The Worldwide Publication for Graphical System Design l Second

ni.com

The Worldwide Publication for Graphical System Design l Second Quarter 2013

Designing the Rise of the Smart MachinesPAGE 6

On the Road With LabVIEWPAGE 12

Saving the World One Engineer at a TimePAGE 16

Moore’s Law at Workin Data Logging PAGE 24

CONTENTS

3 Focus on Innovation, Not Implementation

12 On the Road With LabVIEW 19 Enabling Intelligent Fuel Delivery: The NI Direct Injector Driver System

6 Designing the Rise of the Smart Machines

13 Unleashing Student Creativity Through FPGA-Based Hardware

24 Moore’s Law at Work in Data Logging

9 Ford Deploys Fuel Cell Test System Using NI VeriStand and INERTIA

14 Increased RF Test Coverage With Second Vector Signal Transceiver

26 Making Solar Energy Economical

10 Eye-Opening Jitter Solutions 16 Saving the World One Engineer at a Time

28 Emerging Bus Technologies

Volume 25, Number 2 Second Quarter 2013

Inspiring Innovation to Secure the FutureWe can’t solve the world’s challenges without engineers. Problems like sustainable supplies of

energy, protection from natural disasters, and access to education are engineering challenges

that affect all of us. The problem is that only 4.5 percent of today’s university graduates are

engineers. That number must change.

My love of science and engineering began when I was a kid as I tinkered with electronics

and my 90cc dirt bike. Kids are born engineers, naturally curious about the world around them.

Unfortunately, they often lose that sense of curiosity when classrooms focus on textbook theory

without a hands-on connection to real-world examples.

I recently attended the FIRST World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, and witnessed

thousands of students using real engineering tools. It’s easy to see that getting hands-on with

technology and working side by side with practicing engineers make a difference in how

children interact with the world. In fact, 88 percent of kids who participate in FIRST enroll in

college and 55 percent of those kids choose to major in science and engineering. Exposing

kids to technology is the most effective way to increase interest in our profession. While it

is sometimes the case that students do not have access to education to pursue careers in

science and engineering, it is more often that their communities do not celebrate science and

engineering in a way that encourages students to pursue it as a profession.

NI recently announced an extended partnership with FIRST through 2019 to supply

LabVIEW and a robot control system to every FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team. And,

with the recent introduction of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3, we are supplying a version of

LabVIEW that turns millions of children into robotics system designers.

What excited you as a kid and propelled you to take the career path

you’re on? I encourage you to get involved in FIRST as a mentor, judge,

or sponsor. I can promise you will have a huge impact on the kids who

participate. As Woodie Flowers, cofounder of FIRST says, “It will be the

hardest fun you have ever had.”

Ray Almgren [email protected] President of Corporate Marketing at National Instruments

Executive Editor Ray Almgren

Editor in Chief Norma Dorst

Managing Editor Lacy Rohre

Associate Editors Laura Arnold, Joelle Pearson, Brittany Wilson

Contributing Editors Johanna Gilmore, Kim Boller

Creative Manager Joe Silva

Project Manager Pamela Mapua

Art Director Larry Leung

Designer Fatos Shita

Illustrator Komal Deep Buyo, Justin Owens

Photo Editors Nicole Kinbarovsky, Allie Verlander

Image Coordinator Kathy Brown

Production Artist Fatos Shita

Production Specialist Richard Buerger

Circulation Coordinator Amanda Kuldanek

3Second Quarter 2013

The Best Engineering Tools Get Out of Your Way

Software tools play a critical role in today’s

system design and development. In the past,

many embedded designs were dictated by the

capabilities of the hardware and your ability

to map their design to system requirements.

Thanks to a reduction in the power, cost, and

size of embedded hardware over the last

decade, the hardware no longer has to

dictate your embedded design choices.

Productivity does.

Stand on the Shoulders of Technology GiantsThe state of engineering tools at any moment

in time has a direct impact on the rate of

discovery and innovation. It’s easy to dream

about going back in time and “inventing” a

technological device before the actual historical

breakthrough. Imagine the untold wealth one

could generate in the year 1900 with today’s

knowledge of transistors and solid-state

electronics. I try to push the limits, thinking

how far back in time I can go and still have the

infrastructure and knowledge of first principles

to actually bring these inventions to life. For

example, while I know the university-level

theory behind various transistor technologies

(the building block of modern electronics), what is the first step to creating one

from raw materials? I don’t have a clue as to how to grow crystalline germanium.

Wikipedia informed me that the germanium used in the first transistors wasn’t

discovered until 1886, so inventing the transistor prior to 1886 would also

require discovering and refining that material. Unfortunately, Wikipedia didn’t

exist in 1886 either.

Traveling back even further in time, the would-be inventor loses more key

infrastructure, such as Edison’s light bulb, and reliable access to electricity.

Go back in time far enough, and the advances required to build and demonstrate

a transistor would be dismissed as “magic,” and the public would be more

likely to reject the technology outright. Even if a time traveler did manage to

create a working transistor before the scientists at Bell Labs did in the 1950s,

that moment in time would still be years away from the infrastructure necessary

to commercialize said invention.

This reminds me that we live in a time when the cutting-edge technology

and science we rely on are built on the knowledge of generations of engineers,

researchers, and scientists. Many of history’s great discoveries happened as a

result of learning and perfecting the underlying technologies, not as miraculous

occurrences. It would be impossible to create the telephone before understanding

electricity and magnetism. It took more than 80 years to progress from the

invention of the first telephone to the introduction of touch-tone dialing. In the

50 years since touch-tone, we have seen phones move to wireless, cellular, and

Internet technologies. Today, the smartphone encompasses the functionality of a

range of devices from email to web browsing.

For technology and innovation to continue developing, engineers and

scientists must use state-of-the-art tools and methods. Too often, I have seen

projects delayed because a design team used outdated design methods or old

tools—all in the name of maintaining low-level control of a design. As an

engineering tools provider, National Instruments is committed to saving tomorrow’s

projects from unnecessary delays by delivering the most productive technologies

to the engineering and scientific community.

Focus on Innovation, Not Implementation

Cover

A small team of domain experts and system architects can collaborate using a common design tool to implement a better system more efficiently, get to market faster, and reduce costs.

Software Designers FPGA Designers

Domain Experts

Analog Designers

Digital Designers

Mechanical DesignersDomain Experts

System Designers

Multidisciplinary Design Team Graphical System Design Team

4

Developer’s View

Instrumentation Newsletter

Take It Off the Shelf and Define It With SoftwareReturning to the smartphone observation,

you could argue that the smartphone is

not the ideal implementation of a mobile

email device. For example, the small

keyboards on smartphones are much

less effective for typing emails than

full-size keyboards.

Despite these shortcomings, the

smartphone is extremely popular for

email. One of the key principles that

drive such broad adoption of today’s

smartphones is that smartphones use a

software-defined platform. For the first

time in history, cellphone developers

opened up their working space to a

world of app developers. It would be

extremely difficult for a small company

to build a handheld consumer gaming

device or email client. The engineering

complexity and the per-unit cost to build

would price this device well above a

casual consumer’s budget. Because of

software-enabled platforms like Android

and iOS, hundreds of app developers

can build games and utilities and sell

them for less than $1 USD each on

smartphone platforms.

The NI LabVIEW reconfigurable I/O

(RIO) architecture provides similar benefits

for teams building embedded control and

monitoring systems. NI CompactRIO

and NI PXI provide an off-the-shelf,

flexible hardware platform, and LabVIEW

system design software is the single,

common development language that you

can use to customize the functionality of

your embedded systems. Embedded

design productivity is driven by tightly

integrated software tools that expose the

capabilities of off-the-shelf hardware with

a software environment that is so intuitive,

nearly all engineers and scientists can use

it, not just those trained in embedded

software, firmware development, or

hardware description languages. In

addition to the electronics design and

software infrastructure of the LabVIEW

RIO architecture, mechanical design is

also greatly simplified. Designers that

use off-the-shelf, software-defined

platforms avoid most of the mechanical

design process.

Keep Your Team SmallWhen using a platform-based approach

with off-the-shelf hardware, you can

keep your embedded system design

team as small as possible. A small

design team of domain experts and

system architects is in sharp contrast to

large design teams using traditional tools.

Large design teams can be inefficient

and run into difficulties executing all

design needs in parallel without creating

an ever-changing list of requirements.

Even specifying system requirements

can be challenging. Large design teams

often have difficulty mapping market

requirements into system features. For

example, the team’s market or scientific

domain experts may have trouble

communicating the precise performance,

accuracy, or system behavior to other

team members. Converging on the

correct design and feature set may

require multiple iterations and revisions of

the system. Domain experts and system

architects using a common design tool

work more closely together, iterate faster,

and map market requirements better to

implementation. With off-the-shelf,

system-level tools, a small team of

domain experts and system architects

can collaborate using a common design

tool to implement a better system more

efficiently, get to market faster, and

reduce costs.

Proof that smaller design teams can

build embedded systems faster than

larger teams using traditional tools lies

in the results from a recent survey of the

embedded systems market. NI worked

with Wilson Research to compare the

responses of design teams that use a

graphical system design approach based

on NI tools compared to the general

market, which focuses largely on C/C++

programming and custom-designed

hardware. The NI respondents indicated

on average their team size was less than

half the size of the general market, and

they completed projects in approximately

half the time.

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LabVIEW: More Than 25 Years of Productivity


Remember System MaintenanceAnother critical aspect of system design

is maintenance. Because embedded

devices live on the market for years or

decades, it is essential that the hardware

design and development software tools

offer long-term support. Often, it is unlikely

that the entire original development team

will be available when device updates are

desired, and the future availability of other

competent/trained developers should be

considered. Choosing established

software tools and reputable vendors for

hardware tools will help mitigate the

challenges of long-term embedded

system support. In the more than 25 year

lifespan of LabVIEW, NI has maintained

code portability across multiple operating

systems, processing architectures, and

models of computation. On the

hardware front, NI RIO hardware

maintains a balance of devices using the

latest generation technology and

sustaining existing hardware for

long-term availability. Embedded system

designers have the freedom to take

advantage of higher performance

hardware and upgrade existing systems

simply by moving existing LabVIEW

code to later-generation hardware.

Today’s Innovations Are Tomorrow’s StepladdersWe can’t expect technology to sit still.

Moore’s law dictates that transistor-based

processing technology will continue to

improve at an exponential rate. To stay

on top of the pace of innovation, you need

a trusted partner with reliable hardware

and software tools that keep up with

accelerating changes in embedded

systems. When using the LabVIEW RIO

architecture, you can focus on innovating

within your specific domain expertise.

Rather than reflecting on past innovations

and imagining changing history, we all

must look forward and ride today’s exciting

wave of new technology. Standing on the

shoulders of the electronic industry’s

giants, today’s engineers have a very real

opportunity to change history.

To view hardware and software options

that use the LabVIEW RIO architecture,

visit ni.com/embeddedsystems.

Matt Spexarth [email protected] Spexarth is a senior product marketing manager for embedded systems at National Instruments.

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20001998199319901986 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2012

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1997

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8.5Multicore

8.6Web Services

2010Performance

2012Software-Designed

Instrumentation

LabVIEW: More Than 25 Years of Productivity

6 ni.com

Feature

Smart machines are systems that not only

perform repetitive tasks at soaring speeds and

high accuracy rates, but also adapt to changing

conditions and operate more autonomously

than ever before. The subject of debate

ranges from the fear of humans losing low-

and middle-skilled jobs to smart machines all

the way to the hope that intelligent factories

will spark the resurgence of manufacturing in

advanced countries.

Like generations of technologies before,

smart machines will impact almost every

domain of life. They will alter how we produce

goods, how doctors perform surgeries, how

logistics companies organize storage, and

even how we educate future generations.

While research institutes, economists, and

the media question the impact of machines

infused with IT technology, engineers and

scientists must provide manufacturing systems

that offer a dramatically increased level of

flexibility. Super versatile machines make it

possible for the manufacturing industry to

satisfy society’s hunger for product variety

and deal with the ever-decreasing life cycles

of consumer goods.

Characteristics of a Smart MachineMachine and device builders have switched

from designing single-purpose machines to

creating multipurpose machines that address

today’s manufacturing needs: smaller lot sizes,

customer-specific variations of products, and

the trend toward highly integrated products,

which combine a lot of different functionality

in one device.

Capable of operating more autonomously

than ever before, modern machines can

prevent and correct processing errors that

are caused by disturbances like changing

conditions in the raw material, the drift of

the thermal working point, or the wear and

tear of mechanical components. An extensive network of sensors provides

smart machines with information about the process, the machine condition,

and their environment, so the machines can work side by side with humans,

which improves uptime and provides an increased level of quality. Additionally,

these systems have can improve their performance over time and learn new

skills through mining data, leveraging simulation models, or applying application-

specific learning algorithms.

Last but not least, machines exchange information with other automation

systems and provide status updates to a higher level control system. This

collaboration between machines creates a smarter, intelligent factory, making it

possible for an entire automation line to adjust for changing conditions, balance

the workload between machines, and inform service personnel of errors before

a machine fails.

A Smart Approach to Machine DesignTo make your next machine smarter and address manufacturing requirements,

you need to design highly modular systems that you can extend to satisfy

customer-specific requests. Modular systems feature machines that you can

adapt on-site for different manufacturing processes and product variations—

sometimes even without the need of operator interaction. Although you can

use this approach to develop reusable components that you implement across a

variety of machines to simplify the integration of off-the-shelf subcomponents, it

significantly changes the way OEMs conduct system design.

Designing the Rise of the Smart MachinesEmbedded Tools Make the Next Generation of Manufacturing Equipment a Reality

Smart machines perform repetitive tasks at soaring speeds and high accuracy rates but can also operate autonomously.


The modularity needs to be reflected in the control system

architecture. Rather than leveraging a traditional monolithic

system, modern machines are based on a network of control

systems that rely on a seamless communication infrastructure.

This infrastructure can handle time-critical as well as lower

priority data and deliver status information to a supervisory

system. To handle the increased complexity of distributed

embedded systems, machine builders adapt a software-centric

system design approach.

Today, NI LabVIEW graphical programming helps leading

machine builders master increasing system complexity. With

add-on modules for motion control, machine vision, and control

design and simulation; features for machine prognostics and

condition monitoring; and extensive support for I/O hardware

and communication protocols, LabVIEW helps you consolidate

your development toolchain and streamline the design process.

Selecting hardware for machine control systems can be a

daunting task. Often a system engineering department needs

to weigh the ease of use and low risk of black-box solutions with

the performance and price benefits of a custom embedded

system. By considering this, you can build differentiated

features that determine whether your machine succeeds or

fails in the marketplace. Since custom solutions usually drive

design teams out of their comfort zones, the teams lean toward

traditional solutions knowing this might limit their capability to

add differentiating smarts to their machines.

The LabVIEW reconfigurable I/O (RIO) architecture offers a

hybrid approach: a fully customizable off-the-shelf platform,

leveraging programmable FPGAs that provide access to a range

of existing I/O modules from National Instruments and

third-party vendors. Using the features and IP of the LabVIEW

FPGA Module, machine builders can focus on the design and

optimization of their custom algorithms rather than spending

weeks or months on hardware design or having to rely on a

third-party company to design yet another more application-

specific black-box embedded solution. Custom I/O frontends

and board-only versions based on the same architecture offer

an additional level of flexibility.

To give machine builders a head start, NI offers a design

guide covering a variety of smart machine topics. From common

architectures for distributed machine control systems to motion

vision integration, to advanced control strategies, the guide

comprises best practices, technology overviews, and customer

examples to help you design smarter systems for the intelligent

factory and get ahead of the competition.

Download the Smart Machine Design Guide at

ni.com/machinedesign.

Watch the Smart Machine Webcast Series at

ni.com/smartmachinewebcastseries.

Christian Fritz [email protected] Fritz is a senior product marketing manager for embedded systems at National Instruments.

Smart machines feature characteristics such as autonomous operation, awareness of other machines on the same network, and the ability to make modifications in real time.

■ High degree of flexibility and versatility■ Awareness of machine and process parameters

■ Monitoring and analysis capabilities■ Quick modification of process plan and operation parameters

■ Model-based and adaptive control ■ Simulation capabilities

■ Time-sensitive and non- deterministic communication■ Interconnected systems—“Smart Factory”

OperateAutonomously

Intelligent Secure Managed Connected

Avoid and CorrectProcessing Errors

Learn and Anticipate

Interact With Other Machines and Systems

What Makes a Machine Smart

8

Case Studies


“ The key to this design was the ability of our power engineers to directly program their product without a software engineer in the middle. This new platform and method of development changed our development time from 72 weeks to 24 weeks.”

Dynapower Reduces Power Converter Development Time With the NI GPICDynapower Company LLC has produced high-voltage,

high-current power converters for industrial, mining, and

high-energy physics applications for the last 50 years. Recently,

Axion Power International approached us with an advanced

carbon battery product to use in our line of power converters.

Advanced carbon batteries have many benefits including fast

charge and discharge rates, long life cycles, and deep-cycle

discharge capability, but they require a unique power conversion

and inverter system topology to fully realize these benefits.

After a thorough evaluation of our options, we chose the

NI Single-Board RIO GPIC to develop an advanced multistring

DC-to-DC converter application for the carbon-battery grid

storage systems. It is based on the NI LabVIEW reconfigurable

I/O (RIO) architecture and provides a specific I/O set to meet

the cost and performance requirements of commercial,

high-volume digital energy systems. The system delivers real

and reactive power to the grid to help stabilize the utility with

high penetrations of varying sources, such as wind and solar,

or to compensate for volatile loads.

We used a 50 kW DC-to-DC converter power block to fulfill

Axion Power International’s requirements for controllable current

distribution and the careful balance between the parallel

converters in both utility interactive operation and microgrid

mode. A high-speed response was required to seamlessly

transfer between the two modes, and an FPGA-based

architecture easily met this requirement because of the hardware

parallelism and high-speed communication between converters.

The controller manages the inner current loop and outer system

loop in addition to the charge and discharge of batteries in

certain modes. A cost-effective, modern FPGA-based control

system gave us 40 times more performance per dollar than

the traditional digital signal processors we used in the past, and

the LabVIEW toolchain and development

platforms reduced our development cost

and risk significantly, compared to a full

custom controller design.

The key to this design was the ability

to eliminate the middle man, the software

engineer. By using the NI Single-Board

RIO GPIC, we reduced our development

time from 72 weeks to 24 weeks. These

tools led to a typical development time

savings of 114 man-months per design by helping us complete

our development in less than half the time with a team less

than half the size of the original.

—Kyle Clark, Dynapower Company, LLC

The ChallengeBuilding a unique power conversion and inverter system

topology to fully realize the benefits of advanced carbon

batteries for grid storage.

The SolutionUsing the NI Single-Board RIO General Purpose Inverter

Controller (GPIC) to provide real and reactive power to the grid,

stabilizing the utility with high penetrations of varying

generation sources.


With more than 1 billion passengers a year, the Underground

network in London is one of the largest and busiest underground

railway systems in the world. Maintaining and improving this

rail network has been an ongoing challenge because traditional

methods of testing railway systems require the use of a fully

operational train and complete closure of the track, usually for

days at a time. The process is expensive, time-consuming, and

inconvenient to the public.

Thales UK, a world leader in transportation solutions, was

commissioned to install an automatic signaling solution for the

Jubilee and Northern lines in the Underground network that could

alleviate many of the burdens of this traditional method and

ultimately lead to a less-costly and more time-

efficient means of testing. According to the

Transport for London website, the automatic

signaling system upgrade project for the Jubilee

and Northern lines promised to boost capacity by

33 percent (the equivalent of carrying

approximately 5,000 extra passengers each hour)

and to cut journey times by 22 percent.

The project involved installing a Thales S40

SelTrac Transmission-Based Train Control (TBTC)

system on both the track and the entire rolling

stock of fleet trains. But before these retrofitted

trains could use this new system in service, we

had to test the track installation. We needed the

test system to reduce the quantity of test staff

and test time, to run reliably in any environment

that could be experienced in the Underground network, and

to be portable, bidirectional, and intuitive to reduce the impact

on test engineers during the transition from real trains to the

new design.

The solution was to create several VTTs that run with the

CompactRIO control system interfaced to custom hardware.

We used a CompactRIO real-time controller, an FPGA-equipped

chassis, and flexible modular signal interfaces to implement

the system, all of which were programmed with LabVIEW

system design software. This platform provides the onboard

SelTrac TBTC signaling equipment with the appropriate signals

to mimic an actual passenger train. Additionally, gathering all

of this data allows us to view how a train’s VOBC would react

to its surroundings, which is imperative to us since this data

helps give us the confidence that the systems are installed and

commissioned correctly.

We used the versatility, reliability, and high performance of the

CompactRIO platform, coupled with the graphical and intuitive

nature of LabVIEW, to develop a solution that has saved vast

amounts of time and money, increased productivity, and helped

us take a huge leap forward in signaling testing innovation.

—Anthony Afonso, Thales UK

Thales UK Tests London’s Underground Rail Network With CompactRIO and LabVIEW

The ChallengeUpgrading traditional rail testing methods that involve closing

down services, spending time and money, and disrupting

passengers.

The SolutionUsing NI CompactRIO hardware and NI LabVIEW system

design software to create an automated signaling system with

several virtual test trains (VTTs), so that Thales UK could mimic

testing an actual passenger train.

10 ni.com

voltage transitions to represent timing information. It is defined by the

Methodologies for Jitter and Signal Quality (MJSQ) specification as the deviation

from the ideal timing of an event. The reference event is the differential zero

crossing for electrical signals. Jitter is composed of both deterministic and

Gaussian (random) content.

The taxonomy of jitter, shown in Figure 1, highlights the complexity of timing

jitter beyond the value of total jitter (TJ), which can be simplified with the right set

of tools. Gaining enough insight for root cause analysis of a failure requires the

further breakdown of the jitter components. Due to its combined deterministic and

random nature, jitter is difficult to predict as far as how and when a bit error due to

jitter will occur. And though many solutions help analyze timing jitter, few solutions

can provide the right amount of test coverage while minimizing total test time.

Measuring the Practical Effects of JitterThe complete signal integrity test solution of NI PXI hardware and the NI LabVIEW

Jitter Analysis Toolkit is ideally suited for automated tests that need a customized

software solution to adapt to specific test coverage and test time requirements.

The LabVIEW Jitter Analysis Toolkit offers a library of functions optimized for

performing the high-throughput jitter, eye diagram, and phase noise measurements

demanded by automated validation and production test environments. It features

the fastest measurement throughput of any jitter measurement or analysis

package on the market today.

Reducing total test cost while providing

adequate test coverage for products that

continually grow in complexity is a challenge

that test organizations face. To keep up with

this challenge, automated test systems

need signal integrity and jitter software

tools that not only detect and capture elusive

events but also provide deep insight for root

cause analysis.

The Consequences of JitterThe characterization of interface timing is

typically performed in the lab and “guaranteed

by design,” so jitter testing is often eliminated

in the final test to make it faster and cheaper.

Understanding jitter, including its causes,

ways to characterize it, and the tools to test

for it can help justify additional test coverage

in final test, thus minimizing lost revenue and

improving yield.

Jitter is an unwelcome but ever-present

component in all electrical systems that use

Eye-Opening Jitter SolutionsThe only thing harsher than a product failing in the field is knowing that the failure could have been prevented by additional test coverage.

Figure 1. The taxonomy of jitter highlights the complexity of timing jitter beyond the value of total jitter, which you can simplify with the right set of tools.

Measure and Analyze Jitter

Total Jitter (TJ)

Random Jitter (RJ)

DeterministicJitter (DJ)

Periodic Jitter (PJ)

Data DependentJitter (DDR)

Inter-SymbolInterference (ISI)

Duty CycleDistortion (DCD)

Test Techniques


Test TechniquesThe LabVIEW Jitter Analysis Toolkit provides several

visualization features, including color-graded persistence eye

diagrams, mask limit testing, and bathtub plots. These

graphical displays are further complemented by the spectrum

trend and histogram plots built into LabVIEW.

An eye diagram is a ubiquitous measurement tool for

signal integrity that presents jitter aggressors such as

inter-symbol interference (ISI), duty-cycle distortion (DCD),

and other issues that can lead to bit errors. Data-dependent

jitter (DDJ) components on a serial bit stream can be easily

viewed in an eye diagram.

For example, ISI can be seen with dual banding on the

rising and falling edges due to high-frequency dispersion,

reflections, low-frequency coupling on control components,

and other mechanisms related to the frequency response

of the link.

The bathtub curve is another useful tool to easily visualize

deterministic and random jitter. Deterministic jitter (DJ) is

caused by non-Gaussian jitter event distributions. It is always

bounded and can be broken down into data-dependent and

periodic components in addition to crosstalk and power

supply noise. Since DJ is bounded, it does not grow as more

samples are acquired, as indicated by the data samples in

yellow in Figure 4. The random jitter (RJ) components are

unbounded and continue to grow with more samples, as

shown by the converging blue lines.

Properly implementing a jitter and signal integrity test

solution in automated test can significantly prevent field

failures and improve manufacturing yield with minimal

impact on overall test time and cost. In the long run, the

time and cost of implementing a jitter solution in test far

outweighs the consequences of no test at all.

Download the Jitter, Signal Integrity, and Connectivity

Fundamentals Resource Kit at ni.com/newsletter/nsi3201.

Bill Driver [email protected] Driver is a product marketing manager for test systems at National Instruments.

Figure 2. This is an eye diagram showing minimal impairments.

Figure 3. This is an eye diagram showing impairments of ISI and DCD.

Figure 4. This bathtub plot shows DJ contribution in yellow and RJ Contribution in blue to TJ in time as a function of bit error rate.

12

On the Road With LabVIEW The LabVIEW Campus Tour Visits 120 Universities in the United States and Canada

To address society’s biggest challenges, tomorrow’s

engineers and researchers must be equipped with tools that

accelerate innovation and discovery. In September 2012,

National Instruments launched the LabVIEW Campus Tour to

deliver the latest technologies for engineering education and

research to universities across North America. The tour drove

directly to campus so researchers, educators, and students

could experience a variety of products and applications

without interrupting their class or lab schedules.

The LabVIEW yellow tour bus showcased live

product demonstrations in key research areas like

RF and microwave design, structural testing,

advanced controls, and power electronics. The

tour also highlighted hands-on teaching solutions

to help students “do engineering” using NI

industry-standard tools. Students experienced

firsthand a variety of projects that were developed

with LabVIEW in a matter of hours instead of

weeks or months. Specifically, tour visitors could■■ Get inspiration for future design projects

programmed in LabVIEW■■ Discuss applications and consult with NI

academic field engineers■■ Learn which NI products are available for use

on campus■■ Connect with peers and LabVIEW experts

Featured Demonstrations for EducatorsProduct demonstrations showcased the latest teaching

solutions for measurements, circuits, controls, and

communications courses to help educators explore how NI’s

industry-standard tools prepare students with an engaging,

real-world learning experience in the classroom. As an example

of teaching measurement concepts, tour bus visitors saw how

students can use NI myDAQ and the myQuake NI miniSystem

to complete exercises to measure and analyze structural

design by re-creating earthquake and seismic activity.

Featured Demonstrations for ResearchersResearchers in the areas of RF and microwave design,

structural testing, advanced controls, and power electronics

learned how LabVIEW system design software combined with

NI hardware accelerates their innovation and discovery. Tour

attendees interested in RF and microwave design learned how

PXI RF instruments can be used to extract power amplifier

behavioral models of nonlinear RF devices for use in AWR

Microwave Office design software. Those interested in Power

Electronics explored how to implement FPGA-based power

electronics control systems using a complete toolchain from

design to test with LabVIEW, NI Multisim, and the

NI Single-Board RIO General Purpose Inverter Controller (GPIC).

During the nine-month tour, thousands of visitors learned

how to take advantage of NI’s industry-standard tools to

accelerate research and deliver complete hands-on teaching

solutions for students to do engineering.

Learn more about the demos and see a list of the LabVIEW

Campus Tour locations at ni.com/campustour.


LabVIEW EverywherePOWERED BY

The LabVIEW Campus Tour offered a chance to see the latest technologies for educators, researchers, and students without leaving campus.


NI in Academia

Unleashing Student Creativity Through FPGA-Based Hardware Expectations Rise as Technology Proliferates

The technologies used by engineers and scientists in industry

have become exponentially more complex over the past two

decades, but the landscape of student design has struggled to

take advantage of that progress. Whether due to budget

constraints or the time it takes to master the powerful tools

available, the average complexity of student projects has

remained fairly stagnant.

Some of the top universities in the country are taking

advantage of technologies such as reconfigurable I/O (RIO)

architectures, which combine a powerful microprocessor with an

FPGA core, but this is not yet standard in engineering classrooms.

In the past, engineers needed a thorough understanding of

digital hardware design to take advantage of FPGA technology.

However, when used in combination with the intuitive nature

of NI LabVIEW graphical programming, the power of FPGA

hardware is accessible to a broader base of both professional

engineers and engineering students.

Given the appropriate time and resources, students can

use the LabVIEW RIO architecture to complete truly impressive

projects. In a matter of 13 weeks, students have worked on

projects from prototyping racecars to building Segways and

creating the next-generation smart grid. The creativity of

students is poised to be unleashed as these technologies

continue to become more widely adopted and more accessible.

Read how Purdue University introduced FPGA programming

to its students at ni.com/newsletter/nsi3202.

Students are using NI CompactRIO to take advantage of a reconfigurable I/O architecture when building and testing race cars.

Attention from thousands of professional engineers and scientists at NIWeek is not the only exposure that participants in the NI LabVIEW Student Design Competition are enjoying. Past finalists have been featured in press outlets from Vision Systems Design to Popular Science to BBC News. In addition to prestigious media coverage, cash prizes, and a trip to NIWeek, some students have even seen their projects productized.

“It’s unbelievable to put something to work, see it in real life, and then win an award for it,” said Dan Ambrosio, a LabVIEW Student Design Competition finalist from the University of Colorado Boulder.

The deadline for this year’s competition is May 31.

See competition rules and prizes at ni.com/studentdesign.

In 2012, NTS Press released Engineering Signals & Systems, which features just as many real applications as theoretical concepts and mathematical models. The book also shows students how to use LabVIEW software to simulate actual signals and systems engineering applications.

A free set of exploration activities using LabVIEW, NI myDAQ, and the NI Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS) raise real-world relevance of the teaching material to a new level. These activities capture students’ attention through practical hands-on projects including image deblurring, AM radio, audio processing, and DTMF decoding. Each project guides students through the activity with detailed instructions and video-based tutorials to demonstrate specific techniques for each application.

View the Engineering Signals & Systems supplement at

ntspress.com/publications.

Students: From “Popular Science” to the BBC, Is Your Project Next?

“Do Engineering” in Signals and Systems

ni.com/products14

Product In-Depth

On February 25, 2013, National Instruments announced the

second vector signal transceiver at Mobile World Congress in

Barcelona, Spain. Like the first vector signal transceiver, the

NI PXIe-5645R is built on a software-designed architecture

that engineers can modify with NI LabVIEW software to meet

their specific needs. This new vector signal transceiver also adds

a high-performance, differential, or single-ended baseband I/Q

interface with 16-bit data sampled at 120 MS/s, for a total of

80 MHz of complex equalized I/Q bandwidth.

What Is Baseband I/Q?To simplify circuit designs, RF signals are represented as I and

Q components when they are downconverted to lower

frequencies, otherwise known as baseband. The NI PXIe-5645R

vector signal transceiver allows for both generating and analyzing

these baseband I/Q signals, alongside their RF counterparts.

The differential baseband I/Q signal system on the NI PXIe-5645R

has a positive component (I+ and Q+) and a negative component

(I- and Q-). Like in many differential measurement systems,

any noise present on both the positive and negative channels

is rejected, resulting in a much cleaner signal.

New ApplicationsWith this baseband I/Q interface,

the NI PXIe-5645R addresses many

additional applications, such as

testing both the upconverted RF

and downconverted baseband

signals of a device with a single

instrument. You can also use the

baseband I/Q to test lower frequency

signals, such as near field

communication (NFC) technology,

which operates in the ISM band of

13.56 MHz.

Extending the Software‑Designed Instrumentation PlatformNI vector signal transceivers

represent a new class of

instrumentation that is built on a

software-designed architecture,

with capabilities limited only by the

user’s application requirements

instead of the vendor’s definition of what an instrument

should be. As RF devices become more complex and

time-to-market requirements become more challenging, this

level of instrument functionality shifts control back to the RF

designer and test engineer. With the flexibility of an accurate

RF transmitter, an RF receiver, digital I/O, and baseband I/Q

data all connected to a user-programmable FPGA, NI vector

signal transceivers are ready for your next application.

Product: NI PXIe‑5645R vector signal transceiverSource: ni.com/vst

Increased RF Test Coverage With Second Vector Signal Transceiver

Second Quarter 2013 15

Introducing a New Method for Functional Safety VerificationThe NI product ecosystem is constantly expanding through

complementary products created by Alliance Partners and

third-party product developers. With one new add-on tool for

NI TestStand, you can take advantage of NI commercial

off-the-shelf (COTS) tools for safety-critical projects by applying

the right methodology to reduce the risk and cost of embedded

software validation.

The Tool Qualification Kit for NI TestStand helps meet

functional safety standards, such as RTCA DO-178B/C,

IEC 62304, and ISO 26262, in numerous industries that need

qualified tools to verify safety requirements for electronic

systems. The kit, developed by Gold NI Alliance Partner CertTech,

LLC, is available only on the LabVIEW Tools Network. It defines

the functional requirements NI TestStand meets, creates a set

of tests to demonstrate compliance with the requirements,

and provides extensive documentation to show compliance in

accordance with functional safety standards.

An FAA representative formally reviewed the kit to verify

compliance with the DO-178B/C guidelines and concluded:

“Findings in the FAA Designated Engineering Representative’s

(DER) report confirmed that all objectives of DO-178B Section

12.2, FAA Order 8110.49 Section 9, and DO-330 Annex A have

been successfully achieved and in many cases exceeded.”

Rather than developing and maintaining a custom test

executive, you can use NI TestStand, a ready-to-run COTS test

management software solution, to quickly develop automated

test and validation systems. The kit reduces the time it takes

to certify each project by introducing a testing methodology

that helps you use qualified COTS tools instead of performing

a manual qualification on custom tools.

Product: Tool Qualification Kit for NI TestStandSource: ni.com/labviewtools

6 New NI FlexRIO Adapter Modules The NI FlexRIO product family, built on FPGA-based

reconfigurable I/O (RIO), has new adapter modules that add

I/O including digitizer, IF and RF transceiver, and signal

generation capabilities. Engineers can pair these modules with

FPGAs to solve almost any test application, from real-time

spectrum monitoring and RF modulation/demodulation to

signal intelligence and RF communication protocol prototyping.

The combination of NI FlexRIO, LabVIEW software, and

access to more than 600 NI PXI modular instruments gives

engineers a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution that can

be customized using FPGA technology.

Product: NI FlexRIO modulesSource: ni.com/flexrio

NI FlexRIO Adapter Module Ideal Applications

NI 5771—8-bit, 3 GS/s digitizer Pulsing, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), high-resolution edge detection

NI 5772—12-bit, 1.6 GS/s digitizer Broadband IF acquisition, real-time spectrum monitoring

NI 5782—Intermediate frequency (IF) transceiver

IF acquisition and generation, custom modulation and demodulation, channel emulation, bit error rate testing (BERT), signal intelligence (SIGINT), RFID and near-field communication test, software defined radio (SDR)

NI 5791—RF transceiver Custom algorithm design for SDR, streaming to and from disk, MIMO, beamforming

AT-1120—14-bit, 2 GS/s signal generator RF communications protocol prototyping, RF record and playback, SIGINT, Channel emulationAT-1212—2-channel signal generator

Kids are born engineers. They’re naturally curious about science and technology. They see incredibleapplications and aspire to build robots and be astronauts.

The world is facing monumental challenges from the clean water shortage to the need for renewable energy. It’s no secret that engineers and scientists will be on the front lines in the battle to meet these challenges.

But somewhere along the way, they lose that sense of curiosity But somewhere along the way, they lose that sense of curiosity when classrooms focus strictly on math and theory without hands-on experimentation.without hands-on experimentation.

As a result, only 4.5%* of university students graduate with engineering degrees. As a result, only 4.5%* of university students graduate with engineering degrees. Given the severity of the Given the severity of the challenges we’re facing, this number has to change.4.5%

Does it work?

With NI, students DO ENGINEERING.With NI, students DO ENGINEERING.

So what’s the problem?

In 2009, the University of Manchester integrated the NI platform into its engineering In 2009, the University of Manchester integrated the NI platform into its engineering curriculum. In just one year, student satisfaction curriculum. In just one year, student satisfaction skyrocketed from 67% to 98%.**

* NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. ** NI.COM / MANCHESTER.* NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. ** NI.COM / MANCHESTER.

98%SATISFACTION

ni.com/academic

What is NI doing to help?

6,000 universities across 110 countries use NI products and 6,000 universities across 110 countries use NI products and LabVIEW for education. As a result, young engineers are finding LabVIEW for education. As a result, young engineers are finding more engaging, faster ways to “do engineering” and solve problems using a common language.and solve problems using a common language.

35,000+ companies use NI products to design and test the 35,000+ companies use NI products to design and test the products and systems needed to meet the challenges ourproducts and systems needed to meet the challenges ourplanet faces. They areplanet faces. They are ready and waiting for these graduates.

LEGO® MINDSTORMS MINDSTORMS® MINDSTORMS® ®, based on LabVIEW, is available in 17 languages for classrooms all over the world. It gives kids 17 languages for classrooms all over the world. It gives kids a simple, fun way to explore building and programming.

Kids are born engineers. They’re naturally curious about science and technology. They see incredibleapplications and aspire to build robots and be astronauts.

The world is facing monumental challenges from the clean water shortage to the need for renewable energy. It’s no secret that engineers and scientists will be on the front lines in the battle to meet these challenges.

But somewhere along the way, they lose that sense of curiosity But somewhere along the way, they lose that sense of curiosity when classrooms focus strictly on math and theory without hands-on experimentation.without hands-on experimentation.

As a result, only 4.5%* of university students graduate with engineering degrees. As a result, only 4.5%* of university students graduate with engineering degrees. Given the severity of the Given the severity of the challenges we’re facing, this number has to change.4.5%

Does it work?

With NI, students DO ENGINEERING.With NI, students DO ENGINEERING.

So what’s the problem?

In 2009, the University of Manchester integrated the NI platform into its engineering In 2009, the University of Manchester integrated the NI platform into its engineering curriculum. In just one year, student satisfaction curriculum. In just one year, student satisfaction skyrocketed from 67% to 98%.**

* NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. ** NI.COM / MANCHESTER.* NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. ** NI.COM / MANCHESTER.

98%SATISFACTION

ni.com/academic

What is NI doing to help?

6,000 universities across 110 countries use NI products and 6,000 universities across 110 countries use NI products and LabVIEW for education. As a result, young engineers are finding LabVIEW for education. As a result, young engineers are finding more engaging, faster ways to “do engineering” and solve problems using a common language.and solve problems using a common language.

35,000+ companies use NI products to design and test the 35,000+ companies use NI products to design and test the products and systems needed to meet the challenges ourproducts and systems needed to meet the challenges ourplanet faces. They areplanet faces. They are ready and waiting for these graduates.

LEGO® MINDSTORMS MINDSTORMS® MINDSTORMS® ®, based on LabVIEW, is available in 17 languages for classrooms all over the world. It gives kids 17 languages for classrooms all over the world. It gives kids a simple, fun way to explore building and programming.

Product In-Depth

system requirements change. Using NI LabVIEW system design software, you

can confidently integrate new technology and easily migrate your applications

from one platform to another.

LabVIEW Plug and Play instrument drivers integrate directly into the LabVIEW

development environment and allow for customization to the source code in

order to accommodate specific test requirements. These native instrument

drivers, based on the Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA), provide

an additional layer of abstraction from the hardware so you don’t have to worry

about communication details across a given bus.

NI is committed to providing instrument drivers for a wide range of

instrumentation. With over 10,000 instrument drivers from more than 350

instrument vendors, the NI Instrument Driver Network (IDNet) is the largest

online database of free instrument drivers. From IDNet, you can access

instrument driver downloads for LabVIEW, NI LabWindows™/CVI, and Microsoft

Visual Studio .NET. IDNet instrument drivers simplify instrument control across

a variety of buses including GPIB, USB, PXI, PCI, Ethernet, LXI, and RS232.

Future advances in computing and measurement equipment are unpredictable,

so protect your instrumentation investment by making a software decision that

not only meets the needs of your current system but also scales as your

requirements change. No matter which new technologies emerge in the

coming years, you can be sure that NI will continue to provide the instrument

control software you need to take advantage of technological improvements

while preserving existing hardware and software.

Product: LabVIEW for instrument control Source: ni.com/labview/applications/instrument‑control

The mark LabWindows is used under a license from Microsoft Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

ni.com/products18

Modular InstrumentInstrument

LabVIEW

NI-VISA

Instrument Drivers Direct I/O

PXIVXISerialEthernetGPIB USB

For years, test engineers have been taking a

PC-based approach to automating stand-alone

instrumentation. With so much investment

tied up in capital assets for test equipment,

engineers and management teams are

looking for reassurance that they can satisfy

current and future testing needs. Software that

maintains backward compatibility with your

existing equipment while seamlessly

allowing you to take advantage of new

technology can be the difference between

spending three hours bringing a new

instrument online and spending three months

rewriting the application.

New and evolving OSs, including Microsoft,

Macintosh, and Linux, also strongly influence

the instrument control software landscape.

New OSs are released each year, leaving

users with the daunting task of upgrading

while maintaining the integrity of their existing

test systems. In addition, taking advantage

of new PC technologies such as multicore

processors can yield huge system performance

gains. Choosing a software environment that

is flexible enough to incorporate cutting-edge

technologies can help you stay ahead as your

Protect Your Instrumentation Investment With Software

Enabling Intelligent Fuel Delivery: The NI Direct Injector Driver SystemCombustion engines are the primary means of powering

automobiles, heavy machinery, and marine vessels. As

government legislation and consumer demand drive

improvements in fuel economy, engine manufacturers need

to optimize the combustion of fuel in the cylinder.

One of the most widely adopted methods of achieving this

goal is using direct injectors to inject fuel directly into engine

cylinders. Due to the nature of injecting fuel directly in the cylinder

before combustion, injection timing becomes much more critical

and requires tight control. Many engine control prototyping

applications require modifying engines to use direct injectors.

Most off-the-shelf engine control units (ECUs) do not have

the power electronics or timing necessary to drive these

high-power injectors, so they require an intermediate system.

The NI Direct Injector Driver System functions as the power

electronics stage for driving direct injectors. Digital command

signals from an ECU are read on an NI 9411 digital input module

in the NI CompactRIO controller. These signals are interpreted in

a software executable loaded on the CompactRIO controller, and

are in turn used to schedule output signals from direct injector

driver modules to direct injectors. The NI Direct Injector Driver

System is offered in 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-channel versions.

Product: NI Direct Injector Driver SystemSource: ni.com/enginecontrol

Lifelike Robot Helps Treat Autistic Children With LabVIEW

Meet Zeno. Created by Hanson RoboKind, this 2 ft tall robot has

a lifelike human face that can smile, frown, and look inquisitive.

He’s powered by an NI Single-Board RIO device and LabVIEW

software. Zeno’s skin consists of Frubber™, a lightweight

polymer plastic that contracts and folds just like human skin.

He can also walk and gesture with both hands.

Dr. Dan Popa, an associate professor at The University of

Texas at Arlington, and his research team are using Zeno to

help diagnose and treat children suffering from autism spectrum

disorders. Traditionally, the diagnosis of autism is based on

deficiencies in social interaction and speech. However, speech

plays a small role in the first two years of a child’s life. Zeno

primarily interacts with children through nonverbal communication

such as body movement.

“Many autistic children have a tough time with verbal

commands, but robots can be used as a vehicle for therapists

to interact with the children nonverbally and to help teach them

useful social skills,” Dr. Popa said. “We see repeatedly that

parents are really hopeful about this technology. There is a lot

of opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these children.”

Read more about Zeno or other applications like this at

ni.com/sweetapps.


ni.com/products20

Product In-Depth

Simplify Vision Systems With Power Over Ethernet Frame GrabbersThe NI PCIe-8236 and NI PCIe-8237R are GigE Vision frame

grabbers with two independent ports featuring Power over

Ethernet (PoE) technology with FPGA-enabled I/O. PoE reduces

the need for additional external power supplies by powering

cameras over the Ethernet bus, which simplifies the system

design and cabling. The NI PCIe-8237R features advanced

triggering and synchronization options, such as a low-jitter, and

a low-latency FPGA-based network trigger which can perform

deterministic camera triggering over the Ethernet bus. The

NI PCIe-8237R also enables queued pulses, which can be used

to synchronize sensors, camera triggers, and outputs to

coordinate rejecting failed parts on an assembly line that may

have multiple parts between where the part is inspected and

where it needs to be rejected. For example, as parts pass by

the camera, the images are analyzed and a pulse associated

with a specific part can be added to a queue on the FPGA.

Then based upon the results of the image analysis, the pulse

can be dequeued based on a future timestamp, encoder count,

or input line change to eject or sort the part further down the

assembly line. The NI PCIe-8237R enables all of these signals

to be tightly synchronized on the frame grabber with a single

API and no software polling or delays.

The NI PCIe-8237R features the LabVIEW reconfigurable

I/O (RIO) architecture, including isolated digital inputs and

outputs, and bidirectional TTL lines for implementing custom

counters, PWM signals, and quadrature encoder inputs. The

new frame grabbers are fully compliant with isolation

specifications in the PoE standard, providing additional safety

for both the vision system and operators. All three PoE frame

grabbers can interface with the latest low-cost PoE cameras

on the market as well as non-PoE GigE Vision cameras with

cable lengths up to 100 m. With these features, you can power

the camera, perform triggering, and acquire images from a

single Ethernet cable.

Product: NI PCIe‑8236, NI PCIe‑8237RSource: ni.com/vision

The new PoE frame grabbers simplify cabling and provide advanced triggering options.


3 Ways SC Express Can Meet Automotive ChallengesThe most advanced automobiles today may have as many as

30 million lines of software code. Compare this figure to

3 million to 5 million in modern

airplanes or just 500,000 in some of

the early space shuttles. These

increasingly complex automobiles

require more sophisticated testing

techniques, such as hardware-in-

the-loop (HIL) testing, in addition to

the production tests that already

come with their own set of

challenges. With the newest

member of the SC Express family,

the NI PXIe-4322 isolated analog

output module you can tackle these

challenges with confidence.

1. Higher Voltages, More

Powerful Current Simulation

Automobiles often feature a

mix of sensors that output

either voltage or current. Many of those sensors may

output more than the typical 10 V or 0-10 V or 0 mA to

10 mA that most DAQ modules provide. The PXIe-4322,

however, can output up to 16 V or 20 mA per channel.

You can easily switch between voltage or current

controlled outputs using software-configurable modes on

a per-channel basis.

2. Isolation for Stackable Channels

Most car batteries operate between 12.8 V and 13.8 V, but

heavier equipment like off-highway vehicles or large trucks

may need up to 36 V. These vehicles require sensor

simulations that may be at higher voltages as well. Since

the NI PXIe-4322 is channel-to-channel isolated, you can

simply stack channels to achieve the necessary 36 V. If

you do not need the full resolution for testing, you can

again leverage the isolation on this module by stacking

one channel on top of an external offset. For example,

you can apply a 24 V external offset with the NI PXIe-4322

for a range of 8 V to 40 V with just one channel.

3. 4‑Quadrant Operation

While many applications require sourcing outputs, others,

such as HIL simulations, require outputs capable of

sinking current to properly simulate automotive sensors.

With the NI PXIe-4322, you can both sink and source

current, up to 20 mA per channel. Or you can use current

controlled outputs and operate in all four quadrants to solve

your most challenging test problems.

The NI PXIe-4322 joins the 10 other members of the

SC Express family. Each family member features integrated

signal conditioning and data acquisition for measuring high

voltages, thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors

(RTDs), accelerometers, microphones, or bridge-based

sensors equipping you with solutions to solve today’s

automotive challenges.

Learn more about the SC Express family at

ni.com/scexpress/whatis.

Product In-Depth

NI Offers LabVIEW Embedded Control and Monitoring Certification National Instruments recently introduced a

new certification option for embedded

control and monitoring experts. Certified

LabVIEW Embedded Systems Developers

(CLEDs) demonstrate proficiency and

expertise in analyzing requirements for and

designing, developing, debugging, and

deploying mission-critical, medium- to

large-scale embedded control and

monitoring applications. Engineers with the

CLED certification must be NI Certified

LabVIEW Developers (CLDs) or NI Certified

LabVIEW Architects (CLAs) and have proven

technical skill using NI LabVIEW system

design software and NI CompactRIO,

NI Single-Board RIO, or NI R Series hardware.

The exam is currently in English only and

consists of two parts: a one-hour multiple

choice exam and a four-hour application

development practical exam. The two parts

of the CLED exam can be taken in one sitting

or on separate days at an NI branch office, training center, or

on-site at your location. The recommended experience level is

18 to 24 months of developing medium to large LabVIEW

embedded control and monitoring applications or LabVIEW Core

1, 2, and 3; LabVIEW Real-Time 1 and 2; and LabVIEW FPGA

training with one year or more development experience with

CompactRIO, NI Single-Board RIO, and/or R Series hardware.

For developers and engineers using NI software,

certification is a proven way to boost career potential. Benefits

include use of the certification logo and a listing on ni.com.

Certification helps differentiate between technical skill levels,

leading to promotions, new opportunities, and higher pay for

individuals. This certification can be used for the assessment

and validation of an individual’s skillset for the purpose of

project staffing or career advancement.

Source: ni.com/cled.

Alliance Partners Extend the NI EcosystemThe LabVIEW Tools Network is

the premier online resource for

software add-ons created by

NI Alliance Partners and

third-party developers. These

tools greatly increase the

efficiency of your software and

overall time to market.

One example is the vibDaq

Transient software application,

a software add-on that uses

the latest signal processing and order tracking algorithms. It

analyzes vibration data using even-angle resampling to provide

the most accurate angular resolution possible, which is ideal

for rotating machines and environmental or seismic vibrations.

Developed by Platinum NI Alliance Partner Cal-Bay Systems,

the application helps you use floating windows, view a variety

of plot types, and log data based on user-defined criteria for

playback and analysis.

Source: ni.com/labview‑tools‑network

Certified LabVIEWAssociate Developer (CLAD)

Certified LabVIEWDeveloper (CLD)

CertifiedLabVIEWArchitect

(CLA)

NI LabVIEW Certifications

Certified LabVIEW Embedded Systems

Developer (CLED)

ni.com/products22

Strengthen Your Business at Alliance Day 2013Registration is now open for Alliance Day 2013, the exclusive

global gathering of NI Alliance Partners who are reshaping the

world through graphical system design. Whether you’re new

to the program or have been an active member for many years,

we invite you to join us as we celebrate your efforts and inspire

each other to drive mutual success.

» Why Attend?Alliance Day features invaluable peer networking opportunities

and a comprehensive technical program with leading NI and

industry experts. ■■ Learn more about the latest NI objectives and

business focus areas■■ Connect with peers and build your network ■■ Discover new NI products and product outlooks■■ Collaborate with NI regional sales representatives■■ Attend technical, sales, and business sessions

» Get InvolvedYou can also take advantage of several opportunities to

showcase your latest successes, demos, and technical

content at Alliance Day: ■■ Create an NIWeek exhibit—Purchase booth space

on the show floor. ■■ Invest in a sponsorship package—Increase traffic

to your booth and build brand identity.■■ Apply for an award—Enter to be selected for

an Alliance Partner award.

Don’t miss your chance to elevate your expertise and

extend your reach to the NI audience.

Register and see more details at ni.com/allianceday.


Alliance Partner Network

Alliance Day at NIWeek offers presentations and resources specifically for companies in the NI Alliance Partner Network.

24 ni.com

Moore’s Law at Work in Data LoggingWith our digital world growing more complex, the systems recording the physical and electrical phenomena of today and tomorrow need to meet new data acquisition and logging challenges.

Engineers and scientists have long been monitoring and

recording the physical and electrical world. The first data

recording system, the telegraph, was invented in the mid-19th

century by Samuel Morse. That system automatically recorded

the dots and dashes of Morse code, which were inscribed on

paper tape by a pen moved by an electromagnet. In the early

20th century, the first chart recorder was built for environmental

monitoring. These early chart recorders, which were completely

analog and largely mechanical, dragged an ink pen over paper to

record changes in electrical signals. The space program then

created digital, high-speed data acquisition systems for both

analog and digital data.

Today, chart recorders and data-logging systems largely

lack paper and are predominantly digital including digital

processors, memory, and communications to link them to the

ever-connected world. Over the past decade, digital storage

has increased almost exponentially while the corresponding

cost has plummeted. As Moore’s law continues to progress,

allowing scientists to create more powerful, less expensive,

and smaller processors that use less energy, future data

acquisition and logging systems will leverage this technology to

grow more intelligent and feature-rich.

The Next Generation of Data‑Logging SystemsOver the past two decades, the intelligence of data-logging

systems has become more decentralized, with processing

elements moving closer to the sensor and signal. Because of

this change, remote DAQ systems and loggers are more

integrated into the decision-making process as compared to

just collecting data like they’ve done in the past.

There are many examples of high-performance logging

systems that integrate the latest silicon and IP from companies

like ARM, Intel, and Xilinx. A majority of the systems leverage a

processor-only architecture while some systems incorporate a

heterogeneous computing architecture that combines a

processor with programmable logic. Examples of high-

performance data-logging systems on the market today are:■■ Stand-alone NI CompactDAQ■■ NI CompactRIO■■ HBM QuantumX CX22W■■ Yokogawa WE7000■■ Graphtec GL900

With data-logging systems featuring more intelligence and

processing, the software they are running will be a primary

way for vendors to differentiate

themselves. Traditional data-logging

software consists of turnkey tools

that engineers use to configure the

system and get to the measurements

quickly, like HBM’s Catman or

Yokogawa’s DAQLOGGER. The

downside of turnkey tools is that they

tend to be less flexible; what you see

is what you get. On the other end of

the spectrum, engineers and scientists

can take advantage of a text-based

programming tool like Microsoft Visual

Studio or a graphical programming

tool like NI LabVIEW system design

software to program the processors

within these systems. Programming

tools offer the most customization for

these data-logging systems, including Intel has been a key contributor to Moore’s law over the past four decades

with inventions such as its latest Xeon processors containing 2.6 billion transistors.

2012: Intel Xeon—2.6B transistors

1976: 8086 processor—6,500 transistors 2.3K

10K

100K

1M

10M

100M

1B2.6B

1976—2012

Tran

sist

or C

ount

Date of Introduction

Feature


a wider range of signal processing and the ability to embed

any type of intelligence, but they have a steeper learning curve

compared to turnkey tools.

Applications Pushing the Limits of Logging SystemsA variety of applications and industries have a need for more

intelligence in their data-logging systems. Industries such as

automotive, transportation, and electric utility are already using

high-performance data-logging systems.

Automotive and TransportationVehicles being designed today include thousands of sensors and

processors and millions of lines of code. With more intelligent

vehicles come more parameters, both physical and electrical, to

test and monitor. In addition, test engineers require the logging

systems to be intelligent and rugged enough to use within the

vehicles they’re testing. For instance, engineers at Integrated

Test & Measurement (ITM), a Gold NI Alliance Partner in the

United States, needed a high-performance and flexible in-vehicle

test solution to determine the vibration levels of an on-highway

vocational vehicle’s exhaust system during operation. They built a

high-speed vibration logging solution that provided a wireless

interface from a laptop or mobile device with the stand-alone

NI CompactDAQ system programmed with LabVIEW. The

high-performance 1.33 GHz dual-core i7 Intel processor within

the stand-alone NI CompactDAQ system enabled advanced

capabilities such as advanced signal processing, high-speed

streaming at over 6 MB/s to nonvolatile storage for all 28

simultaneously sampled accelerometer inputs, and Wi-Fi

connectivity. In addition, with the latest version of the Data

Dashboard for LabVIEW, engineers at ITM now have the ability

to build a custom user interface and directly interact and control

their vibration logging system on an iPad.

Electrical GridAnother industry pushing the limits of traditional data-logging

systems is the utility industry. The electrical grid is changing

greatly and the utility industry is investing a lot of resources to

make it smarter. One way the grid is getting smarter is through

the integration of more measurement systems and devices.

One such device is a power quality analyzer. A typical power

quality analyzer acquires and analyzes three voltages of the

power network to calculate voltage quality defined in

international standards. Voltage quality is described by

frequency, voltage level variation, flicker, three-phase system

unbalance, harmonic spectra, total harmonic distortion, and

signaling voltages level. With the amount of analysis and

high-speed measurements required within this application, a

traditional logging system would not provide the horsepower

needed. Engineers at ELCOM in India used

LabVIEW and CompactRIO, an embedded

acquisition system featuring an embedded

processor and an FPGA, to create a flexible,

high-performance power quality analyzer.

Within this system, the processor was

used for tasks such as advanced floating-

point processing, high-speed streaming

to disk, and network connectivity. The

FPGA within CompactRIO allowed for an

additional processing unit within the system and performed

custom I/O timing and synchronization and any high-speed

digital processing needed within the application.

Future Logging Systems Need to Be SmarterAs the world we live in becomes more complex, the systems

monitoring and logging electrical and physical data from future

machines, infrastructure, the grid, and vehicles need to keep

up. The silicon and IP vendors seem to be doing their job by

improving the performance, power, and cost of processing

components. Now it’s up to the data acquisition companies to

follow suit with higher performance logging systems that are

intuitive, flexible, and smart enough to capture any and all

types of data. With smarter data-logging systems, we should

be able to get more intelligent data from any source and

improve the performance, quality, and maintenance of the

systems being built.

This article is an excerpt from the Data Acquisition Technology

Outlook 2013. Read the full article and more about key trends

in data acquisition at ni.com/daq‑trends.

Todd Dobberstein [email protected] Dobberstein is a senior group manager for core measurements at National Instruments.

“ We foresee the need for DAQ systems that not only acquire data over a network, server, or PCs but also provide intelligence to help with the decision-making process.”

—Mariano Kimbara, Senior Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan

26

Developer’s View


Making Solar Energy EconomicalSolar panels can provide enough electricity to meet global demand, yet solar power produces only 1.2 percent of today’s world energy.

No other natural resource is as plentiful as sunlight, with

5,000 times more energy from the sun reaching planet Earth

than all of human energy consumption. Using commercially

available solar panels, an area the size of Texas can theoretically

provide enough electricity to meet worldwide demand. So why

is only about 1.2 percent of world energy produced by solar

power? Solving this engineering grand challenge has been

identified by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) as one

of the 14 most important technical goals of today. The mission

is to make clean, renewable solar power a primary source of

energy. Achieving that goal requires innovations in two key

areas: reducing the cost per kilowatt until it is significantly

lower than conventional fossil fuel sources, and updating

the electrical grid to intelligently manage the variability and

bidirectional power flow associated with distributed renewable

energy sources.

Reducing the Cost per KilowattThe first goal is to drive down the cost per kilowatt for solar

power until it is significantly lower than the cost of traditional

sources such as coal and natural gas. Reaching this critical cost

crossover (CCC) point should be the primary goal of the

renewable energy industry. At this point of price parity, demand

will surge and market forces will tip in favor of renewables.

The price of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels has been falling at

exponential rates for decades. Panels are now available for

under $1 USD per watt—more than 100 times less expensive

than in 1975. The other parts of the system, such as the solar

inverters, are now the dominant factor in the price per watt.

Former US Energy Secretary Steven Chu estimates the

price for solar energy to reach unsubsidized cost parity with

conventional sources is about $0.50 USD per watt, assuming

corresponding reductions in all the other costs associated

with installing a system. These “balance of system” costs

include the cost of the inverter and electrical system,

mechanical racking, installation, and permitting. In the last

three years, the average wholesale price for solar modules has

fallen to about $0.80 USD per watt, putting the $0.50 USD per

watt target within sight. Because of this, the balance of

system costs is now the limiting factor. They can be two to

three times more expensive

than the panels themselves.

It’s also important to

consider the total lifetime

cost of operating a solar

energy system. Over the

lifetime of the system, the

maintenance, repair, and

downtime costs are

paramount. The levelized

cost of electricity (LCOE) is

a calculation that factors in

all of these lifetime costs.

Fortunately, high-quality

solar modules are extremely

durable and often last for

20 years or more with only

a 20 percent reduction in

production. However, the

reliability of the power The price for solar modules is highly correlated with production volume. Prices have fallen to under $1 USD per watt today.

Fit Data (1986-2006)Cost per Watt/Production MWCurve Fit

PV C

ost p

er M

W (2

007

in d

olla

rs) 0.5

5E-06

0.05

0.005

0.0005

5E-05

PV Annual Production (MW)

10010 1000 10,000 100,000

1986

2000

2006

2010

2013


inverters that put the electricity on the power grid is a challenge

for the solar industry. Extending the inverter lifetime to 20 years

could reduce the real cost of the system by 40 percent.

To facilitate the lifetime extension of power inverters,

National Instruments recommends a comprehensive graphical

system design approach that makes it possible for designers

to evaluate the difficult design trade-offs impacting both cost

and lifetime.

Updating the Electrical GridElectrification is considered by the NAE to be the single most

important engineering achievement of the 20th century. The

world’s electrical grids are perhaps the most complex machines

built by humankind, yet they were originally designed for a

system in which power flows downhill from a few large,

centralized power plants to consumers. These large centralized

generators are located far from the demand and are relatively

slow to respond. Solar energy production, on the other hand, is

distributed throughout the grid, and the production fluctuates

based on cloud cover and weather conditions.

Fortunately, digital sensing and control technologies for the

grid are rapidly decreasing in cost and increasing in

performance. These smart monitoring and control systems will

help solar and wind become primary sources of electricity

while increasing the quality, stability, and resilience of the grid.

A key element of this puzzle is the development of energy

storage technologies that are cost-effective and able to scale

to terawatt levels.

Working across multiple vectors, NI customers such as

Elcom, Prolucid, and Siliken are using a graphical system design

approach to achieve milestones in both reducing the cost per

kilowatt and updating the electrical grid to achieve true

efficiency and availability of solar energy. As the global

population and energy consumption expand, it’s increasingly

important to make solar energy economical in order to achieve

independence from nonrenewable sources and reach a solution

to this grand challenge.

Read more about applications that directly address this

grand challenge by visiting ni.com/casestudies and

searching “solar.”

This article is the second installment in a four-part series on the Engineering

Grand Challenges to be featured quarterly in Instrumentation Newsletter.

Amee Christian [email protected] Christian is a marketing communications manager for corporate programs at National Instruments.

Brian MacCleery [email protected] MacCleery is the principal product manager for clean energy technology at National Instruments. His mission is to facilitate the design, prototyping, and deployment of advanced embedded systems technologies to help make clean energy less expensive and more abundant than fossil fuels.

NI customers such as Siliken use a graphical system design approach to achieve milestones in both reducing the cost per kilowatt and updating the electrical grid.

28 ni.com

Emerging Bus TechnologiesNew bus technologies are poised to evolve data acquisition systems and address the challenges of future measurement applications.

The first PC-based data acquisition systems consisted of a

desktop PC with internal plug-in I/O boards. While the

fundamental architecture has remained the same—an I/O device

with analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), a PC with software,

and a bus interface that connects the two—each component

has evolved significantly over the years. New PC and bus

technologies have provided engineers with more capability to

meet the needs of new applications. These technologies could

evolve data acquisition systems and help address the challenges

of tomorrow’s measurement applications.

PCI Express 4.0Compared to its predecessor PCI, which has a peak theoretical

bandwidth of 132 MB/s that is shared across multiple devices,

PCI Express delivers dedicated bandwidth per device and up

to 16 data lanes, and it is capable of up to 250 MB/s per lane.

PCI Express 4.0, the next major revision of the bus, provides

16 gigatransfers per second (GT/s). That translates to bandwidth

up to 2 GB/s per lane and a total of 32 GB/s per device for all

16 lanes. For high-performance data acquisition systems that

require the data throughput of PCI Express or PXI Express,

PCI Express 4.0 could provide 8X more data throughput,

resulting in the ability to stream more channels at higher

resolutions and faster sampling rates. PCI Express 4.0 is

expected to release in the 2014–2015 timeframe.

USB 3.0USB has become one of the most popular bus interfaces in

the history of computers. The latest revision, USB 3.0

(SuperSpeed), offers significant performance enhancements

and backward compatibility with

existing USB devices. Compared to

USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed), which has a

maximum throughput of 60 MB/s,

USB 3.0 uses four additional wires

and implements full-duplex

communication to achieve much

higher transfer rates up to 625 MB/s.

The maximum power provided by a

single bus port has increased to

900 mA, which will allow more

devices to be powered off the bus

instead of external power sources.

USB 3.0 shows the potential, when

combined with the latest data

acquisition technology, to provide a

system that is not only simple and

portable but also high-performance

and high-throughput.

ThunderboltThunderbolt is a new bus technology developed by Intel and

Apple that aims to consolidate multiple cables into one by

combining data, video, audio, and power into a single

connection. It offers twice the performance of USB 3.0 for up

to 1.25 GB/s of throughput per device. Part of the reason that

Thunderbolt can provide such impressive performance is that

it’s based on PCI Express technology. Each Thunderbolt port

can also provide up to 10 W of power to connected devices.

Feature

Bus Technology Summary

PCI Express 4.08X more data throughput than PCI Express 1.0 (up to 32 GB/s per device)

USB 3.0Improved performance over USB 2.0 (up to 625 MB/s; up to 900 mA)

ThunderboltTwice the performance of USB 3.0 (up to 1.25 GB/s per device)

Power over Ethernet+Latest IEEE 802.3at2009 standard (PoE+) provides up to 25.5 W of power and can be run up to 100 m

802.11ac Double the transfer rates of 802.11n (up to 1.3 Gbit/s)

Wi-Fi DirectSimplifies direct connectivity between wireless devices without the need for a wireless router or access point

Bluetooth Smart Uses significantly lower power than classic Bluetooth

LTESignificantly faster data rates than 3G technologies (up to 300 Mbit/s)


Despite the apparent benefits of Thunderbolt over USB 3.0, it

is brand new, so it may be a while before it becomes as

ubiquitous as USB and it is used in data acquisition systems.

Power over Ethernet+Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a method for safely passing

electrical power along with data over an Ethernet cable.

Specialized equipment is used to supply power in common

mode over two or more differential pairs of wires found in

Ethernet cables. The latest IEEE 802.3at2009 standard, or PoE+,

provides up to 25.5 W of power and can be run up to 100 m. PoE

is most widely used among enterprise network administrators

for deploying corporate networks; however, as Ethernet

becomes a more popular bus for data acquisition systems, it

may grow into a compelling option for engineers and scientists.

802.11acWi-Fi is one of the most popular ways to connect computing

devices to local area networks and the Internet. An upcoming

Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac, can alleviate some throughput

limitations faced by wireless data acquisition systems. It uses

the same 5 GHz spectrum as 802.11n, but it also uses channels

that are 80 MHz wide rather than 40 MHz and features eight

spatial streams rather than four. The theoretical maximum

speed is 1.3 Gbit/s, which is considerably faster than the

802.11n maximum speed of 450 Mbit/s. In addition to higher

speeds, 802.11ac saves power. Since it is more efficient at the

same transmit power as 802.11n, it expends less energy per

byte. Initial tests have shown it to be 5X more economical on

battery life. Since 802.11ac is still in development, and the first

PC products featuring this technology are expected to be

available in 2013.

Wi-Fi DirectWi-Fi Direct is a standard that connects Wi-Fi devices without

a wireless router or access point. It works by embedding a

software access point in the device. Previously, Wi-Fi devices

directly connected using an ad hoc connection. Wi-Fi Direct

updates this concept and makes it much easier, faster, and more

secure. Compared to Bluetooth, which can reach transfer rates

up to 3 Mbit/s and has a range of approximately 30 m, Wi-Fi

Direct can move data up to 250 Mbit/s and has a range of up

to 200 m. Similar to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct devices can

discover each other automatically. Wi-Fi Direct is available in

some devices today and is expected to see greater adoption

among PC products in 2013.

Bluetooth SmartBluetooth is a short-range, low-power wireless technology that

is used to create a wireless point-to-point connection between

devices and computers or mobile devices. The latest revision

of Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart, creates some interesting new

opportunities for data acquisition applications. It is optimized

to be low energy, so it uses only a fraction of the power that

classic Bluetooth devices use. This presents opportunities for

a wide range of new data acquisition applications in much

smaller, stand-alone form factors. The use of Bluetooth Smart

is still preliminary, but it shows the potential to move into a

new area of smaller, lower cost, lower power data acquisition

systems that connect to mobile devices.

LTEOver the years, cellular networks have evolved from providing

mobile phone coverage to offering high-speed data connections.

However, for high-speed streaming applications, cellular

technology has rarely been an option because of the cost and

slow data throughput. LTE is a fourth-generation cellular

technology that will ease these limitations. Current 3G

technologies offer peak data rates around 200 kbit/s to 500 kbit/s.

LTE uses new modulation and digital signal processing

techniques to increase capacity and provide data rates around

300 Mbit/s. Currently, LTE service is offered by many cellular

providers and coverage is continuing to expand. Engineers can

take advantage of LTE technology in data acquisition systems

today by combining an LTE hotspot with a Wi-Fi or Ethernet

data acquisition device.

Historically, as new PC and bus technologies have emerged,

data acquisition vendors have incorporated the technologies

into their products and expanded the capability of data

acquisition systems. Although none of the mentioned bus

technologies exists in data acquisition products today, they

provide a glimpse of what the future could hold for tomorrow’s

measurement applications.

Read more about major trends in data acquisition

at ni.com/daq‑trends.

Chris Delvizis [email protected] Delvizis is a product marketing manager for data acquisition at National Instruments.

30 Instrumentation Newsletter

Events and Training

Join National Instruments as it hosts the 19th annual global

conference on graphical system design. We’ll bring together

more than 3,200 leading engineers and scientists from across

the engineering spectrum—including automotive,

telecommunications, robotics, and energy—to discuss and

demonstrate new technologies that provide competitive

advantages when developing software-defined systems for

measurement and control.

For engineers and researchers, NIWeek is filled with

opportunities to learn and network. Participants have access to

over 250 interactive and hands-on sessions, six industry

summits, and more than 150 exhibitions on groundbreaking

design, research, and test. Additionally, the keynote presentations

from technology thought leaders will reignite your inspiration.

Past presenters include Dr. Neil Gershenfeld of MIT’s Center

for Bits and Atoms and Tim Samaras of Discovery Channel’s

Storm Chasers.

NIWeek 2013 is August 5–8 at the Austin Convention Center

in Austin, Texas. To register and learn more about panels and

events, visit ni.com/niweek. You can also connect with NI

on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more updates as the

event approaches.

Take advantage of special discounts:■■ Early bird registration (ends Friday, May 31)■■ Volume discount (register four attendees for

the price of three)■■ Significant discounts for full-time faculty members or

graduate students■■ Discounted prices on training and certification exams

Register Now for NIWeek 2013: Early Bird Registration Ends May 31

August 5–8, 2013 | Austin Convention Center

Austin, Texas, United States


Tech Outlook

Calling All Forward ThinkersEmbedded Systems Outlook 2013 Covers Key Technology, Business, and Application Trends

National Instruments recently released Embedded Systems

Outlook 2013, which highlights major trends, opportunities,

and challenges that will impact a significant number of

embedded systems design teams in the immediate future.

Based on insights from leading technology partners, including

Analog Devices, Intel, and Xilinx, as well as the over 35,000

companies that NI does business with, the report is intended

to help you and your organization navigate the rapidly changing

business and technology landscape. Whether you are working

in energy, life sciences, industrial control, transportation, or

other areas, Embedded Systems Outlook 2013 aims to help

you more efficiently develop and maintain innovative

embedded systems.

The outlook discusses the following trends:■■ Reconfigurable Heterogeneous Architectures—When

faster CPU cores fall short, embedded systems designers

combine heterogeneous processing elements to meet

advanced control and monitoring application needs.■■ Democratization of Embedded Systems Design—

Many design teams are abandoning larger specialized

teams for smaller groups focused on translating domain

expertise into realized innovation.■■ Total Economic Profitability—More companies are

adopting a comprehensive approach that considers not

only cost benefit analysis but also factors like flexibility

and risk.■■ Digital Energy Revolution—Digital technologies are

changing the way we manipulate, move, and store energy.■■ Embedded Vision Technology—The incorporation of

visual data is taking embedded systems to new levels

of performance.

NI looks forward to a continued partnership with the

innovators of the world. Our promise has been and still is, to

provide the best engineering tools available and ensuring they

get out of the way so engineers and scientists can focus on

improving everyday life.

Download a copy of Embedded Systems Outlook 2013

at ni.com/eso.

NI has a unique perspective on data acquisition technology trends due to collaborations with organizations that span many industries and sectors. This position helps NI form strategic partnerships with companies to identify larger technology trends and best practices. Data Acquisition Technology Outlook 2013 is a comprehensive view of four key trends impacting the measurement industry.

■■ Big Analog Data™ and Data Acquisition

■■ Moore’s Law at Work in Data Logging

■■ Emerging Bus Technologies

■■ Mobile Technology’s Influence on Data Acquisition

Download Data Acquisition Technology Outlook 2013 at

ni.com/daq‑trends.

National Instruments will be participating in a variety of global trade shows this year. Don’t miss us at the following key events:

■■ June 2–7: IEEE International Microwave Symposium–Seattle, Washington, United States

■■ June 4–6: Automotive Testing Expo 2013 Europe–Messe Stuttgart, Germany

■■ July 17–19: Embedded Systems Conference–Bengaluru, India

Be sure to join us for NIWeek 2013 in Austin, Texas, August 5–8.

Visit ni.com/tradeshow for a comprehensive list of

upcoming events.

Data Acquisition Trends to Watch in 2013

NI Is Coming to a Trade Show Near You

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semimonthly NI email newsletter, NI News, visit ni.com/newsletter.■■ For inquiries, requests for permission, or changes of address, email the managing editor at [email protected].

Instrumentation Newsletter is published quarterly by National Instruments Corporation, 11500 N Mopac Expwy, Austin, TX 78759-3504 USA.

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