AXIe, IVI, LXI, PXI, and VXI.

They have two things in common: They each manage standards for the test and measurement industry, and each of those standards is ruled by a private consortium.

It wasn’t always this way. When Hewlett Packard invented the 8-bit bus that would become known as GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus), they were quick to bring the standardization effort to the IEEE where it was codified as IEEE-488.

Then, in 1987, something happened.

To read my entire column, go here.

If you’re a frequent reader of this column, you are probably familiar with AXIe. Positioned as the “big brother to PXI”, AXIe is a modular instrument standard similar to PXI in many respects, but utilizing a larger board format that allows higher power instruments and greater rack density. Since it relies chiefly on the same PCI Express fabric for data communication as PXI, it is nearly indistinguishable from PXI when viewed from the test system controller and is programmed similarly.

There’s a lot of news coming from AXIe these days. New vendors, higher speeds, new applications. Recently three vendors announced a major electronic warfare test win (photo above.)

Does this mean AXIe is near the “tipping point”, the point where critical mass is achieved, and the standard grows fueled by its own success?  If so, what would it mean for AXIe,…and PXI?

To find out, you’ll have to read my column, here.

Frequent readers know of this column’s particular focus on modular instruments, specifically PXI and AXIe. 2015 was another banner year for these standards as they continued to outgrow the test and measurement industry as a whole.

New products, new architectures, new vendors, and new applications continue to fuel the modular disruption in our industry. Since test and measurement dynamics change at a slower rate than those of the consumer industry, one can be forgiven for not recognizing the disruption occurring in our midst. A company does, however, so at its own risk. As 2015 winds to a close, I thought I’d choose the top 5 news events of the year that characterized the disruption we are now experiencing. Some are technically related, such as 5G wireless or FPGAs. Others cover surprise announcements from vendors such as Cobham, Keysight, or National Instruments.

To see the countdown of the top stories, click here.