Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTATION
Virtual instrument – an equimplent that allows accomplishment of
measurements using the computer. It looks like a real instrument, but its
operation and functionality is essentially different.

VI has 2 components:
- hardware interface
- software for signal acquisition and processing

Functions:
- signal acquisition
- signal processing and information recovery
- information storing
- remote data transmission
- additional: implementation of algorithms for process monitoring and control

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTATION
Real instruments Virtual instrument

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

STRUCTURE OF A VI

Communication bus
(PCI, USB, GPIB,
Physical quantity

Electrical signal

CAN)
Hardware Computer
interface
Process Transducer
(software)
Digital
acquisition
board

VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

STRUCTURE OF A VI

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

ADVANTAGES OF A VI

• Possibility of measuring on a large number of points and places

• Complex processing of data and of measurement information
• Local or remote data storing
• Remote transmission of data through wired or wireless communication
• Statistics and forecasts accomplishment
• Flexibility: possibility of extension or adding of new functions to the
instrument by simple modifications of software
• Improving measurement accuracy by statistical processing and
compensation of influence factors
• Possibility of adding of new functions for process testing, monitoring and
control

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

MEASUREMENT SIGNALS
Signal = a variable on an energetic support containing information
characteristic to a quantity or a phenomenon.
Examples: audio, video or biomedical signals, sounds, music, radar,
measurement signals.
Measurement signal
• has a voltage or current support
• contains information regarding the measurement quantity (measurand).
• Is provided by the transducer (sensor)
• Depends on time
• Information is contained in: level, shape, frequency, phase, duty cycle.
In terms of continuity, signals can be:
- analog (they are continuous functions in time) – almost all natural signals
- discrete or digital - strings of numbers representing instances of the analog
signal taken at equally spaced time intervals

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

ANALOG AND DISCRETE SIGNALS

examples
Ut [mV]

2
Analog signal
Voltage variation at a 1
thermocouple terminals ora

3.00 6.00 9.00 12.00

Discrete signal
Evolution of the solar
spots number over
time

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

ANALOG AND DISCRETE SIGNALS

examples

x(t) Analog signal

t
T

x(n)

T0 T0 T0 T0 n
0 2T0 4T0 (N-1)T0
T0 3T0 5T0
Discrete signal

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 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING

Process Digitization Digital Recovery Process

(Sampling + A/D processing (D/A conversion)
conversion)

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 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

SIGNAL ACQUISITION USING THE COMPUTER

Physical
quantity Analog signal Digital signal

Signal A/D
Transducer
conditioning conversion

Process Computer

Signal D/A
Actuator
conditioning conversion

Action Analog signal Digital signal

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DIGITAL ACQUISITION HARDWARE OPTIONS

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DIGITAL ACQUISITION BOARD ON PCI BUS

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
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DIGITAL ACQUISITION BOARD ON USB

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DIGITAL ACQUISITION BOARD ON USB

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

DATA ACQUISITION USING COMPACT DAQ

Inputs
- Thermocouple
- RTD
- Resistor
- Voltage
- Current
- Digital (TTL)
- Accelerometer
- Microphone
- Strain gauge
Communication
- USB

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

PXI SYSTEM
Industrial platform for measurement and control based on
process computer

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
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DIGITAL ACQUISITION BOARD ON PCMCIA

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
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DIGITAL ACQUISITION BOARD FOR PDA

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
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SIGNAL CONDITIONING

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 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

DATA ACQUISITION BOARD STRUCTURE

AI0
AI1
AI2

MUX AC P CEM CAN AI

FIFO
AI14
AI15

Bus P
interface C
DAC1 I
AO0
AO
FIFO B
AO1 DAC2 U
S
DIO0
DIO1
DIO DIO + cou nter BUS
PORT
DIO7

Gate
Source Counter
Clock

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 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

DATA ACQUISITION BOARD FUNCTIONS

Analog inputs module
- Analog signal multiplexing
- Analog signal amplification
- Sampling
- Quantization (analog-to-digital conversion)
- Data transmission to the computer

Analog outputs module

- Digital-to-analog conversion
- Information updating to analog outputs

Digital I/O module

- Acquisition / generation of digital signals

Counter module
- Event counting, frequency/period measurement, pulse train generation

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 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF DAQ BOARDS
Analog Sampling
Analog Sampling freq. Digital I/O
Bus Model
inputs (AI) input
outputs freq.
lines
Triggering
(AO) output
PCI Express 6320 16 250 kS/s 0 - 24 Digital
PCI Express 6321 16 250 kS/s 2 900 kS/s 24 Digital
PCI Express 6323 32 250 kS/s 4 900 kS/s 48 Digital
PCI Express, PXI Express 6341 16 500 kS/s 2 900 kS/s 24 Digital
PCI Express 6343 32 500 kS/s 4 900 kS/s 48 Digital
PCI Express 6351 16 1.25 MS/s 2 2.86 MS/s 24 Analog, Digital
PCI Express 6353 32 1.25 MS/s 4 2.86 MS/s 48 Analog, Digital
PCI Express, PXI Express 6361 16 2 MS/s 2 2.86 MS/s 24 Analog, Digital
PCI Express, PXI Express 6363 32 2 MS/s 4 2.86 MS/s 48 Analog, Digital
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PXI Express 6356 8 simultan 2 3.33 MS/s 24 Analog, Digital
MS/s/channel
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PXI Express 6358 16 simultan 4 3.33 MS/s 48 Analog, Digital
MS/s/channel
PXI Express 6366 8 simultan 2 MS/s/channel 2 3.33 MS/s 24 Analog, Digital
PXI Express 6368 16 simultan 2 MS/s/channel 4 3.33 MS/s 48 Analog, Digital

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 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

SIGNAL DIGITIZATION

Digitization supposes 3 operations:

- Sampling – taking at equally spaced time intervals of

instantaneous values from an analog signal (samples)

- Truncation – cutting from an infinite time signal of a

piece finite in time (window)

- Quantization (A/D conversion) – conversion of the

samples voltage levels into digital codes (bits
succession)

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MULTIPLEXING

AI0
AI1
Analog
signals AI2
MUX OUT
Analog
signal
AIn

Command OUT
000 AI0 n0 n1 nm
001 AI1 Digital code
010 AI2 (command)

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PROGRAMMABLE GAIN AMPLIFIER

IN + +
Analog Analogl
signal PGA OUT
signal
IN - _

Command
Command Gain
000 1
PGA = Programmable Gain Amplifier
001 2
010 5

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

SAMPLE & HOLD

From PGA To ADC

C

Command

T0 – Sampling period

Continuous signal 1 Sampled signal

f0 =
T0
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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
 Basics of Virtual Instrumentation

SAMPLE & HOLD

x(t) Analog signal

Window

t
T

N samples
x(n)

T0 T0 T0 T0 n
0 2T0 4T0 (N-1)T0
T0 3T0 5T0
Discrete signal

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
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ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION (ADC)

Reference
voltage
Uref
Voltage level
CAN N Digital code
U

U ref
U= n
N
2

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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău
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ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION (ADC)

n = 3; Uref = 10 V
U
10
8,75
111 Window
110
7,5
101
6,25 100
5
011
3,75
2,5 010
1,25 001
0 000 t
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
N 000 010 100 101 111 111 100 011 100 010 001 001 000 011

x(n) = {0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 4, 3, 4, 2, 1, 1, 0, 3}

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ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION (ADC)

- example -
n = 3; Uref = 10 V; U = 1,95 V

Without amplification

Uref N
Uref
U= n N U0 = n
2 2 N=111b
1,95 − 1,25 N=110b
ε= 100 = 35,9%
1,95 N=101b
N=100b
With amplification (A = 5) N=011b
U Uref N=010b
U = refn N U0 = n N=001b
A2 A2 U
N=000b
9 ,75 − 8,75 U0 2U0 3U04U0 5U0 6U0 7U0 Uref
ε= 100 = 10 ,25 %
8,75 U=1,95 AU=9,75
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Titular: Prof.dr.ing. Cristian Foşalău