Using an automated R&S SMBV100B based GNSS simulator solution, u-blox and Rohde & Schwarz have successfully validated u-blox’s most recent automotive GNSS module in compliance with the recently released Chinese GB/T test requirement for automotive on-board GNSS positioning systems. The Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona will feature a demonstration of this innovative solution.
GNSS Eminence in the Automotive Industry
In the automotive industry, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is becoming more and more crucial in enabling new infotainment and autonomous driving applications.
The Chinese National vehicle Standardization Technical Committee developed the “requirements and test methods for on-board positioning system” rules in order to guarantee the necessary quality of on-board vehicle GNSS systems.
Rohde & Schwarz takes pride in having helped draft the standard. With a June 2025 “implementation date,” these requirements were published on November 28, 2024. Although the test criteria is just advised at this time, the next Chinese eCall standard is anticipated to make it essential.
On-board positioning systems must meet a number of requirements set forth by the vehicle GNSS standard (GB/T 45086.1-2024), including tracking sensitivity, acquisition sensitivity, time to first fix, location accuracy, and velocity accuracy, in both BeiDou-only and various multi-constellation modes.
In order to assess the positioning system’s overall resilience, the standard additionally specifies exceptional occurrences such week number rollover tests, leap second handling, radio frequency interference, and unexpected pseudo range issues. The GNSS receiver needs to be able to analyze signals from two frequency bands at once in order to pass the test cases.
Since many of the tests are hard to implement, time-consuming, expensive, and impossible to replicate, they cannot be carried out in a real-world setting with live GNSS signals. The Rohde & Schwarz solution becomes crucial at this point. Under regulated and repeatable settings, these experiments can be carried out in the lab using the R&S SMBV100B GNSS simulator.
It offers advanced simulation tools for setting up intricate and realistic GNSS situations that can be replicated in controlled environments.
The R&S SMBV100B becomes an automated test solution that runs the test sequence, provides a pass/fail result, and generates test reports when combined with the R&S CMWrun sequencer software, an R&S NGC101 power supply, and the R&S SMBVB-K364 software option.
GNSS silicon suppliers, GNSS module providers, Tier 1 Telematic Control Unit (T-Box) developers, infotainment systems certification firms, and automakers selling to the Chinese market are particularly interested in the test solution.
Collaboration amongst suppliers in this sector is becoming more and more crucial in order for the automotive ecosystem to verify adherence to this new test specification in an automated, standards-compliant, repeatable, and timely manner. Rohde & Schwarz is happy to work with u-blox automotive GNSS module in this regard, confirmed its official release.
This partnership enabled pre-compliance tests across the u-blox portfolio of automotive GNSS receivers, including the ZED-F9L and ZED-F9K, as well as the upcoming u-blox 20 product family.
Leadership Comments
Gerald Tietscher, Vice President Signal Generators remarked: “We are delighted to collaborate with u-blox to enable the automotive positioning ecosystem with a robust, standard compliance and automated solution to validate their products against the emerging Chinese GNSS standard.”
Andreas Thiel, Head of Business Units, and Co-founder at u-blox AG, remarked: “We are pleased that Rohde & Schwarz selected u-blox and our EVK-F9DR as reference kit to showcase this new automated test solution. With R&S advanced testing tools, automotive companies targeting the Chinese market can seamlessly validate their u-blox-based on-board positioning systems against GB/T 45068 and other standards.”
The test setup will be shown at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, from the March 3 to March 6, 2025, at the Fira Gran Via, in Hall 5, booth 5A80.
