Rohde & Schwarz and Audi partner on C-V2X traffic testing

Rohde & Schwarz and Audi have partnered to enable cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) application testing, creating road traffic scenarios in the laboratory and using the same traffic scenarios to conduct end-to-end testing on the Audi proving ground with an R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester.

C-V2X is a key technology that is set to increase traffic efficiency, improve road safety and enhance autonomous driving in the coming years. Of particular importance is the C-V2X PC5 interface, operating in the 5.9 GHz ITS frequency band. This enables direct, low-latency communications between vehicles (V2V), vehicles and infrastructure (V2I) and vehicles and pedestrians (V2P). To accelerate the deployment of this technology, cooperation between companies within the industry becomes increasingly important.

In a joint project with Audi, Rohde & Schwarz and Vector Informatik have developed a C-V2X test solution that allows traffic scenarios involving multiple simulated vehicles and the communications between them to be tested in the laboratory in a repeatable way. This enables the correct operation of C-V2X applications such as emergency brake warning in realistic and demanding traffic scenarios to be verified in the laboratory. Jointly with Audi, the laboratory solution was extended for use at the proving ground. This enabled the verification of several scenarios with one single physical vehicle and many simulated vehicles emulated by the Rohde & Schwarz test equipment.

The key benefits of this approach are the use of the same test equipment in both locations and reducing the number of vehicles required for the proving ground. This test approach allowed Audi to perform various load tests and corner case scenarios using test vehicles and simulated vehicles together at the proving ground. The cooperation between the teams facilitated co-development of this innovative C-V2X test set-up, helping to reduce time to market and saving capital expenditure.

The system comprises an R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester, an R&S SMBV100B vector signal generator (laboratory only), the Vector CANoe Car2x software, an R&S BBA150 amplifier and an R&S HF918 antenna with a tripod and adapter. This system is easily capable of generating signals with up to 33 dBm output power, which is required for emergency vehicles in certain markets. Synchronisation of the simulated vehicles and the test vehicle at the proving ground with real GNSS sources allows verification of complex traffic scenarios in real time.

As C-V2X continues to increase its footprint in the automotive industry, having a test system which scales into different phases of the automotive verification cycle becomes increasingly important to reduce time to market and minimise capital expenditure. Rohde & Schwarz says it is committed to supporting its partners in the automotive industry with innovative C-V2X test solutions in the coming years.

Please follow us and share on Twitter and Facebook. You can also subscribe for FREE to our weekly newsletter and bimonthly magazine.