E-era lab testing from Jaguar Land Rover

A facility in Gaydon, the United Kingdom, has been opened by Jaguar Land Rover to test the next generation of vehicles for electrical and radio interference as it prepares for future electrified and connected vehicles.

The laboratory will help meet current and future legislation and quality standards, says Jaguar Land Rover, adding that electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing is increasingly important in vehicle development due to greater electrification and new connectivity technologies.

A critical aspect of vehicle performance, EMC is the ability of electrical equipment and systems to function correctly in their electromagnetic environment. It works by limiting the unintentional generation, propagation and reception of electromagnetic energy to reduce the risk of unwanted effects such as electromagnetic interference.

JLR’s new vehicle laboratory features two anechoic chambers – an electrically ‘quiet’ rolling road that enables engineers to test vehicles at speed, as well as equipment to assess the performance of individual components, such as batteries or electric motors.

Bluetooth, GPS, wifi, 4G, 5G, adaptive cruise control, wireless charging and blind spot monitoring are all examples of vehicle services and features that will be tested.

“Opening this new testing facility is an important step forward for the business and it will play a crucial role in helping us deliver quality, legal, and customer satisfaction,” says JLR electromagnetics and compliance senior manager Peter Phillips.

With industry advances set to increase the number of electric powertrains and the range of digital and cloud-based services on vehicles, from software over-the-air updates to autonomous technology, testing for EMC is crucial to delivering quality, legal, and customer satisfaction, JLR explains.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors since 2008, JLR has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across its operations by 46%, and across its value chains by 54%, by 2030.