Designed for automated design verification, test and measurement

The NI Vehicle Radar Test System (VRTS) provides automated radar measurements and obstacle simulation for automotive radar systems from 76 to 81 GHz. Engineers can use VRTS to test automotive hardware and software subsystems, including radar sensors, ADAS subsystems, and embedded software. VRTS has flexible obstacle generation capabilities that simulate a variety of generated scenarios, helping engineers test embedded software for radar and other advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). In addition, the combination of a high-performance mmWave RF front end and a PXI vector signal transceiver (VST) enables precise RF measurements to help engineers analyze and test beams. As a result, engineers can use the same measurement hardware at all stages of ADAS and radar system development, from R&D to volume manufacturing test.

VRTS is part of a platform-based test and measurement approach, so it can be easily integrated with other PXI measurement hardware to form a complete automotive test system. For sensor fusion test applications, engineers can combine and synchronize VRTS with other measurement hardware to simulate multiple types of sensors simultaneously. Test systems are typically used as part of a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation to test embedded software by simulating the behavior of the environment.

Detailed VRTS

VRTS is a modular system capable of providing automotive radar obstacle generation and measurement in the 77 and 79 GHz automotive radar bands. The core of VRTS is the PXI system, which contains the PXIe-5840 vector signal transceiver and NI-5692 variable delay generator (VDG). These modules work with the NI mmRH-3608 mmWave RF front end to provide an RF interface to radar sensors. This mmWave RF front end also features a centering laser to ensure precise alignment between the radar DUT and the test system RF front end. A block diagram of a typical test configuration is shown in Figure 1. A key component of VRTS is the PXIe-5480 VST. The instrument provides two key functions for the system: calibrated radar measurements and obstacle simulation. Using the VST's onboard FPGA, engineers can simulate the complex motion of radar obstacles. VRTS can simulate up to four or more objects when performing radar obstacle simulations. If the obstacle appears within a distance of 4 to 300m, the distance resolution is 10cm to 12cm, and the closer the distance, the higher the resolution. In addition to distance, the user can dynamically set the target radar cross section (RCS) and velocity (Doppler effect) in the software.

Figure 1. Block diagram of a typical VRTS configuration


VST's RF signal generators and analyzers provide calibrated measurements for automated radar sensor testing. Based on this instrument, VRTS can help engineers make various measurements, including antenna beam radiation pattern, omnidirectional effective radiated power (EIRP), phase noise, spectrum occupancy, beam width, chirp modulation and demodulation, etc. Combining obstacle simulation and measurement capabilities reduces overall test time and also means you don't need to purchase separate dedicated test systems with both capabilities, which reduces the number of instruments and thus the floor space required for production test space.

The modular nature of VRTS allows NI Alliance partners to customize hardware configurations to precisely meet the needs of specific applications.

9-slot system for production testing

For production test applications, VRTS is configured with one VST and up to two VDGs, as shown in Figure 2. This configuration supports the generation of up to two long-range radar obstacles while keeping footprint and cost to a minimum. The production test VRTS also has full radar measurement capabilities, including beam characterization, EIRP measurements, and functional tests. The system configuration in Figure 2 includes:

1 PXIe-1078 9-slot chassis 1 PXIe-8840 multi-core embedded controller 1 PXIe-5840 vector signal transceiver 2 NI-5692 variable delay generators

Figure 2. VRTS configuration for production testing

18-slot system for validation, characterization and R&D

For advanced applications, engineers can use the PXIe-1085 18-slot chassis to support the generation of up to four full-range radar obstacles. The configuration includes two VSTs and four VDGs, as shown in Figure 3. Whether it is a VRTS for production test, or a VRTS required for advanced applications, it can be expanded by connecting to other PXI chassis via expansion cables to generate more simulated radar obstacles. The system configuration of Figure 3 includes:

1 PXIe-1085 18-slot chassis 1 PXIe-8840 multicore controller 2 PXIe-5840 vector signal transceivers 4 NI-5692 variable delay generators Note that the configuration in Figure 3 also includes an empty PXI slot, For adding more instruments or controlling other PXI chassis. Applicable instruments include power supplies, oscilloscopes, data acquisition modules, CAN/Ethernet interface modules, etc.

Figure 3. Advanced VRTS can generate up to four radar obstacles

mmWave RF front-end options

In addition to multiple PXI configurations, VRTS also has multiple RF front-end options for split transceiver and transceiver antenna configurations. The transceiver split option features independent receive and transmit ports and up to 50 dB of transmit and receive isolation. The integrated transceiver option has only one mixed-signal transceiver port, and the transceiver isolation is up to 30 dB. The transceiver split RF front-end is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Transceiver split VRTS mmWave transceiver RF front-end (with and without cover)

Radar Obstacle Simulation

The flexibility of VRTS allows NI Alliance partners to highly customize software applications to precisely meet the needs of specific applications. NI Alliance partners can leverage the powerful graphical programming environment (shown in Figure 5) provided by LabVIEW and LabVIEW FPGA to develop software applications of all scales, from stand-alone obstacle simulators to full-featured HIL simulation systems. For these software applications, NI Alliance partners can enhance and extend them with custom software based on the underlying VRTS hardware API.

Figure 5. Customizing measurements and scenarios using LabVIEW and LabVIEW FPGA.

NI's flexible obstacle generation architecture provides a significant advantage: engineers can add new test cases as reliability standards and requirements change. For example, in applications involving embedded ADAS software testing, engineers can use software from NI Alliance partners to simulate common driving scenarios, as shown in Figure 6, including star patterns, lane changes, and objects crossing streets. The behavior of VRTS in all three scenarios can be controlled by three key parameters; distance, speed and radar cross section.

Engineers can configure VRTS to simulate a variety of obstacles that meet the conditions listed in Table 1.

Table 1. VRTS Obstacle Simulation Specifications

Radar Test and Measurement

In addition to obstacle simulation, VRTS can also perform RF measurements on radar sensors and systems. The underlying hardware control of NI VRTS also incorporates the measurement functions required for typical radar measurements. These measurement functions are based on the NI-RFmx measurement API, which provides fast and accurate measurement results. Typical measurements supported by VRTS include:

Radiation Pattern Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) Noise Spectrum Occupancy Beamwidth Chirp Analysis: Linearity, Overshoot, Recording, Label Table 2. VRTS Hardware Performance

About NI

NI's software-centric platforms integrate modular hardware and a vast ecosystem to help engineers and scientists tackle a variety of challenges. This proven method allows the user to define everything needed to accelerate system design for test measurement and control applications with complete autonomy. NI solutions help users build high-performance systems that exceed expectations, adapt quickly to changing needs, and ultimately improve our lives.