Rohde & Schwarz Offers New Ultra-Wideband Test Solution Validated For FiRa Consortium PHY Conformance

With a new ultra-wideband (UWB) PHY Test Suite for the R&S CMP200 radio communication tester, Rohde & Schwarz now offers a PHY Conformance Test Tool (PCTT) to support conformance testing of the UWB PHY layer as specified by the FiRa Consortium.

Rohde & Schwarz, a leading provider of wireless device testing solutions and member of the FiRa Consortium, announced today that it will provide a FiRa validated ultra-wideband (UWB) PHY Conformance Test Tool (PCTT) to support the further development of an open and standardized UWB ecosystem. With expertise and experience in wireless technology verification and certification, Rohde & Schwarz is well positioned to provide a test tool to support interoperability on the UWB physical layer as specified by FiRa.

Thanks to the unique capabilities of UWB for secure fine ranging, UWB-enabled devices can accurately and securely measure the distance and direction of connected devices. These capabilities make UWB the perfect technology for use cases such as indoor navigation, social distancing, hands-free access, asset tracking, ticket validation, mobile payment, and point-and-trigger applications. The FiRa Certification Program is intended to support interoperability of UWB-enabled devices on different layers. This includes physical layer conformance testing performed by FiRa Authorized Test Laboratories (ATLs). These labs use FiRa validated test tools like the test solution from Rohde & Schwarz.

Clint Chaplin, Secretary of the FiRa Consortium Board of Directors and co-chair of the Compliance and Certification Working Group says, “Delivering a seamless customer experience and device interoperability are essential for the wide success of UWB. Certification is one cornerstone to support interoperability. We are pleased that we now have a FiRa validated PHY Conformance Test Tool from Rohde & Schwarz in the FiRa Certification Program.”

As a leader in wireless device testing, Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with industry partners and organizations like the FiRa Consortium to develop UWB test solutions. These test solutions are used for R&D, certification, chipset characterization and production. The comprehensive set of UWB test capabilities of the R&S CMP200 radio communication tester controlled by the new UWB PHY Test Suite for test automation allows flexible pre-conformance testing. It also offers an option to run as a PCTT for FiRa certification.

Christoph Pointner, Senior Vice President for Mobile Radio Testers at Rohde & Schwarz, says, “We at Rohde & Schwarz, the leading supplier of wireless connectivity test solutions, are pleased to support the FiRa Consortium in its efforts to establish a strong certification framework for an open UWB ecosystem by providing a validated physical layer test tool. We look forward to continuing our work with members of the FiRa Consortium to cover upcoming UWB use cases and to strengthen the certification framework.”

For more information, visit https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/uwb.

About Rohde & Schwarz
The Rohde & Schwarz technology group is among the trailblazers when it comes to paving the way for a safer and connected world with its leading solutions in test & measurement, technology systems, and networks & cybersecurity. Founded more than 85 years ago, the group is a reliable partner for industry and government customers around the globe. On June 30, 2021, Rohde & Schwarz had around 13,000 employees worldwide. The independent group achieved a net revenue of EUR 2.28 billion in the 2020/2021 fiscal year (July to June). The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany.

About FiRa Consortium
The FiRa Consortium is a member-driven organization dedicated to transforming the way we interact with our environment by enabling precise location awareness for people and devices using the secured fine ranging and positioning capabilities of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. FiRa does this by driving the development of technical specifications and certification, advocating for effective regulations and by defining a broad set of use cases for UWB. For more information, visit www.firaconsortium.org.