The study represents an effort to identify significant trends in the design of automated testing since the middle 1950's. It includes a number of pertinent philosophies of this period and provides some conclusions and recommendations for future automatic test equipment. Incorporated in the report are summations of a selection from twenty five hundred (2500) articles, reports and several hundred patents contained in the files of Project SETE; the results of a meeting at NASA Kennedy Space Flight Center; and a portion of the correspondence resulting from an industrial survey on automatic test equipment. A bibliography has been arranged chronologically to provide the reader with an additional tool for the historical assessment of automatic test equipment. The report is issued in three layers. The 'Foreword' represents the first layer and is essentially an introduction to automatic testing. It is prepared for those readers who desire only a brief discussion of the subject. The 'Historical Preview' is the second layer. It explores in greater detail the ramifications of early efforts to automate testing. It includes a chronological 'Programming Sequence History Chart' plus samples of programming devices related to automatic test equipment. Starting with 'Task Objectives' the major part of the report is detailed. The main thrust is on important philosophies which played a part in the overall movement of automation in testing. (Author).