Test system targets connected car ecosystem

This lab-based approach complements the conventional field testing using fleets of vehicles. It will also help to minimise the development and validation time for new features for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology.

V2V communications could mitigate many traffic collisions and reduce traffic congestion by sending and receiving basic safety information such as location, speed and direction of travel between vehicles approaching each other. 

“By providing vehicle manufacturers with a wide range of test capabilities from the wireless, positioning and computer networking industries that complement drive testing, we can help the auto industry adopt connected car technology with more confidence,” said Pete Nicholson, general manager of Spirent’s Automotive Business Unit. “Our system allows automotive OEMs to develop and validate new products more quickly, by making tests repeatable using real-world signals in a lab environment.”

This automotive test system is an integrated custom solution that provides radio frequency (RF) recordings for all the major Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSS) - GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS - and vehicle CAN bus data.

The system can also record up to four video streams, audio and other high-speed sensor data to provide a more complete record of the route. The recorded data is time-stamped and can then be replayed repeatedly to help engineering teams verify new designs work all over the world without leaving the lab.