element14, an Avnet Company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions, has today launched a new eBook titled ‘The Innovation Experts’, following its podcast series of the same name which launched in 2021.

The eBook, which is free to download, shares the views of leading global manufacturers on the future of instrumentation for test, measurement, and related technologies.

‘The Innovation Experts’ eBook provides unique insights for professional engineers and buyers as well as educationists and amateur test enthusiasts wanting to stay up to date with the latest trends, challenges, products, tools and applications. The interviews cover the status of the global test and measurement market, highlighting how manufacturers are developing new cutting-edge technology and products to enable test and measurement engineers to achieve innovation through greater functionality and extreme precision.

“As devices become faster and more complex, instrumentation has had to evolve rapidly to keep pace. Greater functionality and increasing precision are just some of the advances which have positioned cutting-edge test equipment at the heart of modern engineering,” element14 global head of test, tools and production supplies James McGregor says.

“We interviewed experts from some of the largest and most innovative test equipment manufacturers in the world to reveal how they deliver optimal solutions for new product development and maintenance. We hope the global test community will find the interviews enlightening and informative, perhaps even an inspiration for the next great innovation in test and measurement.”

The eBook shares detailed commentary on popular products, tools and measurement techniques, offering valuable insights for those planning new projects. The interviews featured in the eBook include:

• How test equipment drives hybrid working and remote learning – Mike Purday from Pico Technology discusses the capabilities and impact of using low-cost PC-based scopes through to high-performance products for a range of innovative and unexpected applications, from tattoo removal to monitoring the temperature of penguin eggs.
• An overview of SMUs – Philipp Weigell from Rohde & Schwarz discusses how a Source Measure Unit (SMU) can be used to provide fast, precise, high resolution and safe DC characterisation of electronic components down to the smallest leakage currents and reveals the applications which present the biggest challenges.
• Disrupting the status quo with portable tools – Justin Sheard, a Senior Engineer and Industrial Imaging Specialist at Fluke, references a series of ground-breaking application examples while providing a comprehensive overview of rugged, safe and easy-to-use handheld test instruments which meet the portability requirements of the modern engineer.
• A buyer’s guide to test and measurement equipment – Mike Hoffman, Product Manager for Keysight Technology’s mid-level range of oscilloscopes, provides a buyer’s guide for test and measurement equipment focusing on what functions and features really matter when purchasing test equipment today.
• Innovative tools and equipment for battery design and testing – Kai Scharrmann, Head of Sales at Hioki, discusses the trends and challenges found in battery technology and explains how it is used to measure the efficiency of electric cars and other critical applications.
• Fast-tracking innovation: Emerging trends and techniques – Brad Odhner, Technical Marketing Manager for Tektronix and Keithley Instruments, talks about how test and measurement equipment is accelerating innovation by helping engineers overcome present and future challenges.

Extended versions of all the interviews featured in The Innovation Experts eBook are available in the podcast series of the same name. Listeners can find the series on all major podcast providers, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or on element14’s Technical Resources hub.