Automotive UWB Device Testing Over The Air

The UWB (Ultra-Wideband) technology is a short range wide-band radio technology specified for device to device communication operating in unlicensed spectrum. It is an RF positioning technology that enables accurate and secure peer-to-peer ranging between mobile devices with robust resistance to interference while consuming very low energy and coexisting well with other radio communication systems.

UWB is used for a variety of different applications, such as asset tracking, secure payment, personal tracker, real time location services and keyless access and start of a vehicle etc. According to ABI Research forecasts, there will be well over 1 billion UWB annual device shipments by 2026. Almost every smart phone shipped in 2026 will support UWB services.

Talking about testing aspect of a UWB device, in general two test methodologies can be adopted as other wireless products, either the traditional testing mode (so-called conducted test mode) with wired RF connection between the test measurement equipment and device under test (DUT) or over the air (OTA) test mode in an OTA anechoic chamber. Sometimes, it is not always possible or necessary to perform the tests under conducted mode due to the limiting factors, e.g. cost, space, complexity and direct access to the RF connectors of the product. In this case, OTA testing is then becoming a non-evitable approach. Moreover, OTA testing reflects the usage of DUT in a real condition.

In this application note, R&S® OTA test solution covering transmitter (Tx), receiver (Rx) and Time of Flight (ToF) testing in Wireless Automated Testing (WMT) environment is described. The measurement results throughout the whole document are based on NXP Trimension™ NCJ29D5 UWB automotive IC.