NI announces FiRa-validated automated test tool

NI’s solution can now be used by device manufacturers and chip designers to automatically test the conformance of their Ultra-Wideband (UWB) enabled products against version 1.3 of FiRa’s PHY specifications.

UWB is useful for devices requiring low power operating over a short range that can coexist with other Radio Frequency (RF) signals for the purpose of providing real-time location information and can also perform data exchanges with remote objects.

The NI UWB PHY test solution is based on the NI PXI platform, giving users the ability to custom-tailor a solution that entirely meets their needs in a compact format. Users can add functionality such as data acquisition channels or DUT control interfaces to customise their solution.

“As wireless standards continue to evolve, so does the complexity of testing and automated testing standards will become increasingly critical in improving time-to-market,” said David Hall, Director of Marketing, Global Business Units, NI. “NI is excited to receive FiRa Validation of our UWB PHY Test Solution. We can now provide our customers with a UWB test bench that has successfully undergone the rigorous validation procedure defined by FiRa.”

The FiRa Certification Programme defines processes for verifying that candidate devices conform to the FiRa Consortium requirements and test specifications.

“Based on FiRa’s rigorous process to evaluate test tools, we are pleased to validate NI’s VST 2nd generation, PXIe-583x PHY Conformance test tool,” said Clint Chaplin and Reinhard Meindl, Co-Chairs of the FiRa Compliance and Certification Working Group. “This provides FiRa Authorised Test Labs and member companies the ability to verify PHY conformance with a known Validated Test Tool”.

Part of NI’s FiRa-validated UWB Test Solution is the 2nd-generation Vector Signal Transceiver, the PXIe-583x. This family of RF testers is primarily aimed at engineers working on RF front ends for wideband standards, such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6E/7.

The increasing complexity of devices, test cases and modulation schemes make them rely on NI’s VST based solutions to help validate the performance of their devices. One of the most defined attributes of the VST is its highly scalable software architecture.

The UWB specific parts of this test solution leverage the ultra-flexible and efficient toolkit from its partner, MaxEye Technologies. MaxEye’s experience in the development of communication layers for RF technologies, as well as the development of their associated test methods, makes them the ideal partner for these solutions.