Testing systems wirelessly

Abstract

Wired test structures exhibit many unwanted dependencies: they typically use hierarchical and daisy-chained wiring, and they share interconnects and backplanes with the system under test. As a result, faults can easily lead to incomplete or erroneous test reports on properly working components. Wireless test structures do not have these shortcomings and thus, allow for more accurate testing and diagnosing. Wireless communication further allows for non-intrusive testing that does not require any cabling or physical access to the system under test. We describe two prototype implementations: a wireless field-replaceable unit ID and a wireless version of the popular JTAG standard.