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Save time in end of line testing for GPS products

gps-devicesWhy LabSat Record & Replay will lower the need for customer support and increase the reliability of your GNSS device

In today’s competitive GPS market the costs of product failure are damaging. High levels of returns or support calls can impair your reputation and be expensive in lost time and device repair.

Field testing of GNSS products and applications are often unreliable, subjective and difficult to reproduce. On the other hand, artificial simulation doesn’t allow you to test for real world environments.

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The LabSat Record and Replay technique combines the benefits of these two approaches, and allows for repeatable, consistent testing in the laboratory. And once a design goes into production, LabSat still has an important role to play.

Reliability and repeatability are just as essential in end of line production testing and validation. By using a testing regime that can include GNSS reception validation all the way up to a fully functional test using Record and Replay, consistent standards can be maintained.

Why use Record & Replay instead of live sky or rebroadcast GNSS signals?

LabSatNokia_smallThe LabSat Record and Replay technique has significant advantages over live sky and signal rebroadcast in terms of repeatability and reliability in production line testing.

Live sky and rebroadcast signals can contain signal errors from the GNSS system and local interference that can be difficult to identify. By using LabSat scenario files (recorded GNSS files) you can be sure that the signal is consistent. It’s also possible to use scenarios that have been artificially generated, which helps ensure that your GNSS test signals are genuine.

 


road-angel-logoCase Study: LabSat saves 6000 hours of testing for market leader in speed camera locators

For Road Angel, the market leader in GPS safety camera and black spot locators based in Silverstone, UK, it is vital that their products work 100% of the time – or risk complaints from customers who claim that their device failed to warn them of speed cameras.

Road-Angel-DevicePreviously, Road Angel's technicians had to individually test units by driving past known speed camera locations and identifying the units which failed to activate, indicating a malfunction in the GPS system. Because this method required a vehicle and driver, it was time consuming, expensive, and only provided subjective reporting of errors.

Road Angel were looking for a way to test devices in live sky conditions, without having to manually test them in the field, so decided to try LabSat.

Richard Meechan, Road Angel's Development Director, went out and recorded a live route with LabSat, incorporating several speed camera types and locations. He could then replay the recording into the systems under test as many times as necessary.

Meechan explained: "We had LabSat running 24/7 in our lab for over two weeks, replaying a thirty minute test drive into twenty test units at a time." He continued: "Each block of units had a different version of firmware installed. LabSat was used to evaluate how well each version detected the various speed camera systems recorded, including new types of cameras introduced since the original firmware was released."

So did it work? Meechan said: "During the two week loan period, the LabSat saved us over six thousand hours of testing of our new Vantage GPRS connected speed camera locator. We can now bring products to market sooner, backed up with the confidence of objective test results, whilst hardly needing to leave the office!"

Road Angel purchased a Replay only LabSat system and a copy of Racelogic's SatGen software. Simulating a scenario with SatGen means that Road Angel can test how their devices operate anywhere in the world. They have found it ideal in cases where customers claim their product failed to indicate a camera. Testing engineers can use SatGen in conjunction with Google Earth to recreate a test drive past the area where the device was claimed to malfunction, to see what went wrong and repair it.

How can you use Record & Replay to help support GNSS products?

Using record and replay to support your GNNS products saves money and time. For example LabSat can be used to easily test device functionality and confirm device failure.

LabSat can also be used to validate GNSS repair quality and firmware upgrades. The flexibility of the system is best demonstrated together with SatGen signal generation software. This affordable combination means that you can easily reproduce a short scenario anywhere, at any time and with any dynamics to recreate the situation where the problem occurred. It works by using Google Earth to recreate a path, and then SatGen to convert the kml file to a LabSat scenario for quick diagnosis of the device failure.

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Which Record & Replay system do you need?

It’s important to maintain consistent procedures even if your company has different testing facilities around the world. Because the LabSat range has three variants per model, it’s easy to maintain control whilst keeping the Record and Replay investment affordable.

LabSat options comprise of Record and Replay, Replay Only and Record Only - by investing in a LabSat record and replay device at your main research facility, standard scenarios can easily be created and deployed to other centres.

For production facilities, a more affordable LabSat Replay Only model allows selected scenarios to be replayed at the end of line production testing. A Replay Only model can also be installed at support and repair facilities for device diagnosis and repair testing.

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