BOSTON, MA - June 9, 1998 - Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE:TER) has announced the availability of its new TestStudio™ ATE operating environment as a stand-alone product for test system integrators and electronics manufacturers who configure in-house automatic test equipment. The announcement was made at the NEPCON East show held June 9 to 11 at Boston's Bayside Exposition Center.

Within TestStudio, TPS developers can visually organize test data in project trees, as shown on the left of this screen. Browser window on the right is updated dynamically based on user input and test results.

TestStudio was first introduced in March at NEPCON West as the operating environment for Teradyne's new VECTOR™ 9000-Series VXI Functional Test Platform. In response to the high level of interest in TestStudio's open architecture and Web browser-based user interface, Teradyne decided to release a stand-alone version of TestStudio for integration with any VXI-based test platform.
TestStudio offers a versatile, open-architecture environment for test development, documentation, debug, and execution that can be easily reconfigured to support a variety of integration requirements. Using Microsoft Windows NT and COM interface standards, TestStudio can integrate a wide selection of programming languages and Application Development Environments (ADEs), including HP VEE, LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Visual Basic and Visual C++, as well as specialized in-house programming tools. TestStudio uses familiar Web-based browser and hyperlink technologies to provide a common, intuitive user interface for all programming tools-reducing the costs of training, documentation, and ongoing maintenance.

TestStudio takes full advantage of dynamic HTML and JavaScript technologies to integrate data across all test activities and provide users with direct access to all project data within a single environment.

According to Bob Feingold, Teradyne vice president and general manager of the Assembly Test Division in Boston,"TestStudio is the direct result of close collaboration over the past year with some major customers who are making the transition from general-purpose functional board test systems to modular, VXI platforms like the VECTOR 9000. This transition represents a fundamental change in our customer's business environment, and in our own. With TestStudio, our customers now have a common software environment for development, documentation, debug, and execution all within an easy to use Web-based operating environment."

TestStudio is available now. Pricing for a single user license starts at $5,500. TestStudio is a standard commercial-off-the-shelf product backed by Teradyne's world-wide service and support.

Powerful Test Sequencing Engine for Development, Debug, and Execution

A key component of TestStudio's versatility is its hierarchical test sequencing engine. Using the engine, TPS developers organize test activities into steps displayed as nodes on a project tree. By manipulating the order of nodes on the tree, users can visually organize a test development plan. For example, simply by moving a test execution step up or down the tree, users can reorder the sequence of a test. No matter how many sources there are for test code, TestStudio's sequencing engine executes the final code seamlessly, sharing data between nodes as needed.

TestStudio offers tight integration with Teradyne's LASAR and VICTORY test generation tools. For digital functional tests, users can import LASAR simulation results directly into TestStudio. Boundary-scan test data generated by the VICTORY toolset can also be imported directly into TestStudio.

Web-Based User Interface Improves Productivity While Reducing Training, Documentation, and Maintenance Costs

Documentation can be captured on-line in HTML or any other format that can be viewed by Internet Explorer such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, even multimedia video-reducing the cost of documentation and eliminating the need to reformat data for exchange across user networks or applications. With documentation integrated within the test process, users have immediate access to information, in the context of the work they're doing-reducing the cost of training and increasing productivity.

For example, with the original programmer's notes linked to a test step, a new programmer can easily verify the required fault coverage of a given test program. Similarly, with a test step linked to a demonstration video, a test operator can see exactly how to load a test fixture or probe faults on a board. To manage access to information, TestStudio includes four selectable security levels: administrator, developer, technician, and operator.

Recommended hardware requirements for TestStudio include 200 MHz Pentium CPU or greater, 32 MB memory (minimum), 256 color support (minimum) with 65536 or greater preferred. The software requires 100 MB free disk space (minimum) and Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95 and greater. To support its Web-based user interface, TestStudio will load Internet Explorer 4.01 if it is not already installed.

Teradyne is the world's largest supplier of automatic test equipment and software for the electronics and telecommunications industries, and a leading supplier of high-performance backplane assemblies and connectors. The company's Assembly Test Division in Boston is a major supplier of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) functional test systems and test development software for board, box, and system-level test. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Teradyne reported 1997 sales of approximately $1.26 billion. The company's address on the World Wide Web is www.teradyne.com.

TestStudio, VICTORY, and VECTOR 9000-Series are trademarks, and LASAR is a tradename, of Teradyne, Inc. All other product names are trademarks of their respective owners.