A new year has begun!
I thought 2023 was a great year for the RoadTest Program. We roadtested a lot of new and interesting products, and the roadtest review completion rate was very good, about 86 percent. I want to thank all the members who have participated in the program. Your time, dedication, and commitment for writing an objective review is what makes the roadtest program as successful as it has been over quite a few years.
As 2024 moves forward, I wanted to pause and reflect on how the RoadTest program had evolved and changed over the years. As I was preparing this document, I had some surprises myself.
In this (sort of) self-review of the program, I focused on how the products we have roadtested have changed over the years. I have information that goes back to 2015. I went through all the roadtests since then and tried to categorize the products, year by year, comparing them to 2015. Doing so, I felt I would get some insights not only what we have accomplished but also into what we need in 2024 and beyond.
What follows are nine charts that delineate the categories of the roadtest products by year. Each chart has some categories highlighted in the color, orange, which indicates a category of product that was roadtested in 2015. Thus, the color coding helps to see how the products being selected for roadtests have changed. With this information, I'll make some observations.
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Observations
I have some observations about the charts, and I'll share my thoughts here. But you are more than welcome to offer your own observations in the comments section below.
2015 is my baseline comparison year. Even when the RoadTest program was young, it roadtested 11 categories of products. That's amazing! IOT and Microcontroller products were the most popular.
Things started changing in 2016, the year I assumed management of the Roadtest program. We roadtested products from 5 categories not covered in 2015. Test equipment, IoT and single board computers (including the Raspberry Pi) took center stage. Personally, I feel this emphasis appealed to the makers and hobbyists that have been our devoted customers.
In 2017, things changed even more, roadtesting many more products, spanning 15 categories, with single board computers at the top. One other observation about 2017: this was the year that we began collaborating with AMD (previously Xilinx) and AVNET on our first FPGA-focused roadtest. You will see how that evolves in the subsequent years. In 2018, other than roadtesting more FPGA-focused products, we tried roadtesting different kinds of products: antennas (very challenging to do), interfaces, soldering equipment, and hand tools. SBC was still at the top of the pile, so to speak.
If I were to define a turning point, I would say that 2019 was it. Even though single board computers were the most frequently roadtested product, we began roadtesting products that had not previously been tested: AI, Industrial, and Blockchain. In 2019, FPGA-based products were catching up to single board computers. I feel this is the year where we moved the needle a bit towards roadtesting products that were more complex and required specialized knowledge and expertise. 2020 continued the trends established in 2019.
2021 not only continued the trend of the previous year, but the most often roadtested products were FPGA-based, motor control and test equipment. I personally feel the new emphasis on motor control was based on how our sponsors wanted to take advantage of the program to roadtest their industrial products, for instance. In 2022, we roadtestd fewer products as we were waiting on getting products delivered to us. Cellular, industrial and test equipment were the most often roadtested.
In conclusion, if you compare 2015 to 2023 we can see how the RoadTest Program has changed. We are roadtesting many more different types of products compared to 2015. These products often require special expertise and special equipment to test.
What The RoadTest Program Needs?
You. I can't say it any simpler than that.
To make the RoadTest program a continuing success, we need your participation, especially in the areas of AI, FPGA, power, motor control, interfaces, and industrial products. Some of these areas have become so specialized that it is a bit harder to obtain participation by our typical means of promotion. If you are an active member, take a look at the roadtests we are enrolling for. If you feel you have the time, I encourage you to apply.
What I need to do?
I've spent a lot of time lately thinking about the RoadTest program. And I think there are some things I need to address. During this past year, I ran a few polls on the time roadtesters are taking to test a product. Over 40 hours was common. I recall one roadtester spending over 100 hours! It has concerned me that such a large time commitment might exclude some of our members who do not have such a large block of time to work on a roadtest. I'm still working through what to do about.
Lastly, something I think I can address quickly is on the issue of roadtest help (tech support). I think I need to work with the roadtest sponsor earlier on identifying paths of assistance on a roadtest. I think leaving a comment can work for simple problems. But I think a more structured approch that directly involves the sponsor is key.
