Date: 13/03/2011
Azimuth Systems introduces OTA test solution for testing LTE devices
Azimuth Systems has introduced fully automated, end-to-end ACE OTA device test solution. Azimuth's advanced over-the-air (OTA) test methodology combines a mobile isotropic chamber with the company's ACE MX MIMO channel emulator to create an environment where devices can be tested in their native form -- in the same mode as they are used in real-world conditions. This means testing the entire device in an active operational state, with the actual interaction of the antennas, RF front ends and baseband processing elements. Laboratory-based OTA testing solutions such as Azimuth's create an environment where signals are transmitted physically "over the air" to enable the capture of the effects of device design, including antenna design and placement, in a suite of performance measurements that allows testers to accurately distinguish a good device from a poorly performing device.
The Azimuth mobile isotropic chamber creates a truly 3D isotropic environment in a small form factor. The addition of the ACE MX MIMO channel emulator enables testers to create real world channel conditions such as delay, Doppler and correlation - which cannot be done without a channel emulator. The ACE MX channel emulator also features the flexibility to add other channel effects such as shadow fading, noise, etc., and the creation of precise, repeatable channel conditions.
Azimuth ACE OTA test solution's mobile isotropic chamber measures approximately 1.6m x 0.9m x 1m. The test environment created by the Azimuth mobile isotropic chamber and ACE MX wireless channel emulator is completely isotropic which simplifies testing compared to an anechoic chamber that has to compensate for not being isotropic in its native state by testing mobile devices in different orientations.
"The Azimuth ACE OTA test solution provides a cost-effective, practical and powerful solution for enhanced SISO/MIMO OTA testing with a true over-the-air modeling framework featuring enhanced realism - in a relatively small and portable OTA environment," said Peter Paglia, senior vice president of field operations, Azimuth Systems. "This is a significant breakthrough in over the air testing that we feel will revolutionize the industry by offering the most balanced approach for achieving repeatability, while producing highly accurate and realistic performance results."
Additional features of the Azimuth ACE OTA test solution include:
The ACE OTA test solution incorporates fully automated, integrated OTA device testing. Azimuth's complete automation features also allow for automation of BS/BSE, UEs and other equipment such as network analyzers.
The "ready to test" Azimuth OTA test solution incorporates "push button" operation that simply requires a user to place a device in its chamber to begin the test with little setup, and also features an intuitive and user-friendly interface.
The Azimuth ACE OTA test solution currently includes support for throughput as a FOM, providing more dimensions to compare mobile devices and benchmark performance to create a more holistic view of device performance.
The Azimuth ACE OTA test solution supports additional FOMs that arise in the future and to add more dimensions of reality, such as using drive test data in testing.