Innovative JTAG tool learns from designs

Having scanned a compliant design, AutoBuzz is designed to learn by performing comparative tests using JTAG/boundary scan. According to James Stanbridge, sales manager at JTAG Technologies, the system works via a series of pulses that are transmitted across all pin connections on a board. "AutoBuzz is connected via a number of compatible JTAG interface options and gathers a connectivity map of any board's boundary scan to boundary scan pin connections," he said. "By removing the need for netlist, users need only refer to their schematic." AutoBuzz provides two operating modes – Learn and Compare. In the first mode, a sample pcb is scanned to establish a reference connectivity map, while in Compare mode, suspected faulty boards can be scanned and differences highlighted. Possible defects such as interconnect short cuts, open circuits and 'stuck at' faults are detected then indicated on screen. A constraints section allows critical pins to be set at fixed drive values as 'guards'. "There is nothing else like this on the market," continued Stanbridge. "The user requires no boundary scan technical knowledge and only a basic scan chain input is needed."