Ultra-wideband (UWB) is a short-range wireless communication technology that uses very wide frequency channels – typically 500 MHz wide – to enable secure, low-power communication. Its standout feature is fine ranging: the ability to precisely measure the distance between two devices by calculating signal travel time.

In automotive applications, UWB has become an essential technology, especially for enabling secure digital keys and passive entry systems. As UWB adoption in vehicles increases, challenges such as spectrum congestion and interference are becoming more pronounced.

UWB operates outside the normal rules of licensed and unlicensed spectrum under FCC Part 15, and shares airwaves with other wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi in the 6-GHz band. This makes it susceptible to signal interference as UWB adoption grows across automotive and Wi-Fi-dependent consumer devices.

The potential for signal congestion is driving a move to harmonize UWB channels to accommodate more devices, reduce interference and future-proof new deployments. Unusually, the effort is being led by carmakers and Tier 1 suppliers, with the typically slower-moving automotive sector setting the pace for phone vendors and other consumer electronics manufacturers.

Channel Expansion Frequencies

Although the IEEE 802.15.4 standard defines 16 UWB channels, regulatory and other restrictions effectively limit all UWB traffic to one channel (channel 9), which operates in the 8-GHz frequency band. Channel 9 is globally available and free from interference with other common technologies. But as deployments scale, relying on a single channel limits performance, increases the likelihood of device interference and impedes widescale UWB adoption.

To alleviate this, the industry is investigating a move to harmonize UWB support across additional channels, specifically channels 10 (~8.4 GHz) and 12 (~9 GHz). These offer wide global availability, relatively clean spectrum and are expected to dominate future expansion efforts. Other channels, including 13 through 15, have also been defined but are considered less suitable for low-power UWB technology due to effects such as increased path loss, which can degrade signal strength.

What UWB Channel Expansion Means for the Automotive Sector

For automakers and Tier 1 suppliers, access to additional channels would support greater redundancy and flexibility in safety applications. The most prominent of these is digital car keys, where UWB is used to securely access the vehicle. UWB’s fine ranging capability – accurate to within centimeters – helps prevent relay attacks by verifying that a key fob or smartphone is physically close to the vehicle.

Other automotive uses accelerating the need for additional UWB channels include:

• Child presence detection, seatbelt reminders and automatic trunk access, all of which rely on UWB-based radar to detect and locate objects and people.
• Autonomous charging alignment, which guides robotaxis and other electric vehicles to precisely dock with charging stations.
• Battery management systems, where UWB can replace bulky wire harnesses by transmitting data, such as charge state and temperature, between battery cells.

Testing Requirements for UWB in Automotive

As the automotive industry increases its reliance on UWB, test complexity is increasing. Unlike many consumer devices that rely on pass/fail or “go/no-go” tests, automotive systems demand more rigorous examination – particularly at the RF physical layer.

Parametric testing is essential to ensure UWB devices meet quality, reliability and regulatory standards over their lifecycle – from R&D and validation to high-volume production. This includes metrics such as:

• Signal quality across multiple frequencies.
• Timing precision for fine ranging and radar use cases.
• Robustness in multi-device and multi-channel environments.

As production volumes grow, multi-device test efficiency becomes critical. Test solutions must balance cost and throughput while maintaining tight tolerances, enabling OEMs to handle millions of devices per year and still meet the automotive sector’s quality standards.

The testing approach also depends on which integration model is being used. For instance, if a Tier 1 supplier integrates silicon from a chipset vendor with their own front-end and other components, additional testing may be required at the module or system level. In contrast, the use of fully integrated modules, which may only require the addition of an antenna, can reduce the test burden but still necessitates thorough verification during vehicle assembly.

With UWB in a state of flux, there’s also a need to future-proof test equipment. LitePoint’s systems already support all UWB channels to 10.6 GHz.

UWB Is Becoming a Fixture in Automotive Applications

UWB has already proven itself as a vital automotive technology thanks to its excellent security, precise location and measurement capabilities, and low power consumption. As the number of applications grows, channel expansion is both necessary and inevitable to maintain performance, minimize interference with other UWB and Wi-Fi devices, and enable deployments to meet anticipated demand.

For automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, this means not only preparing for more channels but establishing comprehensive test protocols capable of handling increasingly complex system integration. Getting this right will ensure UWB continues to enable secure, intelligent and feature-rich vehicles in the years ahead.

From Bluetooth-enabled glucose monitors to Wi-Fi-equipped imaging systems, connected wireless medical devices are playing a more prominent role in home and healthcare settings by ensuring critical health data is transmitted securely, reliably and in real time. The ability to shuttle data to and from the cloud is a game-changing convenience for patients and clinicians. But the process of embedding wireless features introduces a new layer of design and manufacturing complexity for medical device makers that must meet operating specifications, regulatory requirements and user expectations – every time.

Given the scope of wireless connectivity options, a comprehensive test program is a must-have component of any medical device product development toolkit. Far from a single event, test is a multi-stage process that evolves across each phase of design and production. When incorporated strategically into the development cycle, wireless testing provides more than validation – it becomes a competitive advantage that ensures product reliability, accelerates time-to-market and reduces long-term costs.

LitePoint has built its reputation delivering leading-edge test solutions across industries ranging from consumer smartphones to automotive and industrial IoT. By applying our expertise to medical device design, we help customers make the right technology choices, guide them through each test stage and future-proof test setups for decades-long product lifecycles.

Selecting the Right Wireless Technology

Medical device companies are experts in clinical function, but adding wireless components can introduce new challenges. Their priority is accurate diagnostics, safe operation and regulatory compliance. Given the wide array of cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other communications options, outfitting devices with wireless capability requires careful deliberation.

Often, the first step when adding a wireless feature is choosing a compatible chipset or module supplier. For high-volume consumer electronics companies, vendor selection is often a clear choice given the deep partnerships they may have with wireless module or chipset providers and their manufacturing partners. Medical device makers may lack the same level of insight into the wireless ecosystem.

This is where LitePoint adds value even before design begins. Our close work with wireless chipset makers across industries means we understand which

• chipsets have robust test tools versus those requiring external solutions.
• modules or SoCs deliver easier integration with medical form factors.
• platforms offer better long-term support and lower testing overhead.

By acting as a consultant at this early stage, LitePoint helps medical device companies avoid downstream surprises and build a foundation for reliable wireless performance.

R&D: Characterizing Device Performance

Once a design direction is chosen, R&D teams move into prototyping. Here, wireless testing is highly exploratory.

Calibration & Characterization: Engineers test single devices, often using hardwired setups, to measure fundamental parameters such as transmit power, EVM, frequency accuracy, receiver sensitivity and more.

Antenna Validation: Typically requires over-the-air (OTA) tests to characterize the performance of the antenna.

Debugging & Optimization: Results inform early design changes before hardware decisions are locked in.

The characterization stage requires a meticulous understanding of the OTA test environment, including accurate link budget calculations, optimal component selection – from the cable to antennas to choice of chamber – and precise calibration. LitePoint’s experts advise strategies to prioritize test parameters, structure test environments and identify early measurements that save time downstream. This emphasis on visibility helps to unearth problems in early-stage product development.

Design Verification: Regression Testing for Repeatability

Regression testing ensures performance is consistent, both under ideal conditions and across operating ranges. For medical devices, this is critical as regulators and healthcare providers expect reliable performance regardless of interference, distance or use case.

Once prototypes stabilize, teams transition to DVT, or design verification testing. Now, the focus shifts from exploration to repeatability. This entails running the same test cases across multiple frequency bands and power levels and stress testing hardware under variable conditions.

This is where automation becomes essential. Manually repeating hundreds of test cases is impractical. LitePoint’s automation software allows teams to accelerate regression testing, process large datasets and uncover inconsistencies in performance before validation.

Quality Assurance: Testing Under Real-World Conditions

Even the best lab results must hold up in the real world. Before transitioning to manufacturing, devices undergo quality assurance or output quality check testing. Unlike earlier phases, these tests combine clinical use with wireless connectivity:

• A Bluetooth blood pressure monitor must transmit to a smartphone without dropouts.
• A glucose patch must sync with a cloud app, even while performing clinical functions.
• A wearable ECG must stream data in environments with background Wi-Fi traffic.

This stage blends user experience testing with RF validation. LitePoint helps medical device makers recreate realistic scenarios inside controlled environments, capturing RF metrics while applications are running.

Manufacturing: Scaling Test Without Sacrificing Quality

When products move into high-volume manufacturing, the goals shift again to guarantee testing scales on pace with production, that a high percentage of devices pass first-time tests and that test costs are managed to protect product sales margins.

Unlike R&D and DVT, manufacturing test environments often deal with packaged devices where direct RF connections aren’t possible. Over-the-air testing, chambers and multi-device setups become critical.

LitePoint specializes in multi-device manufacturing test solutions that optimize throughput without compromising accuracy. By leveraging multiple integrated vector signal generators and analyzers, combined with proprietary automation, LitePoint helps customers reduce idle test time, improve yield and lower cost per unit.

Future-Proofing Test Beds

Unlike most consumer electronics, medical devices have long lifecycles. Once approved by regulators, manufacturers prefer to maintain test setups for years without disruption. Any change risks new compliance hurdles.

At the same time, wireless standards are constantly evolving. Bluetooth, for example, has already graduated from version 4.0 to 6.0. Wi-Fi 6 is giving way to Wi-Fi 7 and soon Wi-Fi 8. Medical device makers must plan for these shifts even if today’s device uses an older standard.

LitePoint helps customers future-proof their test investments by delivering platforms that support multiple wireless generations, ensuring software updates keep pace with new standards and providing long-term service and support to extend the life of test setups.

Test as a Strategic Advantage

Medical device manufacturers should avoid treating wireless testing as a late-stage checklist item. As this lifecycle analysis shows, testing evolves from vendor selection to R&D characterization, verification, quality assurance, manufacturing and long-term sustainability. When approached strategically, test is not just another compliance step. It’s a competitive advantage for reliably connecting life-enhancing medical instruments, reducing time to market, optimizing yield and manufacturing costs, and protecting investments against evolving standards.

LitePoint is uniquely positioned to guide medical device makers through this journey. With deep expertise across wireless technologies and proven partnerships with chipset vendors, we act as both a test provider and a consultant helping customers succeed before the cradle of design and beyond high-volume manufacturing.

With wireless connectivity evolving at breakneck speed, I recently had an opportunity to hit the pause button and take stock of 5G open radio access network (O-RAN) technology and what the future holds for O-RAN radio unit (O-RU) testing.

In my musings, I was joined by RCR Wireless News magazine editor-in-chief, Sean Kinney, who led a panel discussion on the evolution of O-RAN open innovation. Sean set the stage with a reminder that O-RAN is a movement founded by wireless operators seeking to diversify suppliers, increase flexibility, reduce costs and effectively “break apart” the RAN to expand its reach and appeal. In the past several years, that’s led to the release of more than 100 specifications covering everything from interfaces to platform orchestration.

O-RAN Trends to Watch

More recently, the O-RAN Alliance – and the industry at large – has championed cloud-based radio access as a means to conserve energy and enhance spectral efficiency. The ability to tie into the cloud is also spurring efforts to leverage AI to support shared O-RAN compute resources and edge-based services.

With 6G on the horizon, O-RAN is evolving beyond enhanced mobile broadband. Features like “mini-slot” scheduling allow for unencumbered data movement, because data no longer has to wait for the entire time slot to elapse before transmission can begin. This is important for time-sensitive technology like ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) in applications ranging from industrial automation to autonomous vehicles.

2025 is also shaping up to be a busy year on the integration front. O-RU designs are moving away from bulky FPGAs toward system-on-chip solutions as a means to significantly reduce power consumption and lower BOM costs. The bar is high in terms of cost cutting, but the goal is to make O-RUs as cost-effective as enterprise access points, which is critical for O-RAN to thrive in a competitive marketplace.

Interoperability Testing Ensures O-RAN Adoption at Scale

These exciting radio initiatives have a common trait: they depend heavily on smarter testing and integration. The O-RAN community has spent years promoting O-RU interoperability, for example, but it’s time to move past paper conformance and lean into real-world feedback to better manage vendor test strategies.

At LitePoint, RU testing is no longer just about verifying boxes on a checklist – it’s value is best appreciated when validating performance under pressure. For years, we focused on meeting front-haul and 3GPP conformance requirements, but now, with real carrier deployments underway, network operators are pushing testing into four key areas:

• Real-world scenarios that simulate traffic slicing, bursty data and mixed-service types
• Stress testing with full-bandwidth utilization, high modulation rates and peak-to-average power challenges to push the front-end modules to their limit.
• Multi-vendor compatibility that ensures radios adapt seamlessly to different distributed units.
• Proprietary features unique to specific carrier deployments.

MIMO Migrates to Parallel Antenna Testing 

Another area ripe for innovation is MIMO antenna testing. Traditional antenna-by-antenna (or chain-by-chain) testing offers only a narrow view of performance by focusing mainly on power measurements. More complete MIMO testing reveals how an entire system performs under real-world conditions.

A case in point is error vector magnitude (EVM) – a key metric that quantifies the difference between an ideal transmitted signal and the actual received signal. In real-world tests, MIMO measurements can uncover performance degradation that single-chain tests completely miss. Problems like crosstalk, PCB layout errors, front-end module limitations and potential issues with power supply bypass capacitors are uncovered only when multiple antennas operate in parallel, as they would in live deployments.

By measuring all chains simultaneously, parallel MIMO antenna chain testing can reduce costs by doubling test throughput and unit-per-hour test rates. As manufacturers prepare for large-scale production, MIMO testing is becoming the gold standard, not just for performance validation but for enabling scalable, cost-effective manufacturing.

Automation Is the Key to Scale

Automation is where O-RAN testing gets truly exciting. One of the beautiful things about O-RAN is the ability to take advantage of the M-plane, or fronthaul interface, that physically connects the O-RU and the distributed unit (O-DU).

Thanks to the O-RAN M-plane interface, we can now create a relatively generic automation framework that allows any vendor to simply drop in their specific M-plane XML file for the radio control. This makes it easy to automate radio testing from different vendors to validate performance, optimize through calibration and quickly scale to high-volume manufacturing.

O-RAN Reality Check

Despite the gloomy headlines about O-RAN’s commercial struggles, innovation hasn’t stopped. If anything, the push for lower costs, better interoperability and smarter test solutions is accelerating. The ecosystem remains vibrant, but success will depend on whether we can keep driving performance up and costs down while ensuring reliability in every real-world deployment.

To that end, every step of O-RAN radio development – from raw silicon to finished goods – relies on product-level testing. Isolated testing of RUs is no longer only practical; it’s the only way to capture and optimize key performance metrics while identifying failures early. As someone who’s deeply invested in RU testing, I can say this: the work we’re doing today is laying the groundwork for O-RAN’s next big leap.

Medical devices are increasingly wireless, supporting patient care, monitoring and diagnostics through technologies like 4G LTE/5G cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth®. When defining their products, medical companies invariably encounter a key integration option: should they embed wireless functions using a proprietary chip-on-board (CoB) design or rely on a pre-certified module from a third-party provider? The decision can directly influence product development costs and timelines, regulatory testing loads and final product performance.

This foundational design decision is becoming more important as the medical community strives to meet demand for wearable monitors and diagnostic devices and expands use cases for in-home remote health management and rural locales where hospital access may be difficult. The differences between these approaches have a direct bearing on how manufacturers design, certify and test their devices as they prepare them for volume manufacturing. And as demand grows, many medical companies find that their “make vs. buy” decisions are informed by the degree to which they have access to in-house RF engineering expertise.

Balancing Flexibility and Simplicity During Product Development

For space-constrained or highly customized devices, chip-on-board affords designers tighter control over integration and device operation. This enables more flexibility when it comes to product form factor and performance features. However, CoB also requires significant RF engineering knowledge; it depends on close – and often time-intensive – collaboration with chipset vendors, and demands extensive debug cycles during development.

Source: Ezurio

Modules simplify the path to integration. These off-the-shelf components are pre-tested and pre-certified, reducing the burden on device manufacturers. They enable faster development cycles and are often preferable for medical companies that prioritize clinical function over RF customization. The trade-off is cost – modules are typically more expensive – but they reduce engineering time, complexity and risk.

A common hybrid approach involves combining both: for instance, using a 5G module due to regulatory complexity and CoB for Wi-Fi to save space or cost.

How Manufacturing Affects Test Time and Scalability

Testing is critical in wireless device production. CoB designs require more comprehensive RF test coverage, including direct chipset control and access to factory test modes. While this enables extensive validation, it also increases test time and demands more from manufacturing teams.

Modules, on the other hand, have limited access to internal test modes. Testing is often conducted through AT (attention) commands with reduced test coverage. This results in shorter test times and easier scalability for high-volume production.

Both approaches scale similarly in terms of physical factory setup; it’s test throughput per unit that differs. LitePoint supports both scenarios with test automation solutions and multi-device testing platforms that optimizes units-per-hour (UPH) even with expanded test coverage.

Juggling the Variabilities of Compliance and Final Product Testing

CoB-based designs place the full regulatory burden on the OEM, including FCC wireless compliance in the United States and international certifications such as EU-mandated conformity assessment (CE) testing. This includes emissions, coexistence and RF exposure tests. Modules alleviate much of this by offering pre-certification, especially for complex technologies like 5G, which operate in licensed spectrum.

However, assuming a module requires no further testing is a common mistake. Even pre-certified modules must undergo final product validation, as antenna placement, housing materials and PCB layout can affect wireless performance. LitePoint emphasizes the need for end-to-end testing, ensuring the assembled product performs to specification – especially for mission-critical medical applications.

Each wireless protocol – Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5G – has unique test cases. Bluetooth Low Energy and Bluetooth Classic, for example, differ in respect to the modulation scheme, limits on frequency deviation, sensitivity, etc. When products support multiple radios, coexistence testing is essential to ensure technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth operating at 2.4 GHz do not interfere with each other.

Why LitePoint is the Right Test Partner

LitePoint’s value extends beyond test equipment. We provide the RF expertise, support and turnkey automation that medical OEMs need, in addition to the industry’s largest installed base of more than 350 wireless chipsets. For companies unfamiliar with RF or constrained by timelines, LitePoint’s controlled test environment offers:

• Out-of-the-box automation software tailored for chipsets and modules
• Test coverage for several wireless technologies including but not limited to 4G/5G, Wi-Fi 6/6E/7, Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy
• Scalable solutions, including over-the-air and multi-device testing
• Testing that extends beyond Pass/Fail to deliver insights on transmit quality analysis
• Industry-leading customer support that shortens debug and validation cycle

LitePoint enables medical device companies to focus on clinical performance while ensuring wireless quality and compliance. Whether choosing CoB, module integration or a mix of both, LitePoint simplifies testing and accelerates time to market by delivering faster testing speeds to expedite production throughput and reduces test errors to improve yields.

The choice between chip-on-board and modules in medical electronics isn’t binary. It depends on form factor, engineering bandwidth, time-to-market goals and regulatory obligations. What is consistent, however, is the need for reliable, robust, flexible and scalable testing.