How an Automotive & IoT Technology Company Streamlined Device Testing with a Private Device Farm

• Fragmented device testing. Embedded Android Auto hardware, Android tablets, and personal iOS devices all needed to sit in one testing pool instead of scattered, ad hoc setups.
• Device access beyond QA. The same physical devices had to double as remote device access points for live sales demonstrations — reservable and controllable without anyone shipping or handing over hardware.
• Secure external access for integration partners. Outside partners needed to test against real devices to validate their own builds, without devices leaving the building or security being compromised.

Deployment: Devices are racked and connected through Raspberry Pi units, with each unit serving up to 8 devices. This modular, low-footprint setup means capacity scales by adding units, not by re-architecting the lab.

How the device farm is used:

• In-house device testing: Embedded Android Auto systems, Android tablets, and iOS devices are validated from one centralized device pool, removing the need for separate testing infrastructure per device type.
• Controlled integrator access: External integration partners get scoped, remote access to specific devices to validate their own builds — with zero hardware shipped and full control retained.

What changed operationally:

• Device grouping and booking replaced physical handoffs. Engineering, sales, and partner access are now scheduled slots on the same shared pool, not separate physical devices.
• Remote control and screen access mean a device never has to leave the rack. Sales can run a live demo, engineering can run a test pass, and a partner can validate a build — all as remote sessions against hardware that stays on-site.
• Role-based, scoped access replaced "handing someone a device." External integrators get access to exactly the devices they need, for exactly as long as they need it, and nothing more.

• One device lab, three use cases. Testing, demos, and partner integration all run on the same infrastructure — no duplicated hardware, no duplicated management overhead.
• Full control. Devices never leave company infrastructure, keeping sensitive connected-vehicle hardware secure while still enabling remote device access wherever it's needed.
• Zero devices in transit. No hardware ships to partners or between offices anymore — every session is remote, so there's nothing to lose, damage, or wait on.
• Effortless scalability. Adding more devices is as simple as adding another Raspberry Pi unit — no lab rebuild required.