The €50 million (RM234mil) test facility at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre is one of the most advanced in the automotive industry. It sets standards for the comprehensive protection of the vehicles with new measuring and testing methods, which were developed together with the Technical University Ilmenau (Thuringia), the TU München and others.
The measurements taken there contribute to electromagnetic fields of vehicles not interfering with other receiver systems – including those in the own vehicle, minimising the exposure of the passengers in the vehicle interior, the vehicle functions not being impaired by external electromagnetic fields and maximising the reception quality and performance of the antennas.
A Mercedes-Benz passenger car can have more than 200 control units; an S-Class vehicle has over five kilometres of wires. On one hand, the electromagnetic compatibility therefore must ensure that the electronics installed in the vehicle do not cause any interference that could disturb other vehicles or devices.
On the other, there are a myriad of electromagnetic waves that reach a vehicle from the outside. The cars therefore must be designed in a way that ensures that their electronics along with particularly important functions such as engine control and driving assistance systems are not impaired.
For this reason, a vehicle from Mercedes-Benz undergoes many EMC tests before it gets an approval.
The new test facility is part of extensive expansions and reconstruction measures of the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre in Sindelfingen.
Amongst other things, a new technology centre for vehicle safety, a new powertrain integration centre, the driving simulator, the climatic wind tunnels and the high-tech aeroacoustic wind tunnel came online in recent years. The Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre is home to the headquarters of the company's global group research and passenger car development, including design.
