Automated testing

Catalyst testing and evaluation have been revolutionized by computers, automated test reactors, and analytical methods. With modem equipment, researchers can systematically prepare and screen many catalysts in a short time and efftciendy deterrnine, not only the initial catalytic activity and selectivity, but also the stabiUty and the appearance of trace products that may indicate some new catalytic properties worthy of further development. 

Our laboratory is developing and employing artificial intelligence (AI) technology in an effort to provide more efficient, reliable and thorough evaluation of materials and compensate for the lack of human experts.(X) Our goals are to automate tests that are... 

The labor-intensive nature of polymer tensile and flexure tests makes them logical candidates for automation. We have developed a fully automated instrument for performing these tests on rigid materials. The instrument is comprised of an Instron universal tester, a Zymark laboratory robot, a Digital Equipment Corporation minicomputer, and custom-made accessories to manipulate the specimens and measure their dimensions automatically. Our system allows us to determine the tensile or flexural properties of over one hundred specimens without human intervention, and it has significantly improved the productivity of our laboratory. This paper describes the structure and performance of our system, and it compares the relative costs of manual versus automated testing. 

Overall control is provided by the PDP-11/44, running DEC S RSX-llM operating system. RSX-llM is a multi-user multi-task operating system, and a number of other analytical instruments are interfaced to this computer system and are running concurrently. The automated Instron software is menu-driven because our experience has shown that menu-driven software is particularly effective for applications of this type. To perform either test the user accesses a main menu from which separate menus for instrument calibration, tensile tests, and flexure tests can be reached. The tensile and flexure menus have equivalent options the choices pertaining to automated testing are as follows ... 

Setup an Automated Test Series. Before testing can begin the user must identify the specimen bars in the magazine and specify the test conditions. This is accomplished with setup routines which prompt the user to define the test series. At various points the user is given the opportunity to go back and correct erroneous entries. The information provided by the user is stored in a queue file to be accessed later by the data acquisition software. 

Examples of test data sets available (e.g., test scripts or automated test tools that would be suitable for version purchased) Boundary/stress/unexpected input tests Structural/functional testing (documentation of walkthroughs, etc.)... 

The editors of this new book have thereby attempted a compilation of laboratory tests that will be useful in most laboratories. Each chapter has been developed by experts, with the goal of making each chapter self-sufficient. The utility of such a structure will prevent the need to reference other technique papers, enabling a more rapid implementation of techniques in the laboratory. The majority of methods in biochemical genetics are labor-intensive and complex, especially when compared to the automated testing laboratory, and therefore a laboratory-based compendium should be a useful and valuable adjuvant. This has been our goal in compiling this edition. 

Test Automated Testing of Materials for Evaluation of Performances 253... 

Automated testing of heterogeneous catalysts by means of parallel reactors still requires laboratory-made systems at the academic scale, due to the prohibitive costs of existing commercial systems. In contrast, for liquid phase reactions, a domain closer to mature pharmaceutical research, reasonably cheap systems are available. 

Buelke-Sam, Collaborative Behavioral Teratology Study Programmed data entry and automated test systems, Neurobehav. Toxicol. Teratol., 7(6)... 

If automation is utilized, then an intermediate precision test is required to compare results obtained through manual testing versus automated testing (if all solvent composition and analyte concentrations of all actives are identical in both methods). 

Automated testing tools can be used to great effect during System Testing and are discussed in detail in Chapter 5. The use of any automatic testing tools must be agreed upon with the pharmaceuhcal or healthcare company, preferably in the Suppher Project/Quality Plan. 

Preferably, tests and the documentation of results should be done automatically, always using the same set of test files. In this way, users are encouraged to perform the tests more frequently, and user specific errors are eliminated. In some cases, vendors provide test files and automated test routines for verification of a computer system s performance in the user s laboratory. Needless to say, the correct functioning of this software should also be verified. If such software is not available, the execution of the tests and the verification of actual results with prerecorded results can be done manually. Successful execution of such a procedure ensures that ... 

Consider the following when deciding whether or not to use automated test tools 2°... 

Automated testing tools take longer to use the first time compared to manual testing. 

Some suppliers offer automated tools for the IQ and OQ. These are likely to be useful as a quick means of establishing that a CDS has been installed correctly and the software frmctions as the supplier intended it to. The case for automated testing tools for PQ is less clear. In either case, the tool should be assessed to determine whether its use brings tangible benefits and meets GxP compliance requirements. 

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