Tapster – mobile device automation robot
tindie.com
tindie.com
Fascinated by this, but a bit confused about how practical its uses are. Very cool in any case.
- Testing interactions between apps and the actual sensors on real devices. (Accelerators, cameras, GPS, making phone calls, receiving and handling SMS messages etc.)
- Testing perceived latency of video playback or UI transition animations.
- Testing interactions with the real environment -- an app that controls a light, completes a point-of-sale payment, or opens your car door, for example.
- Automating apps that you don't own or didn't write.
Automation APIs on iOS are pretty locked down so you can't automate apps that you don't own. Classic example is if you want to automate an interaction with the built-in phone, messaging, or email app. For this use-case, for automating on a real device, you'd need a robot. (This is less of a problem on Android, though.)
Also, phone manufacturers and network providers use robots to certify the devices themselves. Just last week, T-Mobile sued Huawei, alleging corporate spying of their phone-testing robot design. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/business/t-mobile-accuses-...
And the scriptable: http://developer.android.com/tools/help/monkeyrunner_concept...
Both of which can run on actual devices, though you are going to be ignoring the parts which depend on actual users (touch screen latency being the main thing there).
That random event one has an amazing ability to crash almost anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4b5ym1ZqSo&list=UUm5ytliPWa...
The headphones around the pen are to ground it, so that the touch registers on the tablet.
When you consider all the devices coming out now that are 1/2 software, 1/2 hardware (e.g.smart watches, smart glasses, etc.) that interact with the real world, I believe robotic testing will become more common in the future.
Besides, compared to the cost of a product recall due to inadequate quality control, 10K is nothing.