Automotive test and measurement: EVM, radar, connectivity and the standards behind them

The modern vehicle is a rolling network of sensors, radios, and high-speed data buses. Each of these systems has to work flawlessly on its own and alongside everything else in the car, which makes automotive test and measurement one of the most demanding fields in engineering. From the quality of a wireless signal measured as Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) to the immunity of a control unit under electromagnetic stress, every link in the chain has to be validated.

Sensing the road: radar and lidar

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) depend on accurate perception. Automotive radar and lidar sensors feed the algorithms that keep a vehicle in its lane and away from obstacles. Testing these sensors means working at millimetre-wave frequencies and confirming that detection performance holds up across temperature, interference, and real-world clutter. Capturing those wideband signals calls for very high bandwidth instruments such as the Keysight UXR oscilloscope, which reaches into the highest frequency ranges that automotive radar now uses.

Connectivity and signal quality

Connected vehicles rely on a stack of wireless technologies, and each one has to meet a strict quality bar:

• 5G for high-bandwidth links to the network and the cloud.
• UWB (Ultra-Wideband) for secure digital keys and precise in-cabin positioning.
• Massive MIMO on the infrastructure side, shaping how vehicles connect at scale.
• (C-)V2X for vehicle-to-everything communication between cars, infrastructure, and other road users.

Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) testing is central here. EVM quantifies how far a transmitted signal deviates from its ideal, and a poor EVM figure points to problems that erode range, throughput, and reliability long before a link fails outright. Generating clean, repeatable test signals for these technologies is the job of a vector signal generator such as the R&S SMW200A, while a signal and spectrum analyser such as the R&S FSW measures the modulation quality and EVM on the receive side. For analog sources and interference scenarios, an analog signal generator such as the Keysight MXG adds another signal into the mix.

The networks inside the vehicle

Data has to move reliably inside the car as well as outside it:

• Automotive Ethernet carries the high bandwidth that cameras, sensors, and infotainment demand.
• CAN Bus and CAN FD (Flexible Data-rate) testing remains essential for the control traffic that has run vehicles for decades and continues to evolve.

Verifying signal integrity and decoding these buses is classic oscilloscope territory. An instrument such as the R&S RTO64 oscilloscope handles the protocol decode and signal-integrity checks that Automotive Ethernet and CAN FD demand.

Electrification and battery systems

As powertrains go electric, the battery management controller (BMC) becomes one of the most safety-critical components in the vehicle. Validating the BMC and the systems around it calls for precise measurement of voltage, current, and timing under realistic load conditions. A regenerative power system such as the Keysight RP7972A can both source and absorb power, which makes it possible to emulate batteries and recover energy while you test charging and discharging behaviour.

Standards and compliance

None of this reaches production without meeting the relevant standards. Automotive testing is governed by CISPR emissions limits, ISO test methods, and the OEM-specific standards that individual manufacturers layer on top. EMC testing in particular determines whether a component can coexist with everything else in the vehicle without causing or suffering interference. An EMI test receiver such as the R&S ESW44 measures emissions against those CISPR and ISO limits.

The right instrument, exactly when you need it

Automotive programmes move in phases, and the equipment you need during validation is not always the equipment you need six months later. Renting lets you match high-end instruments to each phase of a project without tying up capital in hardware that sits idle between campaigns. Tell us which automotive test challenge you are tackling and we will help you specify the right setup. Request a quote to get started.