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About Virtual Instrumentation

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Visión General

With more than 6 million new measurement channels sold last year, National Instruments is a
worldwide leader in virtual instrumentation. Engineers have used virtual instrumentation for more than
25 years to bring the power of flexible software and PC technology to test, control, and design
applications making accurate analog and digital measurements from DC to 2.7 GHz. This document
provides an excellent introduction to virtual instrumentation as well as additional resources for
continued research.

Contenido

1. What is virtual instrumentation?


2. Why is virtual instrumentation necessary?
3. Why has virtual instrumentation been so successful?
4. What makes National Instruments a leader in virtual instrumentation?
5. What makes National Instruments different from other virtual instrumentation companies?
6. Who uses National Instruments virtual instrumentation?
7. Additional Virtual Instrumentation Resources

What is virtual instrumentation?


With virtual instrumentation, software based on user requirements defines general-purpose
measurement and control hardware functionality. Virtual instrumentation combines mainstream
commercial technologies, such as the PC, with flexible software and a wide variety of measurement
and control hardware, so engineers and scientists can create user-defined systems that meet their exact
application needs. With virtual instrumentation, engineers and scientists reduce development time,
design higher quality products, and lower their design costs.
Figure 1. Virtual instrumentation combines productive software, modular I/O, and scalable platforms.

National Instruments introduced virtual instrumentation more than 25 years ago, changing the way
engineers and scientists measure and automate the world around them. In 2004, National Instruments
sold more than 6 million channels of virtual instrumentation in 90 countries. Today, virtual
instrumentation has reached mainstream acceptance and is used in thousands of applications around the
world in industries from automotive, to consumer electronics, to oil and gas.

Why is virtual instrumentation necessary?

Virtual instrumentation is necessary because it delivers instrumentation with the rapid adaptability
required for today’s concept, product, and process design, development, and delivery. Only with virtual
instrumentation can engineers and scientists create the user-defined instruments required to keep up
with the world’s demands.

To meet the ever-increasing demand to innovate and deliver ideas and products faster, scientists and
engineers are turning to advanced electronics, processors, and software. Consider a modern cell phone.
Most contain the latest features of the last generation, including audio, a phone book, and text
messaging capabilities. New versions include a camera, MP3 player, and Bluetooth networking and
Internet browsing.

The increased functionality of advanced electronics increased functionality is possible because devices
have become more software centric. Engineers and scientists can add new functions to the device
without changing the hardware, resulting in improved concepts and products without costly hardware
redevelopment. This extends product life and usefulness and reduces product delivery times. Engineers
and scientists can improve functionality through software instead of developing further specific
electronics to do a particular job.

However, this increase in functionality comes with a price. Upgraded functionality introduces the
possibility of unforeseen interaction or error. So, just as device-level software helps rapidly develop
and extend functionality, design and test instrumentation also must adapt to verify the improvements.

The only way to meet these demands is to use test and control architectures that are also software
centric. Because virtual instrumentation uses highly productive software, modular I/O, and commercial
platforms, it is uniquely positioned to keep pace with the required new idea and product development
rate. National Instruments LabVIEW, a premier virtual instrumentation graphical development
environment, uses symbolic or graphical representations to speed up development. The software
symbolically represents functions. Consolidating functions within rapidly deployed graphical blocks
further speeds development.

Another virtual instrumentation component is modular I/O, designed to be rapidly combined in any
order or quantity to ensure that virtual instrumentation can both monitor and control any development
aspect. Using well-designed software drivers for modular I/O, engineers and scientists quickly can
access functions during concurrent operation.

The third virtual instrumentation element – using commercial platforms, often enhanced with accurate
synchronization – ensures that virtual instrumentation takes advantage of the very latest computer
capabilities and data transfer technologies. This element delivers virtual instrumentation on a long-term
technology base that scales with the high investments made in processors, buses, and more.

In summary, as innovation mandates software use of to accelerate new concept and product
development, it also requires instrumentation to rapidly adapt to new functionality. Because virtual
instrumentation applies software, modular I/O, and commercial platforms, it delivers instrumentation
capabilities uniquely qualified to keep pace with today’s concept and product development.

Why has virtual instrumentation been so successful?

Virtual instrumentation achieved mainstream adoption by providing a new model for building
measurement and automation systems. Keys to its success include rapid PC advancement; explosive
low-cost, high-performance data converter (semiconductor) development; and system design software
emergence. These factors make virtual instrumentation systems accessible to a very broad base of
users.

PC performance, in particular, has increased more than 10,000X over the past 20 years. Virtual
instruments takes advantage of this PC performance increase by analyzing measurements and solving
new application challenges with each new-generation PC processor, hard drive, display, and I/O bus.
These rapid advancements, combined with the general trend that technical and computer literacy starts
early in school, contribute to successful computer-based virtual instrumentation adoption.
Figure 2. A 10,000x performance increase for PCs helps drive virtual instrumentation system
performance.

Another virtual instrumentation driver is the proliferation of high-performance,


low-cost analog-to-digital (ADC) and digital-to-analog (DAC) converters. Applications such as
wireless communication and high-definition video impact these technologies relentlessly. While
traditional proprietary converter technology tends to move slowly, commercial semiconductor
technologies tend to follow Moore’s law – doubling performance every 18 months. Virtual
instrumentation hardware uses these widely available semiconductors to deliver high-performance
measurement front ends.

Finally, system design software that provides an intuitive interface for designing custom
instrumentation systems furthers virtual instrumentation. LabVIEW is an example of such software.
The LabVIEW graphical development environment offers the performance and flexibility of a
programming language, as well as high-level functionality and configuration utilities designed
specifically for measurement and automation applications.

Figure 3. Sample Code Developed in the LabVIEW Graphical Development Environment.

What makes National Instruments a leader in virtual


instrumentation?
In one word, the answer is software. Software that enables engineers and scientists to create user-
defined instruments.
At the heart of any virtual instrument is flexible software, and National Instruments invented one of the
world’s best virtual instrumentation software platforms – LabVIEW. LabVIEW is a powerful graphical
development environment for signal acquisition, measurement analysis, and data presentation, giving
the flexibility of a programming language without the complexity of traditional development tools.
Since 1986, when National Instruments introduced LabVIEW for the Macintosh, it has quickly and
consistently attracted engineers and scientists looking for a productive, powerful programming
language to use in test, control and design applications. Today, LabVIEW is the preferred graphical
development environment for thousands of engineers and scientists.

For engineers who prefer text-based programming, National Instruments also offers LabWindows/CVI,
an application development environment for ANSI C, as well as tools for virtual instrument
development using Visual Studio .NET, Measurement Studio.

Figure 4. LabVIEW is a leader in application software used in PC-based data acquisition and
instrument control.

While software is the heart of every virtual instrument, almost every virtual instrument requires
measurement hardware to accurately acquire the measurement. Independent of the programming
environment chosen, virtual instrumentation software must provide excellent integration with system
measurement hardware. National Instruments software, including LabVIEW, offers open connectivity
to tens of thousands of sensors, cameras, actuators, cameras, traditional instruments and plug-in devices
(USB, PCI, etc.) from thousands of third-party hardware vendors.

In 2004, National Instruments measurement hardware provided customers with more than 6,000,000
virtual instrumentation measurement channels. From low-cost USB data acquisition, to image
acquisition and process control vision systems, to RF measurements at 2.7 GHz, to GPIB bus
communication, National Instruments has shown more than 25,000 companies that it offers the
measurement hardware and scalable hardware platforms required to complete virtual instruments.

What makes National Instruments different from other virtual


instrumentation companies?
National Instruments has been a virtual instrumentation leader for more than 25 years. This leadership
has grown and been sustained through constant and consistent innovation.

Because National Instruments invented and innovated the premier virtual instrumentation graphical
development environment, LabVIEW, it attracts thousands of engineers and scientists building virtual
instruments. By understanding customer project development needs, National Instruments has
consistently delivered significant software innovations, including Express technology, the LabVIEW
Real-Time Module and LabVIEW PDA Module, and SignalExpress:
1. Express technology
National Instruments created Express technology for LabVIEW, LabWindow/CVI, and
Measurement Studio in 2003 to reduce code complexity while preserving power and
functionality. Today, more than 50 percent of data acquisition customers use DAQ Assistant to
simplify data acquisition tasks.

2. The LabVIEW Real-Time Module and LabVIEW PDA Modules


National Instruments extended LabVIEW for deterministic execution using the LabVIEW Real-
Time Module and developed matching hardware platforms to make embedded application
deployment a reality. The LabVIEW PDA Module extended virtual instrumentation and the
LabVIEW platform to handheld devices.

3. NI SignalExpress
Design and test engineers asked National Instruments for virtual instrumentation software that
interactively measures and analyzes data. In response, National Instruments created
SignalExpress – a drag-and-drop, no-programming-required environment ideal for exploratory
measurements.

In addition to the strong software differentiator, National Instruments offers the most broad and
innovative I/O selection among virtual instrumentation companies. To help engineers and scientists
meet accelerating demands, National Instruments constantly releases products to further extend
breadth. A few recent examples of NI hardware innovation include USB DAQ devices, M Series DAQ
devices, and National Instruments CompactRIO:
1. USB DAQ Devices
In a recent survey, 70 percent of National Instruments data acquisition (DAQ) customers said
they plan to purchase multifunction USB DAQ in the near future. That month, National
Instruments released the USB-6008, setting a new low price point for multifunction DAQ at
$145 (US).

2. M Series DAQ Devices


National Instruments helped establish leadership in plug-in data acquisition when it released the
M Series DAQ products in late 2004. The first 18-bit PCI devices, first PCI data acquisition
devices with six DMA channels for maximum throughput, and a patent-pending device
calibration scheme are just a few of the features that set these products apart.

3. CompactRIO Reconfigurable Control and I/O


One of the most innovative additions to National Instruments I/O products is CompactRIO.
With an FPGA chip at the heart of this I/O platform, engineers can create custom hardware and
customize it repeatedly using LabVIEW FPGA.
Who uses National Instruments virtual instrumentation?
National Instruments customers include engineers, scientists, and technical professionals in a wide
range of industries. From testing DVD recorders to researching advanced medicines, they use National
Instruments software and hardware to develop user-defined instruments and deliver a diverse set of
products and services, faster and at a lower cost.

Here are a few examples of how customers use National Instruments virtual instrumentation products:
1. AP Racing – Building Formula 1 Caliper and Brake Test Dynamometers
For more than 30 years, AP Racing has been a world leader in brake caliper and race clutch
technology and manufacturing. AP Racing concluded that a unique new dynamometer would be
a distinct advantage, and virtual instrumentation using National Instruments DAQ devices and
LabVIEW provided the flexibility it needed to innovate in the marketplace.

2. Lexmark – Ink Cartridge Electrical Test


Ed Coleman, with Lexmark International, Inc., said, “As we continue to adapt our test systems
to meet our latest requirements with minimal development time with the use of PC-based
modular instruments and industry-standard software. Upgrading to the NI 5122, NI 6552, and
LabVIEW 7 Express, we increased the quality of our products and production yields while
increasing our test performance with minimal development expense.”

3. Texas Instruments – RF and Wireless Component Characterization


With close to $4 billion in revenue, Texas Instruments (TI) is one of the leading wireless IC
providers. To streamline its characterization process, TI created test development, management,
and automation software powered by NI TestStand and LabVIEW. Using NI products, it
expanded its business without sacrificing quality and resources.

4. Drivven – Motorcycle Engine Control Unit (ECU) Prototype


In past projects, Drivven spent at least two man-years and $500,000US to develop ECU
prototyping systems from custom hardware. For this project, the equipment costs (including the
motorcycle and CompactRIO) totaled $15,000US, and development time took approximately
three man-months. FPGA-based reconfigurable hardware, CompactRIO, and the LabVIEW
Real-Time Module delivered reliability and precise timing resources, and the system was
rugged enough to withstand the high-temperature and high-vibration operating environment.

To learn more about these customer solutions and read hundreds more, visit ni.com/success.

Additional Virtual Instrumentation Resources

To learn more about virtual instrumentation, use the following resources:

• About Virtual Instrumentation


• Virtual Instrumentation versus Traditional Instruments
• Virtual Instrumentation for Test, Control, and Design
• Software's Role in Virtual Instrumentation
• Hardware's Role in Virtual Instrumentation

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