PXI poised to impact on test and measurement market

20th August 2014

Mick Elliott

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The impact of PXI on the test and measurement industry cannot be understated according to a new report from market research group, Frost and Sullivan. Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) across industries are adopting PCI extensions for instrumentation (PXI)-based instrumentation as its measurement speed, small footprint, low power consumption, and flexibility reduce the time to market and overall cost of tests.

In particular, companies in the wireless communications space are turning to these solutions to satisfy new test requirements for radio frequency (RF) wireless technologies.

Frost & Sullivan’s report,PXI Market to Change the Face of the Test and Measurement Industry, finds that the market earned revenues of $563.3m in 2013 and estimates this to reach $1.75bn by 2020.

“Besides the uptake in RF wireless communications, the global PXI market will get a leg up from new programs in aerospace and defense and integration of wireless technologies in the industrial and consumer electronics industries,” said Frost & Sullivan Test & Measurement Industry Director Jessy Cavazos. “Additionally, it is finding opportunities in the semiconductor automatic test equipment market.”

However, test engineers’ trust in traditional box instruments they have used effectively for decades is slowing down the transition to PXI test systems. In due course, the emergence of a new generation of test engineers that is more comfortable with computers will mitigate this challenge.

“Meanwhile, the more complex process of integrating PXI test systems, in comparison to rack-and-stack test systems, can be a challenge for customers,” pointed out Cavazos. “To ease the process of integration, market participants across the globe are offering different levels of integration services and tools that enable customers to assemble PXI test systems quickly with minimal effort.”

Additionally, participants are offering subsystems, hardware/software bundles, and box solutions that use PXI in their internal architecture to lessen the burden of integration on customers.

Via organic means and partnerships, PXI manufacturers deliver multiple options ranging from individual components to fully integrated test systems. Furthermore, they are looking to expand the total addressable market by rolling out new PXI instruments with enhanced capabilities and increasing customer awareness on the benefits of PXI-based instrumentation.