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

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