Spirent adds BeiDou-3 to its GNSS RF simulators

The Spirent GSS9000 simulator.

GNSS testing solutions company Spirent Communications has added BeiDou Phase 3 signals to its GNSS RF constellation simulators.

BeiDou Phase 3 signals are available immediately on the GSS7000 and GSS9000 simulators, and existing users can obtain the software upgrade by contacting Spirent.

The addition of these new signals to the GSS7000 and GSS9000 simulators follows the launch of the first two Beidou-3 satellites in November 2017. Two others were launched Jan. 12.

Phase 3 of the Chinese BeiDou system will extend its coverage from Asia to the entire world. It will provide receiver developers and integrators with additional GNSS signals to make positioning, navigation and timing systems more accurate, and help to support new applications, such as autonomous vehicles.

The new signals will use the same carrier frequencies as the GPS and Galileo systems, so chipset manufacturers and device developers will need to test integrated designs to avoid problems caused by confusing data from different GNSS.

“By offering the BeiDou Phase 3 signals, our customers can test their designs well before the system is fully operational, which is expected in 2020,” said Stuart Smith, lead product manager at Spirent Communications. “With signals already starting to appear, it is important for developers to have test tools that can ensure devices will successfully make use of all GNSS signals.”

To learn more about how to test devices for multi-GNSS, Spirent offers a white paper,  “Preparing for Multi-Frequency GPS/GNSS in Consumer Devices.”