Growing Need for High-Speed Testing Capabilities to Fuel Automated Test Equipment Market Growth During Forecast Period

In a highly competitive scenario, the time-to-market of any product plays an extremely critical role. Less time-to-market for the product creates a higher possibility for the company to take a competitive advantage in the market. Product testing consumes an excessive amount of time and resources, slowing new product launch time in the market. Traditional technician-on-the-bench testing takes up to two weeks to fully characterize a product, including an RF power amplifier (PA), which makes it a long, tedious, and repetitive process. It’s costly, as the cost of workforce and the cost of lost opportunity results in a loss of efficiency, loss of profit, and higher product pricing.

Product and price differentiations have narrowed down in recent times. In such a scenario, the companies look for other factors that can lead to higher customer attractiveness in the market. Therefore, product companies strive for less time-to-market for the products. Identification of anomalies at the initial stages allows for quicker actions to be taken and further leads to cost savings.

During the earlier times, the testing of devices was done manually, which was largely inefficient and incapable of handling the current volumes of demand. These manual testing methods were also very faulty and slow. Growing populations across the globe, coupled with growing middle-class incomes and the spending capacities of individuals, have resulted in rising demands for products across various industry verticals. Rising pressures for economies of scale while manufacturing, aided by the increasing spending capacities of individuals, would drive automated test equipment integrations in the semiconductor industry.

The North America automated test equipment market is experiencing intense growth due to rising investments, new product developments, and the deployment of innovative technologies. The presence of well-established players such as Astronics Corporation, Averna Technologies Inc., National Instruments Corp, and Teradyne Inc. is fueling the automated test equipment market growth in the region. These players are continuously engaged in developing advanced products for their customers. For instance, in May 2022, Averna Technologies Inc. launched UniLine, an automated universal in-line test platform that supports test performance for partial or final electronic assemblies. UniLine provides flexibility by allowing industries to meet test requirements for multiple product types while maximizing equipment reuse. Moreover, many stakeholders in the automated test equipment market are continuously focusing on developing end-to-end automated test equipment to offer their best service to the users. Increasing government funding to promote R&D in the automotive, communication, healthcare, and consumer electronics industries is anticipated to fuel North America automated test equipment market share during the forecast period.

Automated Test Equipment Market: Industry Overview

The automated test equipment market is segmented on the basis of type, component, end user, and geography. Based on type, the automated test equipment market is divided into integrated circuit (IC) testing, printed circuit board (PCB) testing, hard disk drive testing, and modules and others. Based on components, the automated test equipment market is categorized into industrial PCs, mass interconnects, and handler/prober. Based on end user, the automated test equipment market is divided into integrated consumer electronics, automotive, medical, aerospace & defense, IT & telecommunication, and others. Geographically, the automated test equipment market is segmented into five major regions—North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Rest of World.

The growing usage of semiconductor-based electronic devices in various industry verticals, especially in the automotive industry, owing to the advent of IoT and Industrial IoT, is a major factor driving the Europe automated test equipment market size. The test equipment helps automotive manufacturers to reduce manufacturing costs by automating the device or component testing process. Automated test equipment helps automotive equipment manufacturers detect faults in the chipsets at a primary level. The manufacturing sector is anticipated to increase the adoption of automated test equipment for integration into the assembly lines on the factory floor. The expansion of the automotive industry is creating opportunities for the  automated test equipment market growth in the region. For instance, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the registration of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BHV) stood at 34,712 in July 2023. The growing demand for EVs among consumers is fueling the market. Moreover, the growing trend toward the miniaturization of the consumer electronics industry is propelling the market. Miniaturization of consumer electronics devices influences semiconductor manufacturers to develop the small outline package (SOP) and surface-mount memory packaging that require automated testing to provide qualitative products by reducing the overall production time.

Automated Test Equipment Market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments

ADVANTEST CORPORATION, Anritsu, Astronics Corporation, Averna, Chroma ATE Inc., EXICON, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS CORP., SPEA S.p.A, Teradyne Inc., and Test Research, Inc. are among the leading automated test equipment market players profiled in the report. Several other essential automated test equipment market players were also analyzed for a holistic view of the market and its ecosystem. The report provides detailed market insights, which help the key players strategize their market growth. A few developments are mentioned below:

• In October 2023, SPEA S.p.A. showcased the T100L Automatic LED Light Tester at Productronica 2023. T100L Automatic LED Light Tester is a fully automatic Flying Scanner LED Light Tester that is designed for testing electronic products. The tester helps manufacturers to ensure the highest quality of their lighting devices in high-volume production.

• In May 2022, Averna Technologies Inc. launched UniLine, an automated universal in-line test platform that supports test performance for partial or final electronic assemblies. UniLine provides flexibility by allowing industries to meet test requirements for multiple product types while maximizing equipment reuse.