12 Results
A step by step HOW TO guide to perform manual and automated wireless coexistence testing
At the end of the year 2020, there were over 20 Billion internet of things (IoT) products in the world operating using the licensed and unlicensed frequency bands. This growth trend is projected to keep steady over the coming years as more and more people adopt to a smarter and more connected lifestyle. This will result in a much busier and challenging RF environment than the one we have today. In order to understand the complexity of the RF spectrum, a white paper was published in 2021 from Rohde & Schwarz, which featured RF spectrum activity at multiple locations observed at different times of the day. The locations were selected based on population densities and the amount of known RF transmitters & their frequencies at those locations. It was also concluded that the ISM bands on average have higher channel utilization since most IoT devices take advantage of the unlicensed spectrum. The paper recommended, that while performing wireless coexistence testing, the test conditions should reflect the operational RF environment that the device is intended to operate in. Otherwise, the characterization of RF performance would only reflect ideal case which doesn’t exist in real world operation. Since it is not always possible to test all devices in the real world, relevant test methodologies need to be setup to replicate the real world as much as possible.This will help us get a better understanding of how the receiver of the RF device will behave under different RF conditions. It is also recommended to perform measurements in order to understand the behavior of the device in the future when the spectrum will get even more challenging. Therefore, a through characterization of the capability of the RF receiver to handle in-band and out-of-band interference signals in also of interest.In terms of regulatory compliance requirements for ensuring wireless coexistence performance, the ANSI C63.27 is currently the only published test standard that provides guidance on how to perform coexistence testing on devices. The test complexity is based up on risk imposed on the user’s health in the event of a failure caused by an or a plurality of interference signal. The standard also gives device manufacturers guidance regarding test setups, measurement environments, interference signal types and strategy, performance quality measurement parameters for physical layer using key performance indicator (KPI) and application layer parameters for end-to-end functional wireless performance (FWP).In this application note, the guidance provided by the ANSI C63.27-2021 version regarding test setup, measurement parameter and interference signal have been followed. It will give the reader a clear idea on how to configure standardized test instruments from R&S in order to generate the wanted signal as well as unintended interference signals and conduct measurement to monitor device performance in terms of PER, ping latency and data throughput.This application note provides step-by-step instruction on how to perform measurements using conducted and radiated methodology. Both manual and automated instrument configuration approach is explained in this document.The automation scripts are written using python scripting language and are available for download with this application note, free of charge. Official required to run the scripts are available on the PYPI database.
10-Nov-2022 | AN-No. 1SL392
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.1 has introduced Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD) to enrich the direction finding (DF) feature. This application note gives the guidance of how to perform the BLE 5.1 DF RF tests according to the RF test specification of BT 5.1 by using the Rohde & Schwarz test solutions.
30-Oct-2019 | AN-No. GFM327
Ensure that your M2M device equipped with an embedded SIM can deliver permanent and ubiquitous connectivity around the globe
22-Aug-2019
Rohde & Schwarz offers a variety of products to fit your testing needs. Here, we present our solution for testing the above-mentioned use cases.
15-Oct-2018
Versatile Software Tool for Rohde & Schwarz Instruments
RSCommander is a versatile software tool for a wide range of Rohde & Schwarz spectrum-, network analyzers, signal generators and oscilloscopes. It allows for automatic instrument discovery, making screenshots, reading traces, file transfer and simple script creation.
24-Dec-2017 | AN-No. 1MA074
More and more everyday items such as household appliances, vehicles, lights, etc. are now connected to the Internet, forming what is known as the "Internet of Things". Even clothing with sewn-in sensors to measure vital functions can now connect to the Internet and transmit data to cloud services. These different things use a variety of wireless technology standards to establish a connection. Due to its popularity, one of the most important standards is Bluetooth (or Bluetooth Low Energy). Before a new product with Bluetooth functionality can be launched, the qualification process defined by the Bluetooth SIG must be successfully completed. To save time and money, performance tests need to be performed in the development stage. This application note describes how to use the R&S CMW platform to perform the measurements defined in Bluetooth test specification version 5. As an alternative solution, we also cover how to perform almost all of the measurements with a spectrum analyzer and signal generator.The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Rohde & Schwarz is under license.
19-Jun-2017 | AN-No. 1MA282
IoT devices have tight requirements for power consumption in order to achieve expected battery life times of multiple years without a connection to a power supply. In order to verify the power consumption and expected battery life time, voltage and current have to be measured accurately for different operating states of the device under test.This application note explains battery life tests using RT-ZVC in combination with CMWrun and CMW500, including example applications.The solution by Rohde & Schwarz enables precise voltage, current and consequently, power measurements.The RT-ZVC Multi-Channel Power Probe can be driven as part of a test plan combining signaling and power measurements for a detailed view of the power consumption in different signaling states as well as an estimation of overall lifetime given a certain battery capacity.
17-Feb-2017 | AN-No. 1MA281
The R&S®CMW Wideband Radio Communication Tester offers an elaborate parametric test concept, including all RF test cases up to Bluetooth®5, that makes this flexible test platform ideal for designing and verifying Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) circuitsand modules.
27-Jan-2017
This document describes the adaptive frequency hopping mechanism for improved signaling performance in Bluetooth Basic Rate and Enhanced Data Rate devices.The R&S CMW provides this feature for remote operation in TX, Loopback and Connection test mode. Thereby the R&S CMW acts as a master, while the Equipment under Test (EUT) represents the slave(s) of the piconet.
14-Dec-2016 | AN-No. 1C108
This document describes the direct test mode mechanisms for testing Bluetooth Low Energy devices and explains how the direct test mode connection is established. The R&S CMW uses a USB port for the direct test mode connection while the Equipment under Test (EUT) may provide a USB port, a serial port or even a 2-wire UART interface for this purpose. Installing or assigning the right driver for the EUT is the main configuration task on the R&S CMW. For EUTs with USB port, the R&S CMW provides a Bluetooth Low Energy USB driver which has to be assigned to the connected EUT.
14-Dec-2016 | AN-No. 1C105
This document describes WLAN tests which rely on communication (signaling) between R&S®CMW and device under test (DUT) and on transmission of packet data over WLAN. On the R&S®CMW side the WLAN Signaling application is required, for some tests also the Data Application Unit (DAU).The test principles and the necessary settings are explained and background infor-mation is given. Step-by-step procedures are provided for the main configuration tasks.
08-Feb-2016 | AN-No. 1C107
For establishing a WLAN connection between R&S®CMW and device under test (DUT), the WLAN properties at the R&S®CMW have to be adapted to the test conditions. These can vary in several aspects, particularly due to the different WLAN standards and characteristics of the DUT. This document describes the critical parameters and provides step-by-step procedures for the configuration.
08-Dec-2015 | AN-No. 1C106