Analog Devices, Inc (ADI) and Rohde & Schwarz are set to unveil their new automated test solution for wireless battery management systems (wBMS) at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada, this month. It is tailored for verification and mass production tests of wireless device tests, building on existing efforts for wBMS RF robustness testing.
An EV’s battery management system (BMS) is one of its most vital components. Designed to ensure safe and efficient management of the battery pack, the BMS influences the safety, range and performance of EVs.
Traditional BMS are wired systems, which limits the design flexibility and EV production scalability and increases the weight of the vehicle. A more advanced approach is to wirelessly perform the communication between the cell monitoring controller (CMC) for each battery module and the battery management controller (BMC). This simplifies the assembly, maintenance and exchange of cells, resulting in cost and effort advantages. In addition, it saves space and provides weight reduction in the vehicle.
Rohde & Schwarz, in collaboration with ADI, has developed a compact automated test equipment (ATE) system for wBMS. It is designed to enable efficient and reliable testing of wBMS modules for calibration, receiver, transmitter and DC tests, suitable for both lab verification and high-yield production tests. The setup includes the R&S CMW100 radio communication tester, the R&S WMT wireless automated testing software framework, and the new R&S ExpressTSVP universal test and measurement platform. To ensure accurate testing, the device under test (DUT) is placed in an interference-free environment, such as the R&S TS7124 RF shielded box.
For RF robustness testing, Rohde & Schwarz and ADI collaborated on an off-the-air recording solution to capture real-world RF spectrum, allowing realistic and repeatable verification of wireless devices. This solution facilitates efficient testing of wBMS in challenging RF environments. During test drives in various complex RF settings, an R&S FSW signal and spectrum analyzer monitored the RF spectrum, and the analysis was then sent to an R&S IQW wideband I/Q data recorder for playback in the lab.
Jürgen Meyer, VP of market segment automotive at Rohde & Schwarz, said, “We are glad that we are working with ADI to mitigate wBMS test challenges from R&D to mass production, maximize the robustness and performance of wBMS and help enable the automotive industry to fulfill the potential offered by wBMS.”
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