GPS World, January 2012

THE BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL OEM Spirent Offers Automation World Data Sets December was a banner month for Spirent Spirent Federal Systems commemorated its 10th anniversary as a proxy company and wholly owned subsidiary of Spirent Communications provider of network device and services test solutions and GPS GNSS test equipment Spirent Federal was created to focus on government needs and customers providing them with the tools to evaluate their communication networks and navigation systems As a proxy company Spirent Federal provides secure solutions and personnel as well as holds a General Services Administration contract the company said Automation Tool Also in December Spirent Communications launched its new automation and reporting tool TestDrive GNSS for SimGEN and SimREPLAYplus controlled GNSS test systems TestDrive GNSS automates the testing process to significantly reduce overhead costs and testing times associated with characterization of GNSS devices Spirent said TestDrive GNSS provides a suite of test cases that enables fundamental characterization tests to be performed in an automated and controlled way Examples of fundamental characterization tests include time to first fix TTFF acquisition sensitivity tracking sensitivity re acquisition time and static and dynamic navigation accuracy The tool also provides a formal test report at the end of the process TestDrive GNSS has close synergy with Spirents industryleading TestDrive ULTS software for the 8100 Location Technology Solution LTS which tests GSM UMTS and LTE mobile devices and chipsets and provides certified test cases to the 3G Partnership Project 3GPP Assisted GPS A GPS RF Minimum Performance and Signaling Conformance standards as well as to the Open Mobile Alliance Secure User Plane SUPL standards A GPS Lab Spirent Communications announced that its SGS wireless testing laboratory in Seoul Korea had become the latest wireless testing laboratory to deploy Spirents 8100 A GPS Over the Air OTA test solution Spirent has provided testing capabilities to more than 15 test labs capable of providing OTA testing services Labs also use the Spirent 8100 to offer A GPS conformance testing as part of device certification to GCF PTCRB and CCF requirements Shipments of GPS capable GSM WCDMA handsets have continued to grow rapidly by 97 percent to 295 million units in 2010 according to analyst firm Berg Insight But to ensure that the technology delivers as promised in the real world the performance of A GPS in devices needs to be tested over the air in a large chamber under precisely controlled conditions Spirent said The CTIA has made A GPS OTA testing an integral part of its certification process for wireless devices Spirent Federal GPS GNSS test equipment simulates all current and planned GNSS signals including GPS GLONASS Galileo QZSS and SBAS Data Sets Launched for GSS6400 Spirent Communications has launched a data set subscription service for its GSS6400 GNSS Record and Playback test System The data sets comprise live GNSS GPS GLONASS and QZSS environmental capture data set samples recorded at major locations worldwide in challenging urban and suburban conditions The data sets encompass a variety of recorded scenarios ranging from drive through multi level roads tunnels and car parks to drive through in downtown areas with highrise buildings The real world effects such as atmospheric environmental multipath interference terrain obscuration are captured making use of data sets for debugging issues performance tuning and optimization of GNSS receivers Spirent said In 2010 Spirent introduced the GSS6400 GNSS Record Playback system to complement its range of simulators Until now customers had to record the data themselves With the data sets customers will be able to save time and maximize their test coverage resulting in accelerated product release cycles Spirent said The data sets are accompanied by reference truth position data in time stamped NMEA format recorded using a high grade inertial INS aided receiver Customers will save on the cost of purchasing or leasing a high grade receiver Spirent said and can accurately characterize the performance of the device under test which is crucial during the design phase The data sets will be updated annually to ensure that differences in satellite constellations urban topography and the current date and time are captured Spirent said Workshop Spirent Federal is hosting its 2012 GPS GNSS Simulation Training Conference March 27 29 in Anaheim California Included is a half day of FOUO sessions on March 29 for U S citizens The conference features hands on training led by Spirent engineers on GNSS simulation equipment www gpsworld com January 2012 GPS World 27