评估是工程
By Alix Paultre
This column is part of an informal series of thought pieces expressing our expanded editorial philosophy, and the direction we are taking Evaluation Engineering. This way we hope to reflect the changing role of evaluation technology in electronic design engineering. The new world of the fourth industrial revolution is a direct result of advances in precision in both core technologies and their implementation, and the evaluation technologies that enabled those advances.
在电子行业中，这是一个有趣的几十年。自20世纪中叶电子技术的商业化以来，人类历史上的发展步伐和发展范围一直是前所未有的。这种近指数的发展速度正在在社会的各个层面和方面创造出一种破坏性的进化状态。
从人类开始花了几个世纪的时间，从敞开的武器迁移到装载镜头的步枪，甚至是以现代历史上发现的卫生为荣的社会。相比之下，我们已经从陶瓷包装中的三足晶体管变成了几十年来先进的3D系统片（SOC）解决方案。
Precision measurement is at the heart of all advancement. Antoine LeCoultre created the Millionometre, the first instrument capable of measuring the micron, to refine the manufacture of watch parts in 1844. The very art of precision timekeeping led industrial and technical development, and today time is not only a critical component of every intelligent system, but is also an example of the commoditization of advanced technology. The world is awash in precision timekeeping, literally free to anyone who can capture the signal.
There is no precision without feedback, and most of evaluation engineering was a specialized space, dominated by specialists using single-purpose devices addressing a specific facet of the application addressed. Just as timekeeping was once a full-time job for the person responsible for the village clock, for example, performing advanced system test was once the realm of resource-rich laboratories.
Today, everyone is an evaluation engineer. Every electronic product and device designed today is developed in an environment of constant test, measurement, evaluation, and specification. The devil is truly in the details, and it is critical that the lines on your ruler are clean, precise, and very close together. For example, the difference in a power system being 96% efficient vs. 98% efficient can be measured in dollars and cents, in lost revenue due to poor battery life or other manifestation of poor power management.
This means getting your hands on the best and most versatile tools available, and using them at every stage of product design. Implementing advanced system topologies, high levels of sensor integration and fusion, heterogeneous computing, and other next-generation functionalities is impossible without the latest in testing technologies and methodologies. Our coverage of how these technologies can aid you in your efforts is one of our primary goals. Encouraging discovery through interesting articles and webinars, providing news on the latest tools and techniques, and presenting you with the information you need to choose which is best for you, are among some of our others.
The capability and availability of advanced test and evaluation systems is impacting every level of society. Bridges and roads now have the ability to monitor themselves, for example, alerting civil engineers to pending damage and other predictive maintenance functions. Even old-timey electromechanical applications are being rejuvenated by the sensing and monitoring capabilities provided by Industry 4.0-level solutions. This and other evolutionary aspects of evaluation engineering will be among the things in our expanded coverage of the test & measurement space.
