AEM: Ensuring Infrastructure Readiness Across Smart Building Technologies

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Lisa Schwartz, Dir. Marketing and Channels, AEMLisa Schwartz, Dir. Marketing and Channels
The world is moving towards becoming ‘smart,' be it smart cities, smart buildings or smart cars. While AEM has product offerings across all of the categories, deployment of the modern smart building and the underlying network that supports a multitude of IoT connected devices is what this article focuses on. These devices include multi-sensors cameras, building entry, wireless APs, HVAC, and a plethora of other devices into a connected infrastructure geared to optimize operations, maintenance, reduce the carbon footprint and achieve long-term cost savings. As a result, the need for power and bandwidth is rapidly increasing, driving the adoption of Power over Ethernet (PoE) and Multi-Gig Ethernet (GigE) over copper cabling. Service providers that deploy and troubleshoot these networks face new challenges in certification of the cabling infrastructure along with being able to validate PoE and Multi-gigabit link speeds on a loaded infrastructure with a single solution. Traditionally, the cost of standards-based certification testers and the time consumed in the testing have had a direct impact on the profitability of these deployments. As AEM embarked on development, all of these factors were key considerations that went into the design of the TestPro CV100 Multifunction Cable Tester. TestPro is a versatile solution that offers a unique test set through interchangeable adapters for copper, fiber, PoE, and Multi-gigabit testing, affordably priced and offers the industry’s fastest CAT6A Autotest at 6 seconds. "Our solution is designed and developed by a team with more than four decades of test and measurement experience, giving rise to disruptive innovations and several industry firsts at a fraction of the cost of older technologies," remarks Lisa Schwartz, Dir. Product Marketing and Channels, AEM.

TestPro Multifunction Cable Tester has received ETL certifications for testing Category 5e-8 cabling systems from ETL/ Intertek.

Traditional cable testers are becoming obsolete; AEM’s TestPro offers versatility and value for ensuring infrastructure readiness across smart building technologies

“TestPro has been confirmed by Intertek to meet ANSI/TIA-1152-A (Levels IIIe and 2G), IEC 61935-1 Ed. 4 (Levels IIIe and V) and IEC 61935-1 Ed. 5 Draft 46/595/CD (Levels VI Class I and Class II),” says Antoine Pelletier, Project Engineer, Wire & Cable Performance at Intertek. TestPro’s cable certification offers the most sophisticated RF measurement engine in any handheld tester and is verified with the industry’s fastest Cat6A Autotest allowing users to test more links per day. Other test standards for patch cord testing and many country-specific standards are also supported in this adapter. The Singlemode and Multimode fiber test adapters provide Tier-1 certification. These adapters also include an integrated Visual Fault Locator and can uniquely measure electrical voltage for hybrid powered fiber applications saving a technician valuable time by having multiple test functions at their fingertips. Another adapter enables PoE load testing up to 90W as well as Multi-gigabit link speed testing up to 10Gigabit. “Traditional cable testers are becoming obsolete; AEM’s TestPro offers versatility and value for ensuring infrastructure readiness across smart building technologies in support of the digital age we live in,” mentions Lisa.

Apart from the TestPro cable tester, AEM also has Mixed Mode Multi-Port VNA (MMVNA), a portable vector network analyzer for characterizing twisted pair cables and components. MMVNA has Linux based programming interface for configurable measurement parameters making it an ideal tool for manufacturing and laboratory environment of both network and Automotive Ethernet.

Test and measurement is just one division that AEM has expertise in; the other divisions include handling and test solutions including microprocessors, high speed communications, IoT devices, and solar cells." AEM's expertise in pioneering intelligent automation and precision manufacturing make us the favoured partner for the world's leading 5G manufacturers and those responsible for the deployment and support of the modern smart building,” concludes Lisa.