Testing of smart antenna systems

Smart antenna systems must he tested to verify the various claims made by t he system designer and manufacturer. The tests should he performed primaril y to evaluation the most and least successful functions of the system under consideration. Extensive testing should also establish the best and worst: propagation environments for system deployment. Most importantly, a compre hensive rest of a smart antenna system should generate results that enable the service provider to examine cost us, benefits based on a full understan ding of the system's potentials and limitations. This article focuses on ke y tests that can be performed on switched-beam systems, which are considere d the simplest, but most popular, among smart antenna technologies.