R&D Brief   April 27, 2009 - Vol. 6 Num. 8 Environmental Test Lab performs radio frequency  test for AGCO navigation system   The Environmental Testing Labs at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (WSU) recently performed two days of radio frequency susceptibility and emissions testing on the next generation of the Auto-Guide steering receiver from AGCO Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) group in Hesston, Kan. “This next generation Auto-Guide² system, is currently in development and will be released to the market later this year,” said Dave Butterworth, senior project engineer for AGCO’s ATS group. “The testing we conducted at NIAR was for R&D purposes.”   The fact that the NIAR Environmental Testing Labs are not only local, but also able to accommodate requests on short notice, was critical for Butterworth.    “The equipment at NIAR was perfect for what we needed at the time, and from the brief tour I took of NIAR, I saw many other testing opportunities,” he said. “Now that AGCO’s ATS group is aware of NIAR’s test capabilities, we will certainly look to use the facilities at NIAR when the opportunity arises in the future.”   Butterworth learned of NIAR's enviromental testing capabilities after reading an article in JEC Composites.   “I did what anyone would do these days and googled ‘anechoic chamber Wichita,’” he said. “This led me to a promising article that told me there was an anechoic chamber at NIAR.  From there I found the NIAR website and contact information.”   The Environmental Testing Labs provide testing for several environmental factors including temperature, altitude, humidity, operational shocks, crash safety, vibration, explosive proofness, waterproofness, fluids susceptibility, sand and dust, fungus, salt fog, magnetic effects, power input, voltage spike, audio frequency conducted susceptibility, induced signal susceptibility, radio frequency susceptibility, emission of radio frequency energy, lightning induced transient susceptibility, icing, electrostatic discharge and fire/flammability. All NIAR labs support proprietary testing and regularly work under non-disclosure agreements.   The labs are currently scheduling clients for research, testing and certification in these areas. To schedule a test, or for more information about NIAR’s capabilities, contact the NIAR Environmental Labs at (316) 978-5461 or (316) 213-9949.   About Auto-Guide Auto-Guide is a multi-frequency, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver that can be configured as a dedicated rover station for automatically controlling the steering of a tractor, sprayer, harvester or similar agricultural equipment or as a portable reference station.   The preceding article was printed with permission from AGCO Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) group.   The National Institute for Aviation Research is a prestigious state-of-the-art aerospace research and development laboratory with global reach and expertise in research, design, testing, and certification. The Institute’s clientele includes many of the world’s aerospace manufacturers, NASA and the FAA. It is the largest aviation R&D academic institution in America.  The National Institute for Aviation Research is an unincorporated division of Wichita State University.