The Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC), Taiwan`s top transportation-vehicle testing and research institution, recently inaugurated its fourth and fifth electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) lab rooms: a A2 absorber-lined shielding enclosure and S3 shielding room.



ARTC said that these two new facilities have full EMC testing, fault-probing, and improvement capabilities, and that with them it would focus on providing related services in regard to automotive infotainment systems.

ARTC president Joe Huang stressed that the new EMC labs would further help local automotive infotainment makers to obtain the best solutions for tapping into the global market as well as to integrate more easily with the island`s strong information and communication technology (ICT) and auto-parts industries to form winning partnerships.

Taiwan`s First EMC Lab for Optical-fiber Communication

At the new facilities, ARTC said, series antennas will receive electromagnetic interference (EMI) waves of various frequencies, while high-power frequency amplifiers will simulate the most demanding environment for obtaining electromagnetic susceptibility (EMS) data on tested objects. All testing processes will be recorded by camera while related data is simultaneously recorded and analyzed by different pieces of equipment.

ARTC claimed that the new facilities are the first EMC labs in Taiwan to be equipped with optical-fiber communication systems, fully assuring that testing data and signals are not influenced by EMI and that precision and reliability are the best possible. In the past, data communication wires at EMC labs have had to be carefully protected and isolated to prevent them from interfering with the test results.

A senior ARTC official explained that the requirements for an automotive electronic system are much more demanding than those for other consumer-electronic products. When an MP3 player breaks down, for example, it will not affect your daily life--except perhaps your mood--but you would not like to think about what would happen if the device were the automotive computer in you car and the car were zipping down the highway at 100 kilometer per hour or more.

After intensive surveys and evaluations, the ARTC came to realize the importance of a world-class EMC lab. It set up five facilities under the support of Taiwan`s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and other government units.

Globally-certified EMC Lab

ARTC inaugurated its first EMC lab in late 2003 and built four more during the years since. In the past few years, the ARTC`s EMC lab has been certified by international bodies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States, TUV of Germany, TUV SUD of the European Union, IDIADA of Spain, Taiwan Accreditation Foundation (TAF), and the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI). The lab also won certification from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) in 2006 and from the big-three American automakers--GM, Ford, and Chrysler) last year, making it the second EMC lab in Asia (the first is in Japan) to hold both certifications.

In 2007 alone, ARTC said, the EMC labs helped complete 350 test projects for 70 private companies. Many auto-parts suppliers have been helped to tap into the supply chains of American automakers, as well as those of major foreign clients such as Delphi South Korea, Ford China, and first-tier parts makers in China.

"Taiwan has built up global competitiveness in IT manufacturing," lamented ARTC president Huang, "but the line has entered into a low-margin cycle in which even traditional high-margin notebook PCs generate a margin of only around 3% for their makers. More and more local IT companies are now eyeing the much-more-lucrative automotive-electronics business, which features a longer product life and more stable profit margins but has a higher technology threshold."

Huang said that with help from government units such as the Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT), Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), and Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), all agencies of the Economic Ministry, the ARTC set up its world-class EMC lab to cut test time and cost as well as to shorten the product development period for local automotive-electronics makers.

"For ARTC, it`s not enough to stand at the forefront of an industry; we have to lead its development on the island," Huang emphasized. "We recognized the need for EMC testing in Taiwan four years ago, when most local companies were still engaged in the initial evaluation of the automotive-electronics business, and prepared the way for them to become involved when the market was more matured. The two new EMC test facilities were planned to provide comprehensive testing and inspection services for automotive infotainment systems, which constitute a major product category for local automotive-electronics makers. With the same foresight, the ARTC is now planning for the provision of comprehensive testing and development services for vehicle communications, which is also a major area of know-how for local IT players."



The ARTC hopes to help boost Taiwan`s automotive-electronics line onto the global stage by working on the integration of electronics and motor vehicles in the years to come.


(by Quincy Liang)