Advantech partners with Rohde & Schwarz to deliver Wi-Fi compliant and deployment-ready industrial Wi-Fi 7 modules

Advantech, a global entity in Internet of Things (IoT) and embedded computing, collaborated with Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) to develop a validation framework for industrial 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) modules. This partnership targets areas such as medical imaging, robotics, and professional audio-visual (ProAV) applications, aiming to streamline the approval process across multiple regions while addressing deployment risks.

The collaboration integrates R&S's expertise in signaling and RF measurements with Advantech's wireless platforms to establish a compliant and deployment-ready testing method. The initiative focuses on pre-compliance, Over-the-Air Test (OTA), and interoperability testing. This approach supports businesses in reducing time to market for their Wi-Fi 7 modules.

Jerry Chiang, Director of the Embedded IoT Group at Advantech, indicated that the early integration of design validation and testing within Research and Development (R&D) stages would enhance the scalability of wireless experiences. Sean Ting, Senior Regional Sales Manager at R&S, emphasized the importance of high throughput for industrial applications and the role of their next-generation wireless communication tester in verifying essential features of Wi-Fi 7.

The collaboration promises compliance acceleration through automated testing against Wi-Fi 7 standards and regulatory requirements, ensuring that certification cycles are shortened. Additionally, it focuses on field-grade reliability that includes testing for true-MIMO/multi-stream and multi-device coexistence to guarantee performance in challenging environments.

Applications for the Wi-Fi 7 modules include high-resolution streaming in medical imaging, optimized connectivity in robotics for smart manufacturing, and robust performance for rugged endpoints and long-range transmissions in ProAV settings.