

Tapster – mobile device automation robot - hugs
http://www.tindie.com/products/hugs/tapster

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clay_to_n
Mobile developers: is there a need for this? Are automated testing tools for
emulators not good enough?

Fascinated by this, but a bit confused about how practical its uses are. Very
cool in any case.

~~~
hugs
A robot (combined with a video camera) lets you test things on real devices
that current software-only tools don't handle:

\- 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-...](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/business/t-mobile-accuses-
huawei-of-theft-from-laboratory.html)

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SchizoDuckie
I had the need for something like this as well at one time. Decided to ghetto-
hack it since it only needed a touch at one point:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4b5ym1ZqSo&list=UUm5ytliPWa...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4b5ym1ZqSo&list=UUm5ytliPWaH2rDPZ5kW1ZJg)

The headphones around the pen are to ground it, so that the touch registers on
the tablet.

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voodootikigod
I love tapster and best of all, it can dance!

~~~
hugs
Learned from the best! Inside joke alert: Chris Williams (aka voodootikigod)
wrote Tapster's dance code at the JSConf EU 2012 Saturday night party before
my talk -- when I was rewriting all the Python code to JavaScript...

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bikamonki
I see only one use for it: hardware/display testing. For everything else a
software/gui automation tool will do the job (I use Automagic for Android and
it costs 4 bucks not 10k!!!!)

~~~
hugs
The design is all open source software and open source (mostly 3D-printable)
hardware. A detailed bill of materials with part costs and suppliers is posted
in the repo. The 10K price-tag is for white-glove support and consulting. (My
time is expensive!)

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.

------
hugs
Tapster creator here. Happy to answer any questions!

