PARIS, 5 May 2015. Officials at Parrot, a global provider of advanced technology wireless products in Paris, sought an automated, mobile solution for testing the performance of its drones in real-world conditions. They found their solution at Azimuth Systems Inc. in Acton, Mass., with the company’s ACE MX channel emulator.
“Developing consumer drones that are small, light, reliable, easy to use and technologically advanced requires a platform that allows us to push the boundaries and ensure performance and reliability in the real world. Azimuth’s ACE MX meets all of our testing goals in terms of capabilities, and ease-of-use,” explains Hervé Santiano, head of Drones & Connected Objects Electronic laboratory at Parrot. “Additionally, Azimuth’s expertise in channel emulation and real-world testing is a plus for us."
Parrot is known for its civil drones that consumers have repeatedly voted to be among the most reliable, fun, and advanced.
The ACE MX plays a critical role in testing the reliability and performance of the communication and data transfer links of the drone. By creating a controlled and repeatable RF environment, the ACE MX eliminates many of the challenges associated with testing drones directly in free space; i.e., lack of control, repeatability, and the inability to create specific channel conditions.
While the built-in standard channel models ensure the baseline performance and reliability of the drone, playback of custom channel models/conditions including ones from the actual field opens up the potential for true performance testing. The ability to test drones under field conditions in the lab also assumes significance in light of the growing constraints and regulations around outdoors testing of drones. Designed to offer ease-of-use, RF excellence, and field playback, the ACE MX is purpose-built for testing real-world device-network interactions and their impact on end-user performance.
“We believe that constant innovation is needed to exceed the expectations of our customers, especially ones such as Parrot who are pushing the envelope,” says Vivek Vadakkuppattu, vice president of product management and marketing at Azimuth Systems. “We are excited that our leadership in channel emulation and our focus on ease-of-use and applications has set us up for success in emerging areas such as drones. Azimuth has a strong track record of developing innovative solutions in collaboration with our customers and we look forward to working with Parrot on further developing solutions for performance testing of drones.”
Azimuth Systems Inc. is a provider of wireless performance test solutions for network operators, device and module OEMs, chipset vendors, and infrastructure providers. Azimuth delivers solutions to recreate real-world device-network interaction and its impact on user experience. Headquartered in Acton, Mass., USA, Azimuth has customer engagement offices around the world.
Founded in 1994 by Henri Seydoux, Parrot creates, develops, and markets advanced technology wireless products for consumers and professionals.
