Everyone talks about connected cars today. A very hot topic, but one that is still relatively unclear in its definition. Although it’s fun to talk about infotainment and all the things you’ll be able to do while driving in your vehicle to make it feel more like your living room, the reality is the primary focus of the automotive industry is safety. As it should be.
This week Rohde & Schwarz announced a partnership with Miro-sys to enable test simulation of automotive radar for both development labs and production facilities. A key factor in ensuring the safety of the occupants of automobiles as they travel down the road.
From the Miro-sys side, the solution includes its Automotive Radar Target Simulator, a part of their Innovative Technical Systems portfolio. The radar simulator can be used by production facilities in order to manipulate the potential implications of speed, size and distance of the object and weather conditions in order to determine the responsiveness of automated driver assistance systems. The ARTS is optimized for the standard automotive radar band, it has a broad RF band capability that extends from 75 GHz to 80 GHz. The functionality shows real-time performance simulation of many real life situations. For example the detection of a specific object — are you approaching a bike, car or wall? And how will the vehicle respond based on the speed at which it is traveling and the external weather conditions.
Rohde & Schwarz is providing the FSW-K60C signal and spectrum analyzer to the solution. Targeted at research and development teams requiring a tool to test the signal performance of automotive radar. By testing the signal performance while in the design phase for radar sensors, organizations will be able to determine the potential impact to the signal performance of external factors such as environment and speed.
Combined, these products enable developers to verify signal processing algorithms of sensors at an earlier stage. There is also the ability to test at a deeper level during the production process. Distances of less than 1 meter can be simulated and tested with this solution. Users also have the option to create their own test scenarios and review them at a later time for future simulations. All test results can be saved for background documentation required by the automotive industry for safety requirements. The solution can test 100% of the safety-relevant radar components on the production line as opposed to conducting random quality assurance tests where there is the possibility for a key issue to be overlooked.
The major difference compared to offers in the market today is the ability to run real-time tests with different parameters as opposed to individual static test simulations based on optical delay lines.
Rohde & Schwarz will be marketing the complete solution through its automotive test and measurement division.
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