The core of NG eCall integrated verification lies in emulating communications, location, IMS, and PSAP on a single platform, and verifying end-to-end scenarios through regulation-based automation.

At the 'Keysight World Tech Day' webinar held online on the 29th, Seungtaek Jang, Automotive Solutions Manager at Keysight, emphasized the changes in next-generation vehicle architecture, the resulting regulatory and standardization trends, and the importance of the test environment under the theme of 'Transition to SDV and NG eCall Test Challenges and Solutions'.

SDV (Software Defined Vehicle) is a concept that separates hardware and software and defines vehicle functions using software based on centralized computing and a zonal architecture.

While it enables the expansion of OTA updates, autonomous driving, and connected services, it simultaneously brings new challenges regarding communication reliability, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.

The pace of change is even faster, particularly in the field of emergency communications, which is directly linked to vehicle safety.
<bA representative example is eCall.

eCall is a system that automatically transmits the accident location and vehicle information to the Emergency Services Center (PSAP) and establishes a voice call in the event of an accident, and has been mandatory for all new cars in Europe since 2018.

The existing eCall was based on 2G and 3G lines, but due to the phased shutdown of mobile communication networks, a transition to LTE and 5G-based NG eCall (Next Generation eCall) has become inevitable.

The European Union (EU) plans to allow NG eCall certification starting in 2025, apply relevant requirements to new vehicle types starting in 2026, and make NG eCall certification mandatory for all new vehicles starting in 2027.

Accordingly, existing standards such as EN 16062 are being replaced by new standards based on IP-based communication, such as CN 17184 and CN 17240.

Voice calls are also transitioning from a circuit-switched system to a VoIP-based IMS structure.

Regional regulatory differences are also a variable.

Russia operates 'Eraglonas' and China operates its own standard 'China eCall (AECS)', and China plans to gradually apply it to all new cars after 2027.

In particular, unlike NG eCall, China requires RF performance testing and allows various protocols such as HTTPS, SMS, and MQTT in addition to SIP for MSD (Minimum Set of Data) transmission methods.

Global OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers are in a situation where they must respond to multiple regulations simultaneously.

The biggest challenge in this environment is testing.

With the transition to SDV, vehicle communication ranges from 2G to 5G, Wi-Fi, and C-V2X.It will have a mixed hybrid network environment.

When implementing NG eCall, not only LTE/5G-based IP communication but also scenarios such as CS fallback or SRVCC during network switching must be verified.

Beyond simple function verification, end-to-end testing simulating actual accident scenarios is required.

Manager Jang explained, “The core of NG eCall is not just a simple communication module test, but an integrated verification that includes GNSS location information, network emulation, IMS server, and PSAP integration.”

To this end, Keysight provides a test environment that can emulate 2G to 5G, GNSS, IMS, and PSAP functions on a single platform.

The explanation is that this allows for the detailed setting of country-specific regulatory conditions and the simplification of complex test configurations.

In addition, it provides automated test cases based on ETSI and EU regulations, reducing the burden of manually interpreting and verifying standards.

It was also emphasized that consistent verification is possible from the development stage to certification response through automation scenarios that cover legacy eCall, NG eCall, and Russian and Chinese standards.

As vehicles in the SDV era implement more functions through software, testing must also be approached strategically from the initial design stage.

NG eCall is the starting point and a core technology that will be expanded across connected safety services in the future.

It appears that testing capabilities capable of proactively responding to regulatory changes and realistically verifying complex communication environments will determine SDV competitiveness.