Valeo and Anritsu simulate vehicle connectivity to limit track testing
The French equipment supplier and Japanese communications testing specialist presented on October 26, 2026 a solution designed to enable automakers to validate vehicle connectivity in a virtual environment, reducing reliance on track testing. The demonstration was held at the 39th forum of the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), organized in New Delhi from October 26-29, 2026.
Virtual validation designed for software-driven vehicles
The solution jointly presented by Valeo and Anritsu targets vehicles with centralized software architecture (SDV). It combines Valeo's virtualized electronic control unit (ECU) simulation platform with Anritsu's cellular testing technology.
Specifically, Anritsu's Software-in-the-Loop simulator is coupled with a virtual engine that reproduces realistic and complex network conditions. This presentation builds on a joint demonstration conducted by the two companies at MWC 2026 in March.
eCall and operator handovers among tested scenarios
Compared to the MWC demonstration, the two groups added new use cases, including eCall (emergency call). Using digital twins generated locally or in the cloud, automakers can simulate network handovers between multiple mobile operators (inter-MNO) as well as multi-vehicle V2N/V2X scenarios.
The two companies justify this approach by the complexity of embedded connectivity (remote updates, cloud integration, 5G/C-V2X communications). According to the statement, validating these systems under real conditions requires testing thousands of combinations between mobile networks, environments and vehicle states, and relying solely on physical testing is considered "too costly, too slow and difficult to replicate at scale".
Timelines and costs of physical testing at the heart of the argument
Gilles Mabire, Vice President of Projects and Chief Technology Officer of the Valeo BRAIN division, mentioned a "strengthening of our partnership with Anritsu". According to him, virtualizing network validation should enable automakers "to shorten their development timelines, to limit expenses related to physical testing".
Shinji Hoshino, Chief Executive Officer of Anritsu's IoT Test Solutions division, indicated that the virtual testing environment is "capable of combining real driving data with deterministic laboratory testing". Developers can thus detect and correct connectivity-critical situations earlier and reduce on-road testing.
