• Author Author: rscasny
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The Best element14 RoadTest Reviews of 2021

rscasny

Find out who are the best RoadTesters of the year!

image2021 is nearly over. I hope all of you have had a successful year in school, on the job, or in the other ventures (and adventures) you pursued over the course of the year. I personally feel my life starting to get back to normal. A year ago I barely left home because of the COVID lockdown, but today I go back to the office and don't feel COVID-19 is running my life. The RoadTest Program had its challenges at the beginning of the year. But despite those, we completed nearly 40 product RoadTests. I expect in 2022 we should roadtest many more products.  I hope all of you have some time to participate in the program.

For those of you who are new to the element14 community, I manage the roadtest program (since 2016) and every year I write a "Best of" blog, highlighting and "awarding" what I think are the best reviews and roadtesters of the past year. While these are honorary awards, I feel it's important to recognize good work and thank you, as well as making everyone aware that I read the applications (entry forms -- especially your test procedures), the reviews, and the comments all of you make. 

Before I get started with the reviews, I want to briefly talk some basics of the RoadTest program since there have been many new people added to the program this year. I hope it benefits them as well as potential sponsors who might be considering to roadtest one of their products.

Back to the Basics - What is an element14 Roadtest?
What is an element14 Roadtest? It seems like a simple question, right? The best way I have found to describe it to potential sponsors is to say a RoadTest is a product review based on actual testing and experiments conducted by members of the element14 community. A Roadtest review is more than a simple web review with a quick star rating. Rather, it is a detailed review that shares "the experience of the product" through videos, charts, screenshots, tables, graphs, and other multimedia. How the product is reviewed is up to the reviewer. Yes, roadtesters sometimes want to talk to me about how to review a product, and I welcome their questions and offer my opinion. But the roadtester decides how to review it. I have this open ended approach because I believe the  participation of our members in the roadtest program and the pre-screening process each applicant goes through ensures I select the best and most reliable members as roadtesters. 

Back to the Basics - How are Roadtesters Chosen?
Roadtests are one of the flagship programs hosted by the element14 community. Thus, to participate in a roadtest, you must be an element14 member which is very easy to do. element14 members who want to roadtest a product need to complete an entry form, which appears when they click the ENROLL button on a roadtest page. RoadTest applicants "compete" to receive the free RoadTest product. Once the enrollment period is complete, I review all the entry forms and select the official roadtesters. I pre-screen applicants and read their test procedures very closely. From this information, I select what I consider are the best applicants.

I hope I explained these roadtest basics to your satisfaction. If you have any other questions, feel free to post a comment and I'd be more than happy to answer your question as soon as I can. Enough of the basics. So, without further adieu let me announce the Best RoadTest Reviews (and Roadtesters) of 2021.

The Best Student RoadTester of 2021
We have many students as members of the element14 community. Some of them find time between their exams, studies and projects to participate in the roadtest program. So, this award is in recognition for a great roadtest review by an undergraduate college student. For 2021 it is Navadeep Ganesh U. He is currently an EE undergraduate junior year student. I see him participating in a lot of different things on the community. In my interactions with him, I find him easy to work with, eager to learn, and always wanting to try something new. He has completed a few Roadtest Reviews. For a student, I feel he has done an outstanding job. I selected his review of the MAX77714 Multichannel PMIC EVM as an example of great work for a student. Thank You and congratulations, Navadeep. 

The Best "New" Roadtesters of 2021
This award is in recognition for a great roadtest review by a member who became a roadtester during 2021. It often takes some practice to write a roadtest review that is interesting, detailed and well-written. Roadtests are a learning experience, so I am not looking for perfection; rather, I am looking for a review that provides useful information about the product, its documentation and communicates their experience with the product. Here are the best new roadtesters of 2021:

The Best Emerging Technology Reviews of 2021
The RoadTest Program typically reviews products that are currently available in the marketplace. Most of these are mature products for electronic hardware engineers. But there are times when we roadtest products that are best defined as "emerging technology," where some are innovative or disruptive to the current market or are products that still are in the pilot or deployment phase and stilling gaining market acceptance as they are not off-the-shelf solutions yet.  Last year I chose a dev kit based on blockchain technology for this category. But this year, I am choosing two reviews in the Internet of Things and Edge Computing categories. 

The Best RoadTest Reviews of 2021
This award is in recognition for an outstanding roadtest review that combines a product review with a tutorial, useful insights, background information, documentation/set-up tips, and market trends. These reviews are written by members who are at the top of their game. They not only understand the technology but are able to expertly communicate about the product.

I'd like to end with many thanks to our RoadTest Heros, Top Members, and my colleague, Dan Zima. There are so many RoadTest Heros that it would be hard to count every one of them. These heros offer help on their own to any roadtester who is in need of it. They make the RoadTest Program over its bumps. I'd also like to thank the Top Members whom I have contacted for assistance. They provide me their wisdom and experience when I have questions about products I am planning to roadtest. Finally, I would like everyone to thank my colleague, Dan Zima. Dan assists me in administering the Roadtest Program. He not only does the shipping, he fields calls to the shippers when there is a problem. Dan also provides me valuable assistance in the reporting required of us to the sponsors. Many thanks to all.