CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 62/401,434 (P109619Z) filed September 29, 2016. Said Application No. 62/401,434 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The Next Generation New Radio Access Technology (RAT) is being promulgated to include study radio-frequency (RF) testability and performance requirements. For the frequency coverage of the potential Fifth Generation (5G) RAT devices, it is reasonable to expect a greater level of integration of high-frequency devices, for example for devices operating above 6 GHz, than seen today with the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard for Long Term Evolution (LTE) devices and Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) devices. Such highly integrated architectures may feature innovative front-end solutions, multi-element antenna arrays, passive and active feeding networks, and so on, that may not allow for the same testing techniques used to verify RF requirements as applied to current devices.

[0003] A potential highly integrated 5G device may not be able to physically expose a front-end cable connector to the test equipment because interface between the front-end and the antenna may be an antenna array feeding network, the interface may be so tightly integrated so as to preclude the possibility of exposing a test connector, and so on. The greater level of integration of high-frequency devices including devices operating above 6 GHz than seen today with LTE is expected to drive the need for over-the-air testing of all RF, radio resource management (RRM), or demodulation performance requirements. As a result, increased over the air (OTA) propagation losses at higher frequencies, such as above 6 GHz, presents significant challenges for test metric accuracies and device under test (DUT) control.

[0004] First, the link reliability of an NR testing scenario at high frequencies may be poor, and the link may not be easily established. When compared to LTE OTA test systems, the NR OTA test system link budget is expected to be more challenging. This is due to greater path loss over the air and also greater cable and/or connector for the link between test equipment and the test antenna at high frequencies. For test cases that stress the beamforming (BF) performance involving some beam sweeping or beam searching, the user equipment (UE) may not be able to maintain a connection with the test equipment at all times.

[0005] Second, the test time impact of initial setup or periodic parameter updates for the UE in NR is expected to be significant. For some types of tests, the initial test setup in the OTA environment may take a substantial amount of time since the UE is expected to perform a cell search, beam search, and so on. For demodulation performance tests, it is usually assumed that all these procedures are nearly ideal and the time for cell search, and so on, is considered to be an overhead since the functionality is verified using RRM tests. Providing an additional configuration to the UE during a test case with BF may further impact the testing time.

[0006] The current approach to these problems is to continue to rely on the LTE approach when designing NR test scenarios. LTE conformance testing specifications define a variety of test modes and test mode messages over the same interface, the LTE interface, that is under test. The drawback, however, in utilizing this approach for NR devices is that the two issues discussed above may be difficult to resolve.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0007] Claimed subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. However, such subject matter may be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an architecture of a user equipment (UE) operating in compliance with a New Radio (NR) standard in accordance with one or more embodiments;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a New Radio (NR) test interface (TI) over a separate radio access technology (RAT) in accordance with one or more embodiments;

[00010] FIG. 3 is a diagram of a New Radio (NR) test interface (TI) over a NR air interface in accordance with one or more embodiments; and

[00011 ] FIG. 4 is a diagram of example components of a device in accordance with some embodiments.

[00012] It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, if considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00013] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter. It will, however, be understood by those skilled in the art that claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and/or circuits have not been described in detail. [00014] Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an architecture of a user equipment (UE) operating in compliance with a New Radio (NR) standard in accordance with one or more embodiments will be discussed. FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified architecture of the New Radio (NR) user equipment (UE) 100, for example a NR UE that is capable of operating at at high frequencies such as greater than 6 GHz. As shown in FIG. 1, NR UE 100 includes baseband processing circuitry 110, intermediate frequency processing circuitry 112 if applicable, radio-frequency processing circuitry 114, an antenna array matching network 116, and an antenna array 118. Based on the latest agreements in 3GPP RAN4, it is reasonable to expect that all or a vast majority of NR tests will be defined with respect to the over-the-air (OTA) measurement reference 120 at the output of antenna array 118. For lower frequencies such as below 6 GHz, legacy LTE UE architectures and test methodologies may be utilized, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

[00015] In one or more embodiments, as discussed herein, a robust testing interface for New Radio (NR) devices under test (DUTs) are provided that are capable of reliably maintaining connection and configuration control over the DUT during any NR test scenario. In one or more such embodiments, a scalable testing interface for NR DUTs that can support rapid test parameter configuration, overall test time optimization, and flexibility to implement control over tests defined for future NR enhancements are described. All parameter names and any associated parameter ranges and/or values including the number of bits and/or any other details required to encode such information, are provided herein for purposes of discussion, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

[00016] Referring now to FIG. 2, a diagram of a New Radio (NR) test interface (TI) over a separate radio access technology (RAT) in accordance with one or more embodiments will be discussed. FIG. 2 illustrates one example arrangement 200 of implementing a test interface (TI) connection 212 between the NR UE 100 and the NR network test system 210 over a separate radio access technology (RAT) connection that may also be supported by the NR UE 100 device under test while performing testing via the NR test scenario exaction connection 214. In one or more embodiments, the separate RAT connection utilized by test interface connection 212 may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, and/or any other wireless technology that is also supported by the UE under test.

[00017] The NR TI connection 212 may be implemented at a carrier frequency that corresponds to the chosen TI RAT and may comprise an OTA connection or an over cable connection. For example, if NR UE 100 supports both NR and LTE, which is a potential use case for NR, then such a NR UE 100 could support an NR TI connection 212 comprising an LTE connection with a cabled connection. Thus, in one or more embodiments, NR network test system 210 may include test software that includes an NR test control module and a test interface control module. The NR test control module uses NR technology to control the NR data plane, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, physical (PHY) layer, radio-frequency (RF) system, and NR antenna array to couple to NR UE 100 via NR test scenario execution connection 214 on which testing may be applied. To control the NR UE 100 as a device under test (DUT) during testing, the test interface control module utilizes the test interface radio access technology (RAT) to control the test RAT data plane, RLC layer, and MAC layer to send test control signals via PHY layer, RF system, and the selected RAT test interface antenna or cable connector to control the NR UE via RAT test interface messaging over the TI RAT connection 212. The NR UE 100 includes a similar architecture for both the test interface RAT and NR system which are controlled by an application processor of the NR UE 100 including a test interface endpoint and NR test endpoint. In the arrangement 200 shown in FIG. 2, the NR UE 100 may maintain a NR link with the NR network test system 210 during testing, and the NR network test system 210 may provide testing commands, control, and configuration of the NR UE 100 without adversely affecting the NR link with the NR UE 100, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. It should be noted that NR network test system may include a graphical user interface (GUI) and/or an Ethernet connection to a user input/output (I/O) system to control the test software, and/or NR UE 100 may include user I/O emulation to control the application processor, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

[00018] Referring now to FIG. 3, a diagram of a New Radio (NR) test interface (TI) over a NR air interface in accordance with one or more embodiments will be discussed. FIG. 3 illustrates another example arrangement 300 of implementing a test interface (TI) connection 310 between the NR UE 100 and the NR network test equipment 210. The example arrangement 300 shown in FIG. 3 is substantially similar to the arrangement 200 shown in FIG. 2, except that the test interface connection 310 of FIG. 3 may be implemented over a NR connection whereas the test interface connection 212 of FIG. 2 is implemented over a non-NR RAT connection. In the arrangement of FIG. 3, the TI connection 310 may be implemented over the same NR carrier frequency as utilized in the test scenario execution link 312, or alternatively the TI connection 310 may be implemented or over a different NR carrier frequency, for example an NR carrier frequency that is a lower frequency than the NR carrier frequency utilized in the test scenario execution link 312.

[00019] In one or more embodiments, the TI messaging over NR connection 310 may utilize lower frequencies that are less than 6 GHz. In such embodiments, TI messaging over NR connection 310 may be implemented over a cabled connection. In some embodiments, different test connection procedures may be applied for the TI messaging over NR connection 310 and the NR test scenario execution connection 312. For example, in one embodiment, both the TI messaging over NR connection 310 and the NR test scenario execution connection 312 may utilize an OTA connection. In another embodiment, the TI messaging over NR connection 310 and the NR test scenario execution connection 312 may utilize an over cable connection, for example where both connections utilize a lower NR carrier frequency. In yet another embodiment, the TI messaging over NR connection 310 may utilize an over cable connection, and the NR test scenario execution connection 312 may utilize an OTA connection. Is should be noted that these are merely some example approaches of the arrangement 300, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

[00020] In one or more embodiments, the high-level functions of the NR TI connection 310 of FIG. 3, or the TI over RAT connection 212 of FIG. 2, may include providing test assistance information and/or activating a test feedback mode. Test feedback activation may include test equipment (TE) instructions for the NR UE 100 to collect statistics such as BLER for broadcast, multicast, and/or groupcast physical channels, lower-level measurement statistics that may not be available using conventional NR radio resource management (RRM) signaling, and others, or TE instructions for the NR UE 100 to provide feedback and reports to the test equipment using the NR TI connection 310. Test assistance information may include TE-provided information for the NR UE 100 to assist the conformance test execution, information to speed up acquisition time such as number of cells, frequency, and/or beam parameter configurations, beam forming (BF) specific configurations such as test scenario specified beam direction, a specific NR UE 100 calibration, or other NR UE 100 RF configuration parameters, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. A test scenario may be defined by a specified uplink or downlink configuration of resources allocated to the mobile, a test procedure executed by the test equipment, and a number of metrics measured by the test equipment.

[00021 ] FIG. 4 illustrates example components of a device 400 in accordance with some embodiments. The device 400 of FIG. 4 may tangibly embody the devices of FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and/or FIG. 3, for example NR UE 100 or NR network test system 210, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. In some embodiments, the device 400 may include application circuitry 402, baseband circuitry 404, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 406, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 408, one or more antennas 410, and power management circuitry (PMC) 412 coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrated device 400 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 400 may include less elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 402, and instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 400 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., said circuitries may be separately included in more than one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).

[00022] The application circuitry 402 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 402 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 400. In some embodiments, processors of application circuitry 402 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.

[00023] The baseband circuitry 404 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 404 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 406 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 406. Baseband processing circuity 404 may interface with the application circuitry 402 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 406. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 404 A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 404B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 404C, or other baseband processor(s) 404D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), si4h generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 404 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 404A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 406. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 404A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 404G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 404E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 404 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 404 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. [00024] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 404F. The audio DSP(s) 404F may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 404 and the application circuitry 402 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[00025] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 404 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 404 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[00026] RF circuitry 406 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 406 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 406 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 408 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 404. RF circuitry 406 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 404 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 408 for transmission.

[00027] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 406 may include mixer circuitry 406a, amplifier circuitry 406b and filter circuitry 406c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 406 may include filter circuitry 406c and mixer circuitry 406a. RF circuitry 406 may also include synthesizer circuitry 406d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path may be configured to down- convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 408 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 406d. The amplifier circuitry 406b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 406c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or bandpass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 404 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00028] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 406d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 408. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 404 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 406c.

[00029] In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

[00030] In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 406 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to- analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 404 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 406. In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[00031 ] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 406d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+l synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 406d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. The synthesizer circuitry 406d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 406a of the RF circuitry 406 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 406d may be a fractional N/N+l synthesizer. [00032] In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 404 or the applications processor 402 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look- up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 402.

[00033] Synthesizer circuitry 406d of the RF circuitry 406 may include a divider, a delay- locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DP A). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+l (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[00034] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 406d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 406 may include an IQ/polar converter.

[00035] FEM circuitry 408 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 410, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 406 for further processing. FEM circuitry 408 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 406 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 410. In various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be done solely in the RF circuitry 406, solely in the FEM 408, or in both the RF circuitry 406 and the FEM 408.

[00036] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 408 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 406). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 408 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 406), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 410).

[00037] In some embodiments, the PMC 412 may manage power provided to the baseband circuitry 404. In particular, the PMC 412 may control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMC 412 may often be included when the device 400 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE. The PMC 412 may increase the power conversion efficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics. While FIG. 4 shows the PMC 412 coupled only with the baseband circuitry 404. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 4 12 may be additionally or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar power management operations for, other components such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 402, RF circuitry 406, or FEM 408.

[00038] In some embodiments, the PMC 412 may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 400. For example, if the device 400 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 400 may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.

[00039] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the device 400 may transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 400 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 400 may not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC_Connected state.

[00040] An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable

[00041 ] Processors of the application circuitry 402 and processors of the baseband circuitry 404 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry 404, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry 404 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a radio resource control (RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node, described in further detail below.

[00042] The following are example implementations of the subject matter described herein. It should be noted that any of the examples and the variations thereof described herein may be used in any permutation or combination of any other one or more examples or variations, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

[00043] In example one, an apparatus of a New Radio (NR) test system to test an NR user equipment (UE) as a device under test (DUT) comprises an NR radio-frequency (RF) transceiver and a non-NR RF transceiver, one or more processors to cause the NR RF transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test scenario execution connection, and to cause the non-NR RF transceiver to link with the NR UE over a test interface connection, wherein the one or more processors are to control the NR UE via the test interface connection to execute one or more tests of the NR UE over the NR test scenario execution connection to verify one or more performance metrics of the NR UE, and a memory to store one or more test results. Example two may include the subject matter of example one or any of the examples described herein, wherein the non-NR RF transceiver is to operate using Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, or a combination thereof. Example three may include the subject matter of example one or any of the examples described herein, wherein the test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection to connect the non-NR RF transceiver to the NR UE using a non-NR radio access technology (RAT). Example four may include the subject matter of example one or any of the examples described herein, wherein the test interface connection comprises a cable connection to connect the non-NR RF transceiver to the NR UE using a non-NR radio access technology (RAT). Example five may include the subject matter of example one or any of the examples described herein, wherein one or more tests comprise a test feedback activation function or a test assistance information function, or a combination thereof.

[00044] In example six, an apparatus of a New Radio (NR) test system to test an NR user equipment (UE) as a device under test (DUT) comprises an NR radio-frequency (RF) transceiver and a test interface RF transceiver, one or more processors to cause the NR RF transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test scenario execution connection, and to cause the test interface RF transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test interface connection, wherein the one or more processors are to control the NR UE via the NR test interface connection to execute one or more tests of the NR UE over the NR test scenario execution connection to verify one or more performance metrics of the NR UE, and a memory to store one or more test results. Example seven may include the subject matter of example six or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection using a frequency that is the same as a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example eight may include the subject matter of example six or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection using a frequency that is different than a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example nine may include the subject matter of example six or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises a cabled connection using a frequency that is lower than a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example ten may include the subject matter of example six or any of the examples described herein, wherein one or more tests comprise a test feedback activation function or a test assistance information function, or a combination thereof.

[00045] In example eleven, one or more machine-readable media have instructions stored thereon, that if executed by a New Radio (NR) test system to test an NR user equipment (UE) as a device under test (DUT), result in causing a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test scenario execution connection, causing a non-NR RF transceiver to link with the NR UE over a test interface connection, controlling the NR UE via the test interface connection to execute one or more tests of the NR UE over the NR test scenario execution connection to verify one or more performance metrics of the NR UE, and storing one or more test results. Example twelve may include the subject matter of example eleven or any of the examples described herein, wherein the non-NR RF transceiver is to operate using Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, or a combination thereof. Example thirteen may include the subject matter of example eleven or any of the examples described herein, wherein the test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection to connect the non-NR RF transceiver to the NR UE using a non-NR radio access technology (RAT). Example fourteen may include the subject matter of example eleven or any of the examples described herein, wherein the test interface connection comprises a cable connection to connect the non-NR RF transceiver to the NR UE using a non-NR radio access technology (RAT). Example fifteen may include the subject matter of example eleven or any of the examples described herein, wherein one or more tests comprise a test feedback activation function or a test assistance information function, or a combination thereof. [00046] In example sixteen, one or more machine-readable media have instructions stored thereon, that if executed by a New Radio (NR) test system to test an NR user equipment (UE) as a device under test (DUT), result in causing an NR radio-frequency (RF) transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test scenario execution connection, causing a test interface RF transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test interface connection, controlling the NR UE via the NR test interface connection to execute one or more tests of the NR UE over the NR test scenario execution connection to verify one or more performance metrics of the NR UE, and storing one or more test results. Example seventeen may include the subject matter of example sixteen or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection using a frequency that is the same as a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example eighteen may include the subject matter of example sixteen or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection using a frequency that is different than a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example nineteen may include the subject matter of example sixteen or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises a cabled connection using a frequency that is lower than a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example twenty may include the subject matter of example sixteen or any of the examples described herein, wherein one or more tests comprise a test feedback activation function or a test assistance information function, or a combination thereof.

[00047] In example twenty-one, an apparatus of a New Radio (NR) test system to test an NR user equipment (UE) as a device under test (DUT) comprises means for causing a radio- frequency (RF) transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test scenario execution connection, means for causing a non-NR RF transceiver to link with the NR UE over a test interface connection, means for controlling the NR UE via the test interface connection to execute one or more tests of the NR UE over the NR test scenario execution connection to verify one or more performance metrics of the NR UE, and means for storing one or more test results. Example twenty-two may include the subject matter of example twenty-one or any of the examples described herein, wherein the means for causing a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test scenario execution connection is to operate using Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, or a combination thereof. Example twenty-three may include the subject matter of example twenty-one or any of the examples described herein, wherein the test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection to connect the non-NR RF transceiver to the NR UE using a non-NR radio access technology (RAT). Example twenty-four may include the subject matter of example twenty-one or any of the examples described herein, wherein the test interface connection comprises a cable connection to connect the non-NR RF transceiver to the NR UE using a non-NR radio access technology (RAT). Example twenty-five may include the subject matter of example twenty-one or any of the examples described herein, wherein one or more tests comprise a test feedback activation function or a test assistance information function, or a combination thereof.

[00048] In example twenty-six, an apparatus of a New Radio (NR) test system to test an NR user equipment (UE) as a device under test (DUT) comprises means for causing an NR radio- frequency (RF) transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test scenario execution connection, means for causing a test interface RF transceiver to link with the NR UE over an NR test interface connection, means for controlling the NR UE via the NR test interface connection to execute one or more tests of the NR UE over the NR test scenario execution connection to verify one or more performance metrics of the NR UE, and means for storing one or more test results. Example twenty-seven may include the subject matter of example twenty-six or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection using a frequency that is the same as a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example twenty-eight may include the subject matter of example twenty- six or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises an over the air (OTA) connection using a frequency that is different than a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example twenty-nine may include the subject matter of example twenty-six or any of the examples described herein, wherein the NR test interface connection comprises a cabled connection using a frequency that is lower than a frequency used for the NR test scenario execution connection. Example thirty may include the subject matter of example twenty-six or any of the examples described herein, wherein one or more tests comprise a test feedback activation function or a test assistance information function, or a combination thereof. In example thirty-one, machine -readable storage including machine -readable instructions, when executed, to realize an apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim.

[00049] In the description herein and/or claims, the terms coupled and/or connected, along with their derivatives, may be used. In particular embodiments, connected may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical and/or electrical contact with each other. Coupled may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical and/or electrical contact. Coupled, however, may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct contact with each other, but yet may still cooperate and/or interact with each other. For example, "coupled" may mean that two or more elements do not contact each other but are indirectly joined together via another element or intermediate elements. Finally, the terms "on," "overlying," and "over" may be used in the following description and claims. "On," "overlying," and "over" may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical contact with each other. It should be noted, however, that "over" may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other. For example, "over" may mean that one element is above another element but not contact each other and may have another element or elements in between the two elements. Furthermore, the term "and/or" may mean "and", it may mean "or", it may mean "exclusive-or", it may mean "one", it may mean "some, but not all", it may mean "neither", and/or it may mean "both", although the scope of claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. In the description herein and/or claims, the terms "comprise" and "include," along with their derivatives, may be used and are intended as synonyms for each other.

[00050] Although the claimed subject matter has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it should be recognized that elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and/or scope of claimed subject matter. It is believed that the subject matter pertaining to a testing interface for new radio standard and many of its attendant utilities will be understood by the forgoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and/or arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and/or spirit of the claimed subject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof, and/or further without providing substantial change thereto. It is the intention of the claims to encompass and/or include such changes.