At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Rohde & Schwarz introduced new RF and audio multistandard test solutions for manufacturers of Bluetooth headsets and audio car kits, and added the enhanced VoLTE voice service codec to its R&S CMW500. The R&S CMW500 is the only test platform on the market to offer a one-instrument solution for testing all cellular and non-cellular standards and Bluetooth.
Today, Bluetooth modules are used in mobile, automotive, smart home and other IoT applications. The modules used in Internet of Things (IoT) applications often combine Bluetooth with other wireless interface technologies. Accordingly, manufacturers and integration specialists have higher testing requirements. Rohde & Schwarz is supporting those efforts to optimize test performance, minimize test times and thus save considerable costs. The R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester is currently the only testing solution in the market that combines all 38 RF signaling tests defined by the Bluetooth SIG together with other cellular technologies such as LTE, LTE-Advanced and WCDMA as well as non-cellular technologies such as WLAN and GNSS. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has qualified the solution for RF measurements.
Developers can use the R&S CMW500 to perform extensive tests on their Bluetooth products and optimize their design before taking it to a Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility. The test platform offers increased flexibility since the parametric test concept allows developers to set all the parameters themselves. Thanks to the easy-to-use R&S CMWrun sequencer software tool, they can also use the compact solution to perform automated pre-qualification tests for Bluetooth Basic Rate, Enhanced Data Rate and Bluetooth Low Energy in line with Bluetooth core specifications for versions 1.2, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0+HS, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2.
The extremely fast R&S CMW500 improves development efforts when performing the complex spectrum measurements that are part of the Bluetooth qualification tests. The R&S CMW500 delivers the first test results in less than one second, which simplifies optimization tasks. The solution is also ideal for general integration and coexistence tests, for example, to check whether WLAN and Bluetooth transmitters in certain frequency bands interfere with each other.
New R&S CMW-KS602 option for Bluetooth audio tests
Manufacturers of Bluetooth headsets and Bluetooth hands-free car kits can now ensure the quality of their products by using the R&S CMW500 to test the audio properties of their products as well as to perform RF signaling tests. The Rohde & Schwarz test platform can be used in the development phase to optimize products and in production to verify audio characteristics.
When establishing the Bluetooth connection, the flexible R&S CMW500 can operate as master or slave. It supports the hands-free audio gateway mode, authentication when pairing Bluetooth devices with headsets, etc. and the volume control function on the microphones and headsets. It also supports various voice codecs, including CVSD and mSBC.
For users who only perform Bluetooth and WLAN non-cellular integrations tasks, the R&S CMW270 wireless connectivity tester offers a cost-effective solution, also qualified by the Bluetooth SIG for RF measurements. The R&S CMW290 functional tester supports all common cellular and non-cellular mobile communications standards, while performing extensive functional tests for wireless module integrators.
Enhanced voice service codec
The new enhanced voice service (EVS) audio codec represents another milestone on the path to high-quality audio connections. At Mobile World Congress, Rohde & Schwarz introduced its new, complementary test solution for ensuring the audio quality of EVS-based VoLTE calls, using the CMW500 wideband radio communication tester
The EVS codec was specifically designed for broadband voice calls in mobile communications systems such as LTE, and noticeably improves the audio quality of phone calls. In Barcelona, Rohde & Schwarz demonstrated a test solution based on the R&S CMW500 and the R&S UPV audio analyzer.
The R&S CMW500 emulates an LTE network while the R&S UPV uses objective criteria to analyze the audio and voice quality of the mobile device’s EVS-based VoLTE services. The measurements are based on the mean opinion score (MOS) method using the standardized perceptual objective listening quality analysis (POLQA) algorithm. The R&S CMW-KS104 codec for enhanced voice services option for the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester is now available for ordering. To use this option, the R&S CMW500 must be equipped with an integrated data application unit, an audio board and the IMS server option.
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