The Testing Blog

National Technical Systems (NTS) Completes ZigBee Smart Energy Certification Testing for SimpleHomeNet Appliance
Rapidly Expanding Smart Grid Compliance Testing Market Is Key NTS Initiative

CALABASAS, Calif., June 4, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –National Technical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTSC) (NTS), a leading provider of engineering services, announced today that it recently completed ZigBee Smart Energy certification testing for a feature-rich, wireless electric load controller manufactured by SimpleHomeNet, a division of Compacta International. The tests were run at the NTS laboratory in Culver City, CA. Following completion of the certification tests, the ZigBee Alliance reviewed the test results submitted by NTS and the application submitted by SimpleHomeNet and certified the load controller.
NTS is the market leader in ZigBee smart energy certification testing and one of only three companies worldwidewith rights designated by the ZigBee Alliance to test wireless products for ZigBee Smart Energy certification. Completion of the certification tests for SimpleHomeNet is another example of NTS’ expanding leadership in the burgeoning testing market for ZigBee Smart Energy.
ZigBee Smart Energy is the market leading wireless home area network (HAN) standard with more than 40 million smart meters being installed around the world. Last year, it was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as an initial interoperable standard for HAN devices. ZigBee has also been adopted by over 350 global manufacturers andthere is a large total potential market of 1.5 billion devices that could be installed in homes worldwide for energy management and demand response, according to a recently published report by ON World.
Smart energy device testing is a rapidly expanding global industry and a growing market for NTS,said NTS Chief Executive Office William McGinnis. The U.S. Department of Energy has allocated $30 billion as part of a national energy initiative backed by national utility companies, which is expected toencourage the development and certification of a broad range of smart energy products McGinnis said.
ZigBee Smart Energy certification demonstrates that a wireless product such as a load controller, or other wireless device, is compliant with the ZigBee Smart Energy standard that was created by energy experts and ZigBee Alliance members. ZigBee members include Ember, Freescale, Texas Instruments, Landis & Gyr, Itron, Cisco, General Electric, Honeywell, Intel, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Philips, Samsung Electronics, Siemens, Sony and many other leading corporations around the world.
“This is already a large, rapidly growing market and an expanding list of companies is committed to the smart energy path, which we believe is a good opportunity for us,” McGinnis added. “We not only provide the test services, but we also design the test tools to simulate the functions of the appliances that allow our clients to do self-testing. We have a full solution for our clients with software testing and validation and multiple engineering services.”
Remotely controlled, wireless appliances such as thermostats, meters, load controllers, pool pumps, water heaters and display units designed for homeowners as part of a HAN are key components of a smart grid created to reduce energy usage, increase reliability and cut costs for consumers, said NTS Chief Technology Officer Osman Sakr. The NTS testing demonstrates that the appliances work together properly and can accurately show how much energy is being used, thereby allowing a consumer to manage energy efficiently.
Al Choperena, President and CEO of Compacta International, said the NTS testing and ZigBee Smart Energy certification of its load controller “is a key milestone in our ZigBee product roadmap and signals our strong commitment to the future of the smart grid. To date, our certification efforts have been on track thanks to our ongoing partnership with NTS.”

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a $7,000 forfeiture against Sennheiser Electronic Corporation for willful and repeated violation of Section 302(b) of the Communications Act of 1934; the apparent violation involves Sennheiser’s marketing of unauthorized radio frequency devices.

In July 2008, the Enforcement Bureau Spectrum Enforcement Division began an investigation into Sennheiser’s marketing of wireless microphones. In a letter of inquiry dated August 15, 2008, the Division instructed Sennheiser to provide specific information regarding the manufacture, marketing, and the certification status of the wireless microphone systems it sells. In its September 15, 2008, response to the letter of inquiry, Sennheiser indicates that, while preparing its response, it discovered that one of its wireless microphones did not have a valid certification.

Readers can view the FCC notice by clicking here.

National Technical Systems Inc (NTS) has begun ZigBee testing for RF4CE platforms. The new RF4CE test program will verify functionality and interoperability of the ZigBee RF4CE across multiple vendors, with product-level certification testing soon to follow. Testing of the specification will allow manufacturers to quickly and easily develop interoperable products based on the standard.

Culver City, CA (PRWEB) June 8, 2009 — National Technical Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NTSC) (NTS), a leading provider of quality, conformance and certification testing, quality registration and managed services, announced today that it has kicked off its testing program for the ZigBee RF4CE specification.

The ZigBee RF4CE specification was designed for radio-frequency based remote controls, providing a low power solution that removes line-of-sight issues commonly associated with typical consumer remotes. NTS has been working with the ZigBee RF4CE Special Interest Group (SIG) for several months on a defined test standard that would allow for low-cost compliance verification of remote controls and “targets” (e.g., TVs, stereos, CD players, etc.). In addition, the standard allows for two-way communications (between remote and target, or even target to target) for a better consumer experience.

The RF4CE test program will verify functionality and interoperability of the ZigBee RF4CE platforms across multiple vendors, with product-level certification testing soon to follow. Testing of the specification will allow manufacturers to quickly and easily develop interoperable products based on the standard.

“NTS has been an authorized ZigBee test lab for many years, and we are pleased that we will be performing testing for the new consumer electronics standard for ZigBee members,” said Osman Sakr, NTS CTO. “ZigBee RF4CE will open up an entirely new market to the benefits of ZigBee technology, and we are looking forward to being part of the radio-frequency remote revolution.”

“Working with an experienced certification provider, like NTS, has allowed us to offer a meaningful, cost-effective certification program, so that ZigBee members can get ZigBee RF4CE products to market quickly,” said Bob Heile, Chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. “We look forward to continuing to work with NTS on ZigBee public profile certifications.”

“NTS has been a great contributor in the timely completion of the ZigBee RF4CE certification program,” commented Victor Berrios, chairman of the ZigBee RF4CE compliance working group. “Their experience in testing and input to the working group was a valuable resource when working on the program.”

ZigBee RF4CE: More flexibility and control

The ZigBee RF4CE specification is based on IEEE 802.15.4. MAC/PHY radio technology in the 2.4GHz unlicensed frequency band and enables worldwide operation, low power consumption and instantaneous response time. It allows omni-directional and reliable two-way wireless communication, frequency agility for enhanced co-existence with other 2.4GHz wireless technologies, simple security set-up and configuration. During the next quarter, the Alliance will develop a test program consistent with existing policies for specifications and public application profiles. Once complete, products using a public application profile based on the ZigBee RF4CE specification can be submitted to an authorized test house for certification.

via NTS Begins Testing for ZigBee RF4CE Specification

The “XM Ready” certification type approval testing program was implemented by XM to verify XM capable products conformance to the XM specification and to verify proper functionality of these devices.  Under this program, different vendors can submit their XM products for certification testing once they have ran their own self testing to insure that their products are ready for submission. Once vendors have established a certain level of confidence, they can then submit their products to the test house for the actual certification testing.

Upon completion of testing, reports are generated and submitted to the vendors as well as to the XM personnel. The actual XM TA “XM Ready” certification will be issued by XM if the certification testing was a success.  If the testing was a failure, vendors are expected to resolve the product’s issues and re-submit for testing (with a new firmware upgrade, for example) with fixes to the reported issues.

XM certification is yet another example of the “Trust, but Verify” mantra of certification programs.