Today's vehicles are outfitted with more radio frequency (RF) systems operating in more frequency ranges than could have been imagined a generation ago. With the move to autonomous vehicles and increased driver assistance capability, the number of RF systems on any single vehicle is set to increase even more in the coming years. Further, passengers carry many devices into the vehicle and those devices often contain multiple RF systems in them. This paper will introduce a procedure and combined analysis/measurement method for proactively predicting the RF environment on a given vehicle for early identification of potential in-band or out-of-band interference. It will take into account main passbands, but also harmonics, spurious emissions, mixer products and other considerations. It will detail an iterative approach to modeling that starts with information available early in product development and becomes more refined as the development lifecycle progresses towards launch. This same approach can incorporate the impact of RF systems on neighboring vehicles as well as in the surrounding infrastructure environment (e.g., 5G, V2X, etc.).
