Jithu Abraham

RSUK Product Manager

The Power of Testing Embedded IoT Devices

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Outline

Opportunities

ahead

Challenges for

IoT

Value and

need for

testing

Example :

Testing

an IoT device

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Outline

Opportunities

aheadChallenges for

IoT

Value and

need for

testing

Example :

Testing

an IoT device

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5

6

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“Anything that benefits

from network connection

will be connected” Ericsson

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M2M Communication, the enabler of the Internet of Things

becomes vital in several industries

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Healthcare AutomotiveWearables Smart CitiesSmart Homes

Smart Buildings Asset Tracking Retail …..Agriculture

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Outline

Opportunities

ahead

Challenges

for IoTValue and

need for

testing

Example :

Testing

an IoT device

Challenges in a very dynamic and demanding market environment

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Technology choices Select the most appropriate

technologies considering all relevant aspects like performance, deployment model, interoperability, costs and availability

Myth about certification Understand the different needs for

certification dependent on the chosen technology, operator and market.

Prepare design, processes and budgets accordingly

Design complexity Fast prototyping by integrating several

off-the-shelf modules & components

The hard way from a design concept via prototype to a cost optimized mass product

Highly reliable operation Ensure e2e application performance

under all relevant conditions

Network deployment in harsh environment

Life-time operation (> 10 years)

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Low Power WAN Sigfox, LoRa, Weightless, NB-IoT

OTHER technologies Satellite, DSL, Fiber, PLC

Wireless WAN (2G/3G/4G)GSM, CDMA, UMTS, LTE

Wireless PAN/LANBluetooth, ZigBee, Thread, Wi-Fi

Connecting billions of devices to the Internet of Things (IoT)

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t ran

ge

WW

AN

othe

r

BillionThings

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Smart Cities Smart Homes

Wearables Automotive

The majority of devices building the Internet of Things

will use wireless technologies in un-licensed frequency bands

Data Rate

Ran

ge

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Cellular

(2G/3G/4G/5G)

NFC

Bluetooth

ZigBee

Thread

Z-Wave

WI-SUN

802.11 ah

WiFi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Sigfox

LoRa

Weightless

NB-IoT

ANT+

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Internet of Things – Global Market Driver

ı IoT solutions require electronic devices with embedded sensors, actuators and network

connectivity

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Outline

Opportunities Challenges for

IoT

Value and

need for

testingExample :

Testing

an IoT device

Customer experience, business success and sometimes our life

depend on the reliability and availability of a single piece

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© Archiv Huberbuam / Timeline

Production

• The main value add of the

Internet of Things comes

essentially from

application software that

relies on real-time sensor

data

• Wirelessly connected

devices are just the

enabler, but only valuable

when connected – secure,

reliable and 24/7

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The value of testing: find and fix problems as early as possible;

avoid re-designs, re-certification and recall/replacement actions

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OperationConcept

Failure creation

Failure discovery

Cost failure

Just imagine the cost for replacing all

parking slot sensors in a city like Munich.

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“Things” are different: customer experience

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Quite hard for ‘things’ like smart meters to walk around to search for a signal

We are somehow “trained” to search for a signal in case of coverage problems

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Outline

Opportunities Challenges for

IoT

Value and

need for

testing

Example :

Testing

an IoT device

Enabling Key IoT Features

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Connectivity

Sensitivity

ScalabilityCapability

Efficiency

Processor

Memory

A/DConverter

Power Mgmt. Unit

Sensor Interfaces

WirelessConnectivity

Embedded Wireless Devices

Design Challenges

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Processor Memory

A/DConverter

Power Mgmt. Unit

Sensor Interfaces

WirelessConnectivity

IoT devices combine resources for sensor data collection,

computing and connectivity, as well as infrastructure for power

management and storage.

І High integration level of different technologies

І Low cost

І “10 years” battery life time

І Reliability & Security

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Embedded Wireless Devices

Test Challenges

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Processor Memory

A/DConverter

Power Mgmt. Unit

Sensor Interfaces

WirelessConnectivity

During the design, the debug and the evaluation phase there

are several key test challenges:

1. Current consumption

2. Signal integrity

3. Wireless interface testing

4. Debugging of overall system

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Test Challenges #1

Current Consumption

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Challenge

Battery life time of IoT systems is

supposed to be measured in years

Optimize system functionality and power

consumption

Requirements for Test Equipment

Capable to measure fast transitions

from µA to several 100 mA

Time correlation to other T&M equipment

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Runt high

Runt low

Spike / GlitchOvershoot

Test Challenges #2

Signal Integrity

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Challenge

Disturbance of digital and analog systems

by other system cores

Requirements for Test Equipment

Capable to measure with high signal

fidelity

Time correlation of signal faults to other

device activities

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Test Challenges #3

Wireless Interfaces

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Challenge

Evaluate functionality of wireless

interface

Debug interferences

Requirements for Test Equipment

Capable to capture and analyze wireless

signals

Time correlation to other T&M equipment

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Test Challenges #4

Debugging overall system functionality

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Challenge

Embedded wireless systems combine

multiple functional cores at very dense space

Risk of interferences

Requirements for Test Equipment

Tools to analyze various signals types:

DC, analog, current, logic, protocol or

spectrum

Time correlation to other T&M equipment

SpectrumProtocol A.

Analog

Analog Logic A.

Analog

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Powerful IoT debug solution

Time correlated multi-domain measurements with a scope

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Protocol analysis

Protocol analysis Spectrum analysis Analog signal Logic analyzer

UART, I2C, SPI,

GPIO, etc.

eMMC, SD, LP DRAM, etc. MCU, ARM, FPGA, etc.

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R&S®RTO2000LTE Cat 1 Cinterion IoT module from Gemalto

LTE / GSM RF Tranceiver and processor

USB 2.0 / GPIO / I2C interfaces; Serial

modem interface

LPDDR2 memory interface

Power management unit

Setup with Gemalto IoT Device

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Ch2

Ch3

MSO

Ch1

R&S®CMW290

RF signalingPC

Modem i/f

Ch3RF signal

Ch1Voltage

Test Equipment

RTO oscilloscope

(current, voltage, RF, MSO: UART T&D)

Communication tester (R&S CMW290)

Power supply HMP4040

PC (PuTTY)

Ch2Current

MSOLogical ch.

DUT

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ı Device activity:

Sleep mode and reacting on

paging sequences

ı R&S RTO2000

Trigger on CTS pulse

Measures Mean and Max

current in sleep interval

Example 1a: Minimum Current Consumption at Sleep Mode

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Current

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ı Device activity:

GPRS connection in different

timeslots

ı R&S RTO2000

Triggers on start of GSM bursts

GSM bursts correlate with voltage

drops (yellow) and current peaks

(green)

Display spectrum on gated GSM

slot

Example 1b: Correlation of Current Consumption with Device Activities

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GSM Burst

Voltage Drop

Current Peak

GSM Burst

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ı Device activity:

React on TPC – transmitter

power control steps

ı R&S RTO2000

Triggers on current peak

LTE signal power correlates

with current consumption

(green)

Display LTE signal power

differences in the spectrum with

gated FFTs

Example 1a: Correlation of Current Consumption with Device Activities

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LTE LTE

LTE Burst

Current

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Example 2: Time-correlated Debugging of System Functionality (II)

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PC

ı Writes message (PuTTY)

ı Sends message (UART)

R&S RTO Oscilloscope

ı Triggers on SMS message sent on UART

ı Observe the delay of the GSM burst

ı Correlate GSM burst with current

ı Observe GSM burst in spectrum

R&S CMW

ı Receives message,

ı Reads message

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ı Device activity:

Sent SMS message (GSM)

ı R&S RTO

Triggers on sending the SMS

message at the UART

Observe the delay of the GSM

burst

Correlate GSM burst with

current

Observe GSM burst in

spectrum

Example 2: Time-correlated Debugging of System Functionality

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Current

GSM Burst

Voltage

Tx -UART GSM Burst

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ı Device activity:

Uplink communication of the

GSM module

ı R&S RTO2000

Use VSE Analysis SW for GSM

signal analysis Synchronization packets, output power,

bandwidth, EVM measurements, etc.

Example 3: Analysis of the Wireless Output Signal

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R&S®NRP

R&S®SGT & R&S®FPS

Just a glimpse on the product portfolio for the IoT test market

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Service

& Repair

Deployment &

OperationManufacturing

Pre-Compliance

& Compliance

Design &

Validation

Research &

Development

R&S®SGT

R&S®FPS

R&S®SGT & R&S®FPS

R&S®CMW290/270 R&S®CMW500

R&S®RTH

R&S®VSE

R&S®ZND

R&S®CMW100

R&S®TSME

R&S®FPH

R&S®FPH

R&S®RTO

R&S®CMW290

R&S®FPH

R&S®HMO3000R&S®TS8997

R&S®DST200

R&S®HMC8015

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Your Partner in testing the Internet of Things

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Thank you

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