Universal Receiver Tester (URT) offers innovative GPS test and simulation capabilities

MONTREAL, May 27, 2008 -- Global RF and telematics test solution provider Averna today announced that it has successfully implemented a GPS Constellation Simulator software solution for the Universal Receiver Tester (URT), the company's commercial RF test platform. The solution provides live signal emulation for up to 12 satellites, and is immediately available in pre-release form. The final release will be available in September 2008.

"Averna is excited to offer the URT with these rare GPS capabilities," said Dominique Fortin, RF product director at Averna. "This will provide customers with a low-cost method to test GPS signals in the lab and on the production floor."

With the addition of the GPS Constellation Simulator to the existing RF Record and Playback capability, the URT can now emulate signals from up to 12 satellites with complete framing information. Averna is developing a feature-rich version of the platform that will integrate a Traffic Message Channel Simulator to generate all the RF signals required for navigation systems testing. Options will include scenario simulation, error modelling, and inertial navigation simulation.

"Averna is proud that the URT has so far achieved an 80 percent market penetration of car radio and navigation system manufacturers worldwide, making it the de facto standard for audio, video, and GPS testing," said Pascal Pilon, president and CEO of Averna. "We are fully committed to increasing that figure by marketing, selling, and supporting the URT product line."

About the Universal Receiver Tester (URT)

The URT is a multi-protocol solution that generates analog and digital public broadcast signals compliant with the most common standards in use worldwide. It includes software toolkits with intuitive interfaces for signal types such as AM/FM, RDS/RDBS, Sirius, XM, DAB, IBOC, TMC over RDS, DARC, Audio, Video, and GPS. The URT's Record & Playback system is the most compact in-vehicle RF recording system on the market today.

About Averna

Averna is a global test engineering software, solutions, and services company. Averna's mission is to accelerate electronic product development and improve quality standards for innovative high-tech manufacturers in electronics, telecommunications, automotive, aerospace, and defense, throughout the design lifecycle of their products.

OEMs rely on Averna to establish a global test strategy, to standardize and streamline their test activities, and to deliver leading-edge test systems designed in parallel with their own R&D efforts. They leverage Averna's off-the-shelf software, instrumentation and communication solutions, and on-demand engineering services to maximize the impact of test on product success, from design to manufacturing.