As more and more everyday objects – from deep fat fryers to fridge freezers – become ‘smarter’ and more sophisticated, so our expectations that they will be efficient, safe and secure also rise. In the race to be the first to bring a new product to market there is always the temptation to cut corners and hope for the best, but the high cost of a recall or potential damage to a company’s reputation is always too high a price to pay. So many things are connected to the internet and sometimes need a little support and guidance to make them work. It is best to contact businesses like reformit.co.uk who provide an IT Support Cheltenham way.
Several major corporations are vying to be the first to bring truly autonomous vehicles to the roads. In a bid to ensure that the UK remains at the leading edge of this fast-growing technology the UK government has announced the world’s first code of practice to allow four British towns and cities to begin testing driverless cars.
Hazards
News of this key development followed on from the launch of a prototype system from Jaguar Land Rover that can spot dangerous potholes in the road ahead and adjusts the suspension for the smoothest possible ride. It is hoped that the system will eventually share details of the hazards with other drivers and even take photographs of potholes to send to local councils so they can be repaired.
In both cases, the technology used to scan the road ahead and control the speed and direction of a vehicle has existed for many years – it is the software that is new. Before anything can be released to the public, in-house software testing services will put the systems through their paces to ensure they are bug-free and completely safe.
Critical
Not every piece of consumer technology or software may be as critical as that being used in driverless vehicles, but ensuring that everything works the way it is supposed to is still essential. Companies are a key part of any successful launch, ensuring that software functions correctly under all possible circumstances.
Testing and de-bugging will always be one of the most important aspects of software development and finding ways to speed up the process – by, for example, harnessing the power of crowd sourcing – can drastically reduce time to market and allow a new product to establish a leading position from day one.
