Remote access to test equipment and Devices Under Tests (DUTs) allows maintenance of labs and remote control of tests without the need of physical presence at the testing site. This is crucial in times of increased home office work and allows for a more efficient use of test equipment, like multi-site usage of expensive test equipment [RTC1] [RTC2].

Web-based interfaces allow access to test equipment for stimulation or evaluation of DUTs without the need of human presence to switch hardware connections.

The remote PC can control a local test controller that has multiple transmitters, DUTs and an RF switches connected via ethernet to allow the testing of multiple use cases without the need of physical interaction to change hardware connections. The RF Switch is the biggest challenge. A custom hardware solution is planned to switch between RF sources without loss which is remotely controllable. No commercial product was found to fulfil the requirements.

The test network is planned to be separated from the production network to a) guarantee stability and low latency, b) increase the security.

All tests are controlled via a Jenkins server which also stores the test results.

In case manual interaction is required, an interface is in place to allow direct connection.

The improvements are manifold and can be summarized in following points:

• Digitalisation of test setups for increased testing efficiency: In the currently used test approach, a tester must be physically present in the laboratory and manually set up and manage the test environment [GAPM-TPL04] [GAPM-TPL05]. By making the workflow digital and remotely accessible, the tester can control the testing without a required physical presence and independent from time. This leads to a significantly reduced execution time [GAPM-TPL07] and enables a higher amount of testing a day.
• Enhanced test set up for reduced execution time: While so far the test set up was changed manually according to the test schedule, the approach of remote testing capabilities involves a fixed but extensive test setup that can still support all relevant use cases. It can also reduce the number of test setups because a single test setup can be used for multiple use cases [GAPM-TPL03]. This leads to a significantly reduced preparation and execution time [GAPM-TPL07].
• Gear spa: Due to reduced gear changes, the possibility of errors and wear due to frequent reconnecting of equipment is significantly reduces [GAPM-TPL01].
  Globalised testing: Another significant improvement is that a single test setup and gear is accessible and usable by multiple teams working from different sites [GAPM-TPL03] [GAPM-TPL06] and could be used even from entities in other countries.
• Test quality endorsement: Further, the introduced computational test administration and scheduling ensures full coverage of defined test plans which enhances the accuracy of the test schedule [GAPM-TPL01].