Title :
Instrument connectivity through mixed I/O test systems
Author_Institution :
Nat. Instrum. Corp., Austin, TX, USA
Abstract :
As common PC buses make their way into the test & measurement arena, engineers increasingly use these buses along with the traditional instrumentation buses for connecting to and communicating with instruments. The result is instrument connectivity through mixed I/O test systems. In this paper we explore this topic by first surveying and contrasting the most popular traditional instrumentation buses including GPIB and Serial (RS-232), as well as emerging PC buses including USB Ethernet, wireless (Bluetooth and 802.11), and FireWire. The paper then discusses a software architecture that can be used to seamlessly combine these buses into one coherent system. Throughout this discussion, the benefits of such mixed I/O systems is stressed.
Keywords :
Bluetooth; field buses; local area networks; measurement systems; peripheral interfaces; test equipment; virtual instrumentation; 802.11 wireless interface; Bluetooth; Ethernet; FireWire; GPIB; PC buses; RS-232; USB; VISA; instrument connectivity; instrumentation buses; measurement systems; mixed I/O test systems; serial interface; test systems; virtual instrument software architecture; Communication system control; Computer architecture; Ethernet networks; Field buses; Firewire; Gain measurement; Instruments; Software testing; Stress measurement; System testing;
Conference_Titel :
AUTOTESTCON 2003. IEEE Systems Readiness Technology Conference. Proceedings
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7837-7
DOI :
10.1109/AUTEST.2003.1243623
