Don’t worry, the Terminator is not coming for you or your job. But you might need a Terminator someday to test your mobile app. Desktop and web development happen in a relatively constrained environment: keyboard and mouse for input, video for output — easy to virtualize and test anywhere, locally, or in the cloud. However, with mobile apps, running tests in a simulator can sometimes be hard or impossible. There are more parts involved (e.g. touchscreen, physical buttons, camera, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.) and the possible interactions can complicate a team’s ability to automate end-to-end test scenarios (e.g. receiving a call or text, taking a photo, controlling a Bluetooth device, making an NFC payment, etc.).
In those hard-to-automate situations, a robotic device that can emulate human interaction can be a good option. In this talk, we’ll go into more detail on why teams might want to make their own robotic
mechanisms, and how they can do it without “terminating” their budget or schedule.
