When testing location-aware and wireless devices on the production line, speed, accuracy and efficiency are key. Learn how new tools can accelerate these tests, saving time and money.
Discover:
- The key characteristics of efficient production line testing
- Why parametric testing methods aren’t always the best option
- The functional testing tools built for use on the factory floor
2. Introduction
Positioning and navigation technologies are evolving fast, and
manufacturers must perform an ever increasing variety of production
line tests on completed smartphones, laptops, and other location-
aware devices.
Many manufacturers continue to use complicated and expensive
parametric tools to conduct these tests, slowing time to market,
raising costs and compromising device quality.
Spirent is committed to supporting efficient, professional testing
throughout the value chain. This means enabling the right kind of
testing at the right stage – from the earliest days of receiver research
and development right through to production and technical support.
SPIRENT eBook Page 2
3. In this ebook we’ll explore the unique requirements of production
testing, and explain why the production line demands its own testing
solutions – solutions designed to deliver a simple, reliable verdict as
rapidly and efficiently as possible.
You’ll also gain an overview of our ground-breaking production testing
solutions, the GSS6300 and GSS5300.
We hope you find this ebook interesting and useful. If you’d like more
information about anything you read in the following pages, please
don’t hesitate to contact us at globalsales@spirent.com
SPIRENT eBook Page 3
4. Production Testing Today
Multi-GNSS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM, Near Field Communication – today’s
location-aware devices combine the strengths of a wide variety of
radio signals to deliver more accurate positioning, more consistent
fixes, and more diverse, innovative applications.
As a result, such devices incorporate an increasing number of
sensors and radio receivers, all of which need to be checked on the
production line to ensure that they are working correctly, and that
the finished product is functioning as designed.
SPIRENT eBook Page 4
5. With consumers demanding higher performance devices faster, and
competition to service that demand on the rise in many industries,
failure to complete these functional tests reliably and quickly can
significantly damage both a manufacturer’s reputation and its
bottom line.
Equally, however, manufacturers that switch to efficient, professional
production testing practices stand to enjoy a significant competitive
advantage – with the ability to get more reliable, more innovative
products to consumers faster, and at a lower cost.
SPIRENT eBook Page 5
6. The Aim of Production Testing
To understand the size of the opportunity represented by a new
approach to production testing, it’s first important to recognise
how the aims and requirements of such tests differ from those of
the performance tests that play such a central role in research and
development, and integration and verification.
SPIRENT eBook Page 6
7. During the development of any location-aware device, rigorous
testing is essential: from receiver benchmarking to characterisation
to calibration. The primary aim of testing at this stage, however, is
to discover, compare and extend the limits of a receiver or device
design’s performance.
SPIRENT eBook Page 7
8. To conduct such tests professionally requires sophisticated parametric
tools capable of recording a comprehensive set of detailed
measurements, and simulating an extreme range of operating
environments.
The aim of production testing is quite different – by the time a
finished location-aware device rolls down the production line,
parametric testing should be long since complete.
At this late stage, testing means checking that the various
components of a product are functioning properly – and the result
should be a simple verdict of pass or fail.
SPIRENT eBook Page 8
9. Successful production testing is therefore characterised by:
Efficiency
The ease and economy with which a pass/fail verdict can be achieved.
Speed
How quickly that verdict can be achieved, and how many different
radio signals and devices can be tested at once.
Accuracy
The capacity for human error to compromise the testing process.
Since the primary aim of this production testing is so different to that
of most R&D tests, it’s unsurprising that parametric tools are far from
the ideal solution.
SPIRENT eBook Page 9
10. The Problem with Parametric Testing on the Production Line
Despite their very different purpose, many manufacturers currently use
parametric testing tools to perform their functional production line tests.
This can cause a number of problems:
Inefficiency
As noted in the last section, parametric tools are sophisticated,
highly-adaptable solutions designed to test radio signal receivers to
their limits in the R&D lab. The high level of functionality demanded
by this application makes them expensive investments, and means
they require a comparatively high level of technical expertise to
operate.
When deployed on the production line, they can raise capital
and labour costs substantially.
SPIRENT eBook Page 10
11. Delays
In the R&D lab, there’s rarely any need to test more than one receiver
or device design simultaneously. There’s also, comparatively, plenty of
time to calibrate your equipment for each test.
On a production line, however, complex calibration and a lack of
capacity is a distinct disadvantage – damaging a manufacturer’s ability
to get new products to market quickly, and to respond to
sudden increases in demand.
SPIRENT eBook Page 11
12. Inaccuracy
The very level of advanced functionality which makes parametric tools
so powerful in the R&D lab heightens the risk of miscalibration on the
production line – increasing the chance that sub-standard products
will be shipped, and brand reputation damaged.
As new location-aware devices make use of a growing range of radio
signals, the above issues are set to become of increasing concern to
manufacturers relying on parametric tools.
SPIRENT eBook Page 12
13. The GSS5300: A Versatile Testing Solution
for Today’s Production Line
Spirent’s ground-breaking new RF simulator,
the GSS5300, is built specifically to meet the unique needs of modern
production line testing, simulating a wide range of radio signals –
from Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to FM and NFC.
A single, rapidly deployable unit, it enables manufacturers to:
Reduce testing costs
Designed to deliver the simple yes/no verdict production testing
requires, the GSS5300 is more efficient, less expensive and much
simpler to use than parametric testing tools –
driving down capital and labour costs.
SPIRENT eBook Page 13
14. Accelerate testing
One GSS5300 unit can test two devices for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM and
NFC signals simultaneously – and units can be deployed in parallel
to test further multiples of two devices at the same time. This slashes
the time needed to perform professional production testing, enabling
manufacturers to service demand faster and grow competitive edge.
Promote testing consistency
The GSS5300 is engineered to make testing as straightforward as
possible – minimising the danger of inaccurate test results due
to calibration errors, and helping to ensure every product meets
customer expectations.
Drive innovation
SPIRENT eBook Page 14
15. Many modern RF receiver chipsets now include a ‘test mode’ which
can be activated to speed and simplify testing processes. The
GSS5300 takes full advantage of test modes where available, driving
further time and efficiency savings. Coupled with its ability to test
emerging wireless technologies such as NFC, this makes the GSS5300
the ideal tool for testing even the most innovative location-aware
devices.
While the GSS5300 is a powerful tool in its own right, it’s also
designed to work in tandem with Spirent’s GSS6300 family of
products, providing a complete RF receiver testing solution for the
modern production line.
SPIRENT eBook Page 15
16. The GSS6300: Peerless Multi-GNSS Production Testing
Spirent’s GSS6300 Multi-GNSS Signal Generator is the GSS5300’s
older sibling. It delivers all the same efficiency, cost and quality
benefits as the GSS5300, but simulates the signals of multiple GNSS
constellations, from GPS and GLONASS to Galileo.
The GSS6300M is the ideal entry-level multi-channel GNSS simulator
for busy production testing environments and receiver integrators.
Its eight channels of operation can simulate L1/E1 signals from GPS/
SBAS, GLONASS and Galileo to test the fundamental positioning
capabilities of any GNSS device.
SPIRENT eBook Page 16
17. Where Next?
If you found this eBook of interest, you may now like to do one of the
following:
• Visit our Resources page to browse our other eBooks and Application
Notes on relevant topics.
• Read the Spirent GNSS Blog to keep up with news and insights on the
latest GNSS developments.
• Email us for more information at gnss-solutions@spirent.com
Share this eBook on your favourite social media platform:
Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Technorati Google + Digg Delicious Reddit Stumbleupon MCD00198 Issue 1-00
18. About Spirent
Spirent has been the global leader in GNSS testing for 25 years. Spirent delivers
navigation and positioning test equipment and services to governmental agencies,
major manufacturers, integrators, test facilities and space agencies worldwide.
Spirent Spirent Federal Systems Got a smartphone?
+44 1803 546325 +1 714 692 6565 Scan the QR
globalsales@spirent.com info@spirentfederal.com Code for more
www.spirent.com/positioning www.spirentfederal.com information
