Spirent works with Aston Martin to test V8 Vantage race cars

Drive testing is a crucial stage in the development of any location-enabled automotive technology. Testing with live signals is slow, expensive and limited since the ever-changing nature of the natural RF environment makes it impossible to run exactly the same test twice.

The ability to capture real world GPS receiver signals during testing and replay the data in simulated track scenarios gives Aston Martin Racing a unique perspective on their GPS signal performance accuracy before arriving at race events.

“Spirent is proud to continue as a technical partner with Aston Martin Racing for the 2016 World Endurance Championship.” commented Martin Vickery, Spirent’s director of corporate marketing. “Live drive testing is regarded as a cornerstone of best practice in the automotive industry and especially in motorsport applications when faced with additional stresses and performance demands. Ensuring the GPS positioning system is working accurately is a key part of this test regime”

Spirent’s range of solutions for automotive and connected car testing includes GPS, infotainment, security, interference and in-car Ethernet to provide for the experiences that drivers and passengers demand for the road cars of today and tomorrow.

“Using Spirent tools during testing means we can capture data and simulate many on-track scenarios in a controlled and repeatable environment back at base, which is a process that is invaluable when benchmarking our GPS receiver accuracy and performance throughout the season,” said Paul Howarth, Team Principal Aston Martin Racing.