noninstrumented

Noninstrumented is an adjective describing something that is not equipped with measurement instruments or sensors. In research, engineering, medicine, and computing, the term signals a lack of instrumentation used to collect data or provide assistance during a process.

In experimental and engineering contexts, noninstrumented tests rely on qualitative observations, calculations based on known quantities, or external data rather than active data collection with devices. This contrasts with instrumented methods that use sensors, gauges, telemetry, or embedded instrumentation to capture quantitative measurements.

In medicine, noninstrumented can refer to procedures performed without assistive instruments. For example, a noninstrumented delivery (or labor) implies that no obstetric instruments such as forceps or vacuum devices are used, whereas instrumented delivery involves such tools.

In software and systems engineering, noninstrumented components or environments lack internal instrumentation for performance monitoring, logging, or tracing. Noninstrumented systems may be used for baseline comparisons or when instrumentation could affect behavior or introduce overhead.

Etymology and variants: the term is formed from non- plus instrumented. Some contexts also use uninstrumented as a synonym, though usage can vary by field and style guide.

See also: instrumented, instrumentation, instrumentation testing, observability, telemetry, measurement.