Keysight Technologies, Inc. and Ettifos have successfully conducted a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 16 (Rel-16) Sidelink radio conformance test between the Ettifos SIRIUS 5G-V2X sidelink platform and Keysight's advanced test equipment, paving the way for 5G vehicle-to-everything (5G-V2X) advancements.    

As demand for connected cars surges and autonomous driving gains momentum, the expansion of 5G for automotive use comes with specific requirements for successful implementation. Sidelink communications, a crucial feature for cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), allows vehicles to share information and other elements of the road system independent of the network. The 5G New Radio (NR) V2X specification based on the Rel-16 standard, will provide higher throughput, enhanced reliability and lower latency, while allowing vehicles to share rich, real-time data that support autonomous and connected driving experiences.

With the completion of the conformance test, the Keysight and Ettifos equipment have been verified to be compliant with Rel-16 standards. Now, developers have reliable tools to test advanced use cases designed for 5G-V2X. During the process, Keysight launched the first-to-market radio frequency (RF) physical layer test software apps supporting NR V2X for Keysight's PathWave Signal Generation Desktop and X-Series RF vector signal generator. Solutions used for the conformance test include:

  • Keysight MXA Signal Analyzer
  • Keysight MXG X-Series RF Vector Signal Generator
  • Keysight PathWave Signal Generation for 5G NR
  • Keysight NR V2X Measurement Application

Hojun Kim, global chief technology officer, Ettifos, said, "This radio conformance test with Keysight allowed us to confirm the quality and compliance of our 5G-V2X sidelink platform, SIRIUS. Since Keysight and we developed the implementation of 3GPP Release 16 in our respective devices independently, the successful interoperability of our devices was more meaningful. It also shows V2X stakeholders that there is equipment available and ready in the market for use in testing advanced use cases designed with 5G-V2X sidelink in mind."

Thomas Goetzl, vice president and general manager of Keysight's Automotive and Energy Solutions, said, "We see the move from basic safety, enabled by LTE-V2X, to enhanced safety and advanced use cases which rely on the performance of 5G-V2X as the critical next phase for connected vehicles.  Keysight's 5G-V2X ready, signal generator and signal analyzer platforms have the performance and features needed to provide the necessary development capability and insight our customers, such as Ettifos, need to develop products like the SIRIUS platform."