The buck of the design and manufacturing industries does not stop with only the production of the product. The product manufactured should be reliable, conforming to various industry, safety, and environmental standards, and its performance should be within the set parameters. These requirements lead to the further development of an all-new class of equipment called the Test and Measurement (T&M) equipment. Test and Measurement equipment are used in all kinds of industries and cover Research and Development, Manufacturing, Quality Checks, Calibration, Validation and so on.
Various technological advancements such as integration of connected devices with the Internet of Things (IoT), development of machine-to-machine (M2M) interaction systems, machine control, factory automation and remote sensor in the automotive and transportation sectors, etc has further led to significant growth and development in the Test and Measurement industry.
According to a report published by Valuates Reports, the global Test and Measurement Equipment market size is estimated to be worth USD 11900 Million in 2022. It is forecast to be a size of USD 17660 Million by 2028 with a CAGR of 6.8%. As per the report, one of the key factors driving the Test and Measurement Equipment market growth is rapid industrialization. That is accompanied by significant growth in the electronics industry.
The need for wireless equipment to avoid hazardous zone or to get data from remote equipment have given a further flip to the industry.
Test and Measurement’s further expansion in automotive:
Earlier, the test and measurement aspects in automobiles were limited to testing whether the vehicle is complying with the emission norms or whether it is complying with the safety standards for occupants. Integration of modern technologies like ADAS, connected vehicles, sensors, wireless charging, and further electric vehicles and Hydrogen fuel cell technology has expanded the scope of Test and Measurement applications in automotive. Electric vehicle testing and certification services ensure batteries, cells, chargers and electric components comply with global safety requirements and perform reliably.
Further, the test and measurement equipment in the automobiles are used for testing wide band gap devices, SiC and GaN, used for high-frequency power conversion and automotive communication protocol analysis like CAN, CANFD, LIN, SENT, FLEXRAY.
C P Manoharan, Director of Business Development, APAC SOUTH, Spirent Communications says, “Delivering vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications that works correctly, under all possible conditions, has become a critical part of vehicle development. Vehicle manufacturers are getting to market faster with superior performance by automating their entire suite of conformance, performance, safety, and reliability tests for Automotive Ethernet, Connected vehicles / V2X, Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and Positioning systems. Many automotive applications are time-sensitive and safety-critical, while at the same time, vehicle buyers increasingly demand features like; cameras, infotainment and radar, prompting automakers to invest in higher-capacity in-vehicle networks.”
“Spirent helps test, refine and optimize all aspects of in-car, V2V, and V2X connectivity to provide the experiences that modern drivers and passengers demand, as it offers an unmatched range of solutions for network, connectivity and wireless/RF testing,” he further adds.
5G brings new opportunities:
India rolled out the next generation of mobile broadband- 5G services on 1st October 2022 at Pragati Maidan. The halls of the Pragati Maidan, for the next 3 days, were filled with the telecom companies and service providers. They showcased use cases of 5G in their innovative products across various domains like IoT, Health, Autonomous Vehicle, etc. In another significant development, smartphone shipments from India crossed the Rs 50,000-crore mark during April-November 2022. It is up 110% compared to the same period last year. The launch of 5G services has brought new opportunities for the Test and Measurement industry in India.
Krishna BC, Business Head – Test & Measurement, Yokogawa India Limited says, “T&M instruments are very significantly contributing to creating 5G Infrastructure (service provider), Network Management System (switching devices), Manufacturing of 5G enabled phones using communication Test Set and troubleshooting of 5G enabled devices and network. Each one of these segments is using a variety of T&M products in bulk quantity replacing older equipment’s & configuration of 3G and 4G.”
Commenting on how 5G services will further boost the Test and Measurement industry’s growth, C P Manoharan says, “Network technicians need to test new network functions, monitor, measure & validate networks and deploy services with confidence – from traditional performance testing to the rigorous analysis of virtualization, cloud computing, mobile backhaul, security and high-speed ethernet. We see significant testing activities driven by 5G from the lab to the field.”
6G Technology:
Further, a 6G Technology Innovation Group (TIG) is constituted by DoT. It will co-create and participate in the development of the 6G technology ecosystem through increased participation in a capability description. Further, in standards development at international standard-setting bodies. This would be necessary to prepare India’s manufacturing and services ecosystem to capitalise on the 6G opportunity. 6G TIG, comprises members from the Government, Academia, Industry Associations and TSDSI (Telecom Standards Development Society of India). This initiative of the government will further benefit the Test and Measurement industry as the 6G technology will evolve.
Challenges confronting the industry:
Although there is an immense number of opportunities available for the Test and Measurement industry, these are marred with challenges. Seema Joshi, Sr. Manager Projects, Electropneumatics & Hydraulics India Pvt. Ltd. says, “The test and measurement industry is struggling to keep up with various challenges like the battle to lower testing costs and growing IC device complexities and performance levels that crave more cost-effective T&M solutions. The emergence of many new applications like telecom, automotive, biomedical, and consumer and optical electronics demands a new breed of testing methods. Of particular note is the rapidly emerging field of nanotechnology, where test-equipment designers will face heady challenges as they attempt to measure current and voltage levels at the atomic and molecular scales.”
Further, Krishna has summarised the other challenges in the following points:
- Lack of skilled experts and decision-makers who can define and decide on test standards.
- Geopolitical conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, also Post Covid supply chain gap (Semiconductor shortage) led to very high-cost escalation putting pressure on OEMs for operating profits. This situation is leading to delays in the delivery of spares/instruments which in turn results in order cancellations.
- Lack of manufacturing of Semiconductor FAB Technology in India.
- The gap between technical education and technology requirements in the industry.
- Quality of procurement (multiple bid process) is compromised by choosing inappropriate products because of generalizing the requirements and low-cost criteria.
- Need to shift the focus from box selling to solution selling. Solution selling will be the future of the T&M market.
Future of Test and Measurement in India:
The future of the Test and Measurement industry looks promising in India. The launch of 5G, connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles, IoT, etc. has big potential for the growth of T&M industries. Krishna says, “India has tremendous growth opportunity due to large requirement of upcoming infrastructure projects and hence has very big potential for growth of T&M Industries, creating demand in various sectors at least for another 10-15 years. This includes opportunities in the manufacturing of consumer electronics and home appliances, cloud computing, IoT, ML, AI, 5G/6G, EV, etc.”
Elaborating on market growth and evolving requirements, Manoharan says, “In India, digital transformation is disrupting business models to deliver better customer experiences and the digital economy is actively reshaping customer demands. Markets for 5G, Wi-Fi 6, LTE-Advanced, SDN, SD-WAN, NFV, and NFVi test equipment, with cloud infrastructure testing, network service assurance, cloud-based application monitoring, along with ethernet and security test equipment, are experiencing significant growth. The evolving requirements are driven by the business objectives of decreasing time-to-market, increasing security, performance, and customer satisfaction.”
Government policies and support:
The government has given a hard push to the regulation of standards, digital infrastructure and manufacturing of electronic devices. Government policies like Make-In-India, Smart Cities and Digital India can help the Test and Measurement industry proliferate.
C P Manoharan says, “The infrastructure development in India is likely to present multiple growth opportunities for the test and measurement industry. BharatNet is one such drive and the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity program. Apart from telecom, the defense manufacturing push is also opening up new opportunities for the T&M industry.”
“Quality of network deployment that the government is ensuring gives a great push and importance to T&M companies like ours. This high standard laid by the Indian government can only be maintained by continuous testing,” he added.
Further, direct policy support from the government can do wonders for the growth of any industry. Krishna summaries following measures that the government can take for the further growth of the industry in India:
- Focus on Automotive component and optical components manufacturing in India.
- Focused approach towards promoting T&M Industry.
- Dependency on imported T&M products can be reduced by promoting incentive-based manufacturing in India.
The test and Measurement industry is poised to see remarkable growth in India. Contributing factors are ongoing technological developments in automotive, 5G/6G core electronics and semiconductor etc. Further, the challenges confronting the industry’s growth in India should be tackled at the earliest through appropriate policy and support.
