ETS-Lindgren to Conduct a Course on Automotive EMC Design and Antenna Testing

ETS-Lindgren to Conduct a Course on Automotive EMC Design and Antenna Testing

Leading RF/Microwave test and measurement expert, ETS-Lindgren, has announced the dates for its popular Automotive ETS-U course to be held in the Silicon Valley area of North Carolina in the United States. The ETS course will take place from 6-8 October, 2020 and offer a real-world perspective of EMC designing and full vehicle performance testing applications and technologies. 

As with the past two editions of this course, the speakers include Todd Hubing, Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson University and President of LearnEMC, Stoughton, Wisconsin, and Garth D’Abreu, Director, Automotive Solutions at ETS-Lindgren, Cedar Park, Texas. The course will include a tour of an Automotive EMC Test Lab (*depends on the situation at the time). 

The course will cover key topics such as: 

  • Automotive Electronic Systems Design for EMC Compliance, 
  • EMC and Antenna Chamber Design and Guidelines for Testing of Autonomous, Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, including Electronic Subassemblies (ESA)
  • EMC Compliant Design of Electric Vehicle (EV) and Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Systems and Drives.

Lectures will cover fundamental to advanced topics during the three-day course.

As Professor Hubing notes, automobiles are complex electronic systems containing dozens of microprocessors and a variety of RF transmitters and receivers. Keeping track of all possible interactions that might result in an electromagnetic interference problem can be a formidable task. Nevertheless, it is possible to design components and systems in a manner that guarantees automotive EMC requirements will be met the first time a component or vehicle is brought into the lab for testing. Proven tools and techniques to simplify automotive electronic systems design will be reviewed during the course.

In addition to the design and development of electronic components, the eventual testing for regulatory compliance shares the common requirement for a suitable environment for performing traditional EMC measurements as well as the antenna pattern measurements required to ensure the real-world performance of “connected” vehicles.

According to Mr. D’Abreu, Director, Automotive Solutions at ETS-Lindgren, automotive platforms continue to become increasingly more complex with propulsion, infotainment and safety related systems all having to function reliably without impacting safety or the legacy communications infrastructure. This has driven the need for continually increasing permutations of system operation, operating frequency ranges and immunity levels.

Mr. D’Abreu will review the latest developments in automotive test chambers in light of current EMC testing and emerging global standards, such as the soon to be published CISPR 36, as well others issued by ISO, SAE, and CISPR D. Today’s modern vehicles have created new test challenges, especially as related to performance verification of antennas and wireless communication.

For an example of the content to be presented at the ETS-U, join speaker Garth D’Abreu for the webinar “EMC Measurement Test Challenges of Autonomous Vehicles” hosted by the Chicago IEEE EMC Chapter, on Wednesday evening, April 29. Note the presentation is available on demand shortly after the live webinar concludes. For the Automotive ETS-U course on October 6-8, 2020, the complete course information will be available and registration opens on May 1, 2020. Note that the attendance is strictly limited at all ETS-U courses to ensure optimal interaction with the speakers. Registration is confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis until the course is full.

ETS-Lindgren is mindful of COVID-19. Should it not be feasible to hold the course safely, registration fees will be fully refunded or may be applied to the rescheduled course.