NI announced updates to the Wireless Test System (WTS), a solution for multisite automated testing of wireless devices.
NI’s WTS 1.3 supports 8×8 multichannel configurations and custom 802.11ax test steps with device under test (DUT) control for parallel test of new connectivity devices based on the IEEE 802.11ax draft standard.
WTS 1.3 platform is suitable for multisite test of the latest 802.11ax, Bluetooth Low Energy and low-power IoT devices. This approach systematically scales with the evolving RF requirements of wireless standards to lower the cost of test and increase production output.
NI said the WTS 1.3 version improves parallel test of Bluetooth 5 and low-power Internet of Things (IoT) standards, such as ZigBee and Z-Wave.
The 802.11ax draft standard includes changes to the physical layer (PHY) to deliver higher average data throughput per user in crowded environments. These changes introduce more complexity to characterization, design validation and production test efforts, NI said.
Engineers can use WTS 1.3 to automate their 802.11ax measurement solutions for extensive test coverage of their new designs.
The testing company said the WTS instrument software and NI’s vector signal transceivers (VSTs) power large multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) setups up to 8×8, dual-band simultaneous test and accurate error vector magnitude (EVM) measurements.
The new software addresses difficult task of creating a variety of trigger-based multiuser scenarios in which each simulated user has unique waveform settings and impairments. The new WTS provides built-in support for DUT control tools from leading chipset vendors to shorten development time in the presence of these new test challenges.
WTS 1.3 also includes updates to the TestStand Wireless Test Module (WTM). The TestStand WTM, as an extension of NI’s TestStand software, simplifies the creation of wireless test sequences for the lab and the factory. WTM helps engineers achieve fast test times and throughput by automatically scheduling the execution of multisite test plans for wireless devices.
“A test solution – like the WTS – that is optimized for rapid, multi-DUT execution based on flexible software and modular hardware, helps provide significant cost, yield and future-proof advantages,” said Charles Schroeder, vice president of RF marketing at NI.
