Multitasking multiprocessing system distributes tasks to hardware measurement task sequencer and 32-bit processors in 100 K sample/s 16-bit portable data acquisition and processing system

A low power portable data acquisition and control system is described that permits high resolution measurements both in a laboratory setting and in the field. Integrated processing in the system provides a means for analyzing the results of measurements in real-time instead of recording the measurements and transferring the data to a second system for post processing. By distributing low level measurement tasks to a specialized hardware task sequencer and high level processes to one or more 32-bit processors, 16-bit resolution measurements can be made with very precise timing while maintaining processing power. Use of serial links as direct memory access (DMA) channels from the analog-to-digital converter to the main processor and between multiple processors allows high level processing without interrupting or changing the timing of the 100 K sample/s data acquisition. One of the first applications of the system as part of a trace gas analyzer is described