GAP AVERAGE ON-LINE RANDOMNESS TEST

The present invention is a method and apparatus for testing random numbers generated by a random number generator in real time. A stream of random bits is generated using said random number generator, then the generated random bits undergo a gap length calculation operation in which all sub-sequences having identical bit patterns are identified and the resulting gap lengths are applied to exponential averaging to obtain average gap lengths between identical bit patterns. The average gap lengths are compared to at least one predetermined acceptance range, so that if at least one of the average gap lengths falls repeatedly outside the predetermined acceptance range more than a predetermined number of times, it is determined that the generated random bits are insufficiently random.