what is virtual instrumentation?

Question

its uses and advantage over simulation techniques

Answer 1

A virtual instrumentation system is computer software that a user would employ to develop a computerized test and measurement system, for controlling from a computer desktop an external measurement hardware device, and for displaying test or measurement data collected by the external device on instrument-like panels on a computer screen. Virtual instrumentation extends also to computerized systems for controlling processes based on data collected and processed by a computerized instrumentation system.

Answer 2

What Is Virtual Instrumentation

Answer 3

Virtual Instrumentation is the use of customizable software and modular measurement hardware to create user-defined measurement systems, called virtual instruments.



'Traditional' or 'natural' instrumentation systems are made up of pre-defined hardware components, such as digital multimeters and oscilloscopes that are completely specific to their stimulus, analysis, or measurement function. Because of their hard-coded function, these systems are more limited in their versatility than virtual instrumentation systems. The primary difference between 'natural' instrumentation and virtual instrumentation is the software component of a virtual instrument. The software enables complex and expensive equipment to be replaced by simpler and less expensive hardware; e. g. analog to digital converter can act as a hardware complement of a virtual oscilloscope, a potentiostat enables frequency response acquisition and analysis in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with virtual instrumentation.



The concept of a synthetic instrument is a subset of the virtual instrument concept. A synthetic instrument is a kind of virtual instrument that is purely software defined. A synthetic instrument performs a specific synthesis, analysis, or measurement function on completely generic, measurement agnostic hardware. Virtual instruments can still have measurement specific hardware, and tend to emphasize modular hardware approaches that facilitate this specificity. Hardware supporting synthetic instruments is by definition not specific to the measurement, nor is it necessarily (or usually) modular.



Leveraging commercially available technologies, such as the PC and the analog to digital converter, virtual instrumentation has grown significantly since its inception in the late 1970s. Additionally, software packages like National Instruments' LabVIEW and other graphical programming languages helped grow adoption by making it easier for non-programmers to develop systems.



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Answer 4

Virtual Instrumentation is the use of customizable software and modular measurement hardware to create user-defined measurement systems, called virtual instruments.



'Traditional' or 'natural' instrumentation systems are made up of pre-defined hardware components, such as digital multimeters and oscilloscopes that are completely specific to their stimulus, analysis, or measurement function. Because of their hard-coded function, these systems are more limited in their versatility than virtual instrumentation systems. The primary difference between 'natural' instrumentation and virtual instrumentation is the software component of a virtual instrument. The software enables complex and expensive equipment to be replaced by simpler and less expensive hardware; e. g. analog to digital converter can act as a hardware complement of a virtual oscilloscope, a potentiostat enables frequency response acquisition and analysis in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with virtual instrumentation.



The concept of a synthetic instrument is a subset of the virtual instrument concept. A synthetic instrument is a kind of virtual instrument that is purely software defined. A synthetic instrument performs a specific synthesis, analysis, or measurement function on completely generic, measurement agnostic hardware. Virtual instruments can still have measurement specific hardware, and tend to emphasize modular hardware approaches that facilitate this specificity. Hardware supporting synthetic instruments is by definition not specific to the measurement, nor is it necessarily (or usually) modular.



Leveraging commercially available technologies, such as the PC and the analog to digital converter, virtual instrumentation has grown significantly since its inception in the late 1970s. Additionally, software packages like National Instruments' LabVIEW and other graphical programming languages helped grow adoption by making it easier for non-programmers to develop systems.

Answer 5

The rapid adoption of the PC in the last 20 years catalyzed a revolution in instrumentation for test, measurement, and automation. One major development resulting from the ubiquity of the PC is the concept of virtual instrumentation, which offers several benefits to engineers and scientists who require increased productivity, accuracy, and performance.



A virtual instrument consists of an industry-standard computer or workstation equipped with powerful application software, cost-effective hardware such as plug-in boards, and driver software, which together perform the functions of traditional instruments. Virtual instruments represent a fundamental shift from traditional hardware-centered instrumentation systems to software-centered systems that exploit the computing power, productivity, display, and connectivity capabilities of popular desktop computers and workstations. Although the PC and integrated circuit technology have experienced significant advances in the last two decades, it is software that truly provides the leverage to build on this powerful hardware foundation to create virtual instruments, providing better ways to innovate and significantly reduce cost. With virtual instruments, engineers and scientists build measurement and automation systems that suit their needs exactly (user-defined) instead of being limited by traditional fixed-function instruments (vendor-defined).



This document describes powerful programming tools, flexible acquisition hardware, and the personal computer, which are the essential components for virtual instrumentation. The synergy between them offers advantages that cannot be matched by traditional instrumentation.