Patent ID: 7860496

Claim:
A device to simulate a data transmission via a vehicle data transmission network in a motor vehicle, to evaluate the transmission quality via the network as a function of an interference environment and of a channel characteristic of the network, the device comprising: a first arrangement to receive at least one modulated input signal to be transmitted by wire via the network of the motor vehicle; a second arrangement to receive a description of a simulated interference environment; a third arrangement to receive a description of a simulated channel characteristic of the network of the motor vehicle; a fourth arrangement to determine an output signal according to a specifiable algorithm as a function of the received signal and taking into consideration the description of the interference environment and the description of the channel characteristic, the output signal allowing for a conclusion regarding the quality of transmission via the network in the motor vehicle, the fourth arrangement including at least one logic module on which the algorithm is programmed; a baseband signal receiving arrangement to receive a baseband signal; and a modulator to convert the baseband signal into the at least one modulated input signal; wherein a power line communications-network is simulated, wherein the device tests new components in the transmission network, wherein the output signal is a bit error rate signal between the input signal and the input signal transmitted via the network under the given conditions of the interference environment and of the channel characteristic, wherein the modulator or the demodulator is implemented as a logic module on which parameters of a model of the modulator or of the demodulator are stored, wherein each logic module includes a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or a digital signal processor (DSP), and wherein parameters of a model of the modulator or of the demodulator are stored.