Software test industry first: TestPlant granted US patent for eggPlant

Jan. 25, 2011 - PRLog -- 24 January, 2011 - London, UK and Boulder, CO, USA – TestPlant, an international software company with operations in the USA and the UK, today announced that its robotic test tool product, eggPlant, has been recognized by the US Patent and Trademark Office and secured a US patent. The patent, number 7,870,504, has been granted for eggPlant’s unique method of controlling or testing a system from another computer using a communications link such as Virtual Network Computing (VNC). This allows eggPlant to ‘see’ the screen on the system under test recognizing icons, buttons, message boxes, prompts, text, backgrounds and colors.

George Mackintosh, chief executive for TestPlant said: “This patent recognizes the innovation in how eggplant works and secures our position in the market as the leader in GUI testing”.

By creating a visual depiction of the screen, eggPlant can intelligently search and compare while signalling test success or failure. The technique is non-invasive, another unique and valuable feature for testers in industries such as defense, security, media and medical devices.

George Mackintosh continued: “This is the first example for years that a complete and current product in the $2.4bn global test tool marketplace* has been recognized by the US Patent and Trademark Office as being sufficiently novel and innovative to deserve this distinction. It’s a great demonstration of our leadership and technical expertise in a market that many consider dominated by giants such as HP, IBM, Micro Focus and Microsoft.  This is a stamp of TestPlant’s authority to describe our approach to user interface testing as truly unique”.

The testing industry
Testing is a crucial function in the production of software. Worldwide spending on testing is estimated by PAC to be $105bn*. The elimination of bugs requires extensive review of programming code and exhaustive manual testing of the graphic user interface (GUI).  Such repetitive manual testing is tedious and prone to human error. eggPlant uses intelligent image-recognition algorithms to ‘see’ the screen on the system being tested and, by comparison with responses it has been trained to expect, pass or fail the new or updated software version. With a flood of new and diverse computing devices appearing on the market – smart phones, tablets, wearable computers, point of sale terminals, head-up displays – the test industry and its practitioners are faced with mounting demands to validate software performance across multiple browsers, devices, operating systems and networks. Consequently there is a surge of interest in automating as much of this process as possible. Automation in software testing helps shorten system delivery times, improve quality and reduce costs.

The inventors

Jonathan Gillaspie and Doug Simons are the two founder developers responsible for the invention, design and development of eggPlant. Now with MacOS, Linux and Windows versions available, Jonathan and Doug work in TestPlant’s Boulder, Colorado development center. Jonathan studied computer science in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon University and is now TestPlant’s Chief Software Architect. Doug, originally from California and now enjoying life in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, has more than 30 years of experience in software design and development. He is eggPlant’s Principle Developer. The IP is protected and monitored by international law firm Clyde & Co* with Quill & Disc* as patent advisors.


About TestPlant
TestPlant is an international software business with an established customer base of leading IT and media corporations and defense and security organizations using eggPlant, the world’s leading GUI automated test software tool. TestPlant is headquartered in The City of London and it has a considerable presence in North America, with an office in Washington DC and a development center in Boulder, Colorado. The business is backed by Seraphim Capital with funds coming from investors in London, Edinburgh and Washington DC. The company is chaired by Jon Richards with founder George Mackintosh as Chief Executive. TestPlant is now the fastest growing small medium-sized enterprise (SME) in this sector with year on year sales growth exceeding 100%. Its achievements have been recognized by the British Venture Capital Association and in the London Export Awards.

About the US Patent Office
The US Patent and Trademark Office* is an agency of the US Department of Commerce. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, it presides over the world’s largest technology market with jurisdiction beyond US national borders depending on where software resides and from where it is being accessed. Abraham Lincoln, the only US President to have been granted a patent, stated that the Patent Office “added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius, in the discovery of new and useful things”.

References
www.pac-online.com   PAC Global Views report “Worldwide Testing Services Market 2010-2014”
www.realvnc.com   Maker of VNC technology
www.uspto.gov   US Patent and Trademark Office.  US patent number: 7,870,504
www.clydeco.co.uk   Clyde and Co – international IP and IT dispute lawyers
quilldisc@charter.net   Al Watkins, Quill & Disc Inc, TestPlant’s US patent advisor


Media Contact   Srideep Mitra
srideep.mitra@testplant.com
+44(0) 20 7002 7769
www.testplant.com

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TestPlant is an international software business that develops the software testing product called eggPlant. eggPlant is capable of automating tasks on any OS, and its is technology agnostic, non-invasive ensuring SUT is not affected.