that enables the real-time observation of individual sub-core modules and performs on-demand selective testing of only the modules that have recently been stressed. Moreover, we investigate the impact of the cache hierarchy on the testing process and we develop a cache-aware selective testing methodology that significantly expedites the execution of memory-intensive test programs. The monitoring and test-initiation process is orchestrated by a transparent, minimally-intrusive, and lightweight operating system process that observes the utilization of individual datapath components at run-time. We perform a series of experiments using a full-system, execution-driven simulation framework running a commodity operating system, real multi-threaded workloads, and test programs. Our results indicate that operating-system-assisted selective testing at the sub-core level leads to substantial savings in testing time and very low impact on system performance. Additionally, the cache-aware testing technique is shown to be very effective in exploiting the memory hierarchy to further minimize the testing time.

Deployment of Effective Testing Methodology in Automotive Software Development

Software development in automotive industry has bestowed greater comforts and conveniences to mankind. A remarkable progress in this field often faces a setback due to minor defects in the software. So there is recurring need for standardization and implementation of testing strategies. But the process of creation of test scripts to check if the software created complies with its specifications and requirements is both time- and resource-consuming. Generating a short but effective test suite usually requires a lot of manual work and expert knowledge. Patronizing research work in this field is the need of the hour. This paper solves the problem by using Model-Based Testing where test harness and evaluation are performed economically through automation. Simulink Design Verifier and Reactis are the tools used to carry out this purpose in Adaptive Front Light System. The resulting outputs obtained from Simulink Design Verifier and Reactis using Model-Based Testing prove that short test suites can be generated for the model where full model coverage can be achieved easily through automation. The outputs of these test cases when compared with the expected outputs confirm that the model developed is working as per the requirements.

Performance testing of wildland fire chemicals using a custom-built heat flux sensor

A simple and effective laboratory test methodology was developed for differentiating wildland fire chemicals based on the ignition time of vegetative fuel samples. The test apparatus consisted of an electric-powered radiant heater that was used to produce a uniform radiant thermal load to ignite the vegetative fuel samples. The samples, treated with wildland fire chemicals, were mounted on to a load cell to determine the transient mass loss during the combustion process. A custom-built heat flux sensor, that was modified and tested to reduce high errors, was used to determine the time to flaming ignition. The time to flaming ignition was also measured using transient mass loss data of the vegetative fuel samples. Statistical t-test analysis was conducted on the time to flaming ignition to determine whether the results were statistically significant for the different chemical treatments. The results indicated that the test methodology allowed for effective differentiation between the wildland fire chemical treatments by comparing their mean ignition times. The narrow standard deviations of the average ignition times suggested that the test methodology was able to produce repeatable results.

Cost Effective Test Methodology Using PMU for Automated Test Equipment Systems

Cost Effective Test Methodology Using PMU for Automated Test Equipment Systems

표면히터를 이용한 HAUSAT-2 위성 STM의 우주모사 및 열해석 검증 연구

본 논문은 HAUSAT-2 위성의 구조-열모델(STM)에 대해 수행한 우주모사시험의 결과 및 이에 따른 열 모델링의 수정과 해석에 대한 연구 결과를 보여준다. 열 모델링의 보정은 시험 데이터와의 비교 분석 과정을 반복하여 이루어졌으며, 이러한 보정된 열 모델링을 통해 시험데이터와 근사한 결과를 재해석 시에 얻게 되었다. HAUSAT-2의 열진공 및 열평형 시험에서는 표면히터를 사용하여 태양광을 모사하였다. 본 열진공 및 열평형 시험을 통하여 소형 열진공 챔버 내에서 국내 최초로 초소형 위성 모델을 우주모사시험하기 위한 저비용이며 효율적인 열시험 방법을 제시하였고, 또한 이를 시험 결과를 통해 검증하였다. This study addresses space simulation test results and thermal modelling verification of HAUSAT-2 nanosatellite STM (Structural-Thermal Model). The thermal modelling of the HAUSAT-2 has been modified in accordance with test results. Thermal analysis results were repeatedly compared with test results for modified thermal modelling. It is verified that the analysis results for modified thermal modelling agree well with test results. Some surface heaters were implemented to simulate solar illumination for HAUSAT-2 Thermal Vacuum/Balance Test. A low-cost and effective thermal test methodology, which is applicable to ultra-small satellite system, was proposed and verified by test results in this study.

Double sampling data checking technique: an online testing solution for multisource noise-induced errors on on-chip interconnects and buses

With processors and system-on-chips using nano-meter technologies, several design and test efforts have been recently developed to eliminate and test for many emerging DSM noise effects. In this paper, we show the emergence of multisource noise effects, where multiple DSM noise sources combine to produce functional and timing errors even when each separate noise source itself does not. We show the dynamic nature of multisource noise, and the need for online testing to detect such noise errors. We propose an online approach based on low-cost double-sampling data checking circuit to test for such noise effects in on-chip buses. Based on the proposed circuit, an effective and efficient testing methodology has been developed to facilitate online testing for generic on-chip buses. The applicability of this methodology is demonstrated through embedding the online detection circuit in a bus design. The validated design shows the effectiveness of the proposed testing methodology for multisource noise-induced errors in global interconnects and buses.

Comparison of ABR Stimuli for the Early Detection of Ototoxicity: Conventional Clicks Compared with High Frequency Clicks and Single Frequency Tonebursts

Effective objective testing methodology is needed for early detection of the effects of ototoxicity on hearing in patients. The requirements for such testing include responses that are: 1) reliable across test sessions; 2) sensitive to ototoxic change ( > 8 kHz), and 3) recordable in a time-efficient manner. Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) appear well suited to this task however, conventional clicks stimulate primarily mid-frequencies (1-4 kHz) and high frequency tonebursts require too much time. We hypothesized that delivery of a band of high frequencies (a high frequency "click"), would elicit reliable and useful ABRs. In the current study, flat and sloped HF (high frequency) clicks with a bandwidth of 8-14 kHz were used. The purpose was to compare brainstem responses elicited by tonebursts, two HF clicks and conventional clicks. The results show that the reliability of responses to the HF clicks were comparable to the tonebursts and further, both HF clicks produced responses slightly larger than tonebursts.

Application of supply current testing to analogue circuits, towards a structural analogue test methodology

This paper describes work in progress towards the development, evaluation and validation of a structural, cost effective and quantifiable analog and mixed-signal test methodology, applicable in a production test environment and based on the application of supply current testing. To enable and support the measurements at first an analog supply current monitor was realised. The monitor offers a measurement range of 50 mA, a bandwidth of 1.5 MHz and a resolution better than 1 /spl mu/A. Subsequently the monitor was used to carry out measurements on a mixed-signal Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) ASIC, to evaluate the feasibility of the methodology. As these initial measurements provided very interesting results, the experiments towards the validation and quantification of the test methodology are now being repeated on a larger scale. The results gathered so far show the potential of the approach to enhance test quality combined with test cost reduction.

Nondestructive Damage Evaluation of Electro-Mechanical Components Using a Hybrid, Computational and Experimental Approach

ABSTRACTWith the electronic industry being one of the most dynamic, in terms of new technologies, electronic packages have to be designed and optimized for new and ever more demanding applications in relatively short periods of time. This, in turn, indicates a need for effective quantitative testing methodologies. In this paper, a novel hybridized use of nondestructive, noninvasive, remote, full field of view, quantitative opto-electronic holography techniques with computational modeling is presented. The hybridization is illustrated with a representative application, which shows that the combined use of opto-electronic holography techniques and computational modeling provides an effective engineering tool for nondestructive study of electro-mechanical components.

Testing multichip modules

Too complex to be tested as a chip and too packaged to be probed like a board, the multichip module presents a new set of challenges to the test engineer. The author describes how, until dedicated testers are developed, applying board-type tests using an IC tester will prove to be the most effective test methodology.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>