Rohde & Schwarz, in partnership with wireless communications specialists IMST GmbH, has developed a patented antenna digital twin solution, addressing key challenges and offering substantial benefits for vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers by optimising automotive connectivity. This solution combines antenna measurement data with electromagnetic wave propagation simulations to enhance antenna design and placement, ensuring, for example, optimal Wi-Fi coverage within the vehicle.
Vehicle manufacturers encounter numerous challenges when integrating antennas either on or within their vehicles. Antenna simulations are complex and time-consuming, and the results must be validated through physical measurements. However, accurate in-vehicle measurements are difficult to achieve due to the confined nature of the vehicle environment. Therefore, a combination of simulation and measurement is essential to identify the best antenna positioning and optimise connectivity performance for users inside the vehicle.
Rohde & Schwarz and IMST have devised a three-step process to streamline this. The first step involves characterising physical antennas using Rohde & Schwarz’s testing equipment, which includes an anechoic chamber, the R&S ZNA vector network analyser, and R&S AMS32 software. The second step creates a digital twin by applying the Near Field to Far Field Transformation Algorithm (FIAFTA). This is followed by a 3D electromagnetic simulation of a virtual scenario using IMST’s EM-TWINTM software.
The antenna digital twin solution offers several benefits, including a notable reduction in cost and time for both antenna suppliers and vehicle manufacturers. By integrating measurements with simulations early in the process, the solution allows for front-loading antenna validation. This ensures precise and consistent characterisation of physical antennas, using anechoic chambers and vector network analysers paired with the R&S AMS32 automation software.
Development time is further reduced as EM-TWINTM simulation results are generated in hours rather than days. The system accounts for production tolerances and reflections from vehicle bodies, enhancing antenna performance. The patented EM-TWINTM digital twin technology also provides a high level of modelling accuracy.
This approach enables the optimal antenna position to be determined before the physical vehicle is available, eliminating costly and time-consuming development cycles. Identifying the best antenna location and confirming in-vehicle wireless coverage is a considerable advantage, particularly given the challenges and unreliability of conventional measurement methods within the vehicle’s physical constraints.
In conclusion, the Rohde & Schwarz and IMST patented antenna digital twin solution accelerates design cycles, optimises antenna placement, and improves connectivity and coverage—well in advance of prototype availability.
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