Seminar Presentation : P1

The Virtual Instrumentation

Rohit Gurjar (112012) M.Tech IV semester (ECE)

Contents :
Introduction. Brief History of Virtual Instrumentation. What is Virtual Instrumentation. Virtual Instrument Architecture .

Tools and Platform .

Conclusion. Proposed work for P-2. References.
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Introduction
Virtual instrumentation is an interdisciplinary field that merges sensing , hardware and software technologies in order to create flexible and sophisticated instruments for control and monitoring applications. Definitions of a virtual instruments "an instrument whose general function and capabilities are determined in software

a virtual instrument is composed of some specialized subunits, some general-purpose computers, some software, and a little know-how"
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A Brief History of Virtual Instrumentation

1. Instrumentation had the following phases: Analog measurement devices: (in 1940s) Such as oscilloscopes or EEG recording systems. An operator had to physically copy data to a paper. Performing complex test procedures, as everything had to be set manually.

2. Data Acquisition and Processing devices: (in 1950s) Instruments incorporated rudiment control systems, with relays, rate detectors, and integrators. Instruments started to digitalize measured signals.
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Continue..
3. Digital Processing based on general purpose computing
platform : Measuring instruments became computer based. Begun to include interfaces that enabled communication between the instrument and the computer. 4. Development of local and global networks of general purpose computers : Possible infrastructure for distributed virtual instrumentation includes the Internet, private networks and cellular networks.

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Rohit Gurjar (112012)

Introduction of Lab VIEW 1.0

In 1986, National Instruments introduced Lab VIEW 1.0 .

Lab VIEW introduced, graphical user interfaces and visual programming into computerized instrumentation, with increased capabilities of computers.

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Rohit Gurjar (112012)

The technology of Virtual Instruments

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

Computer

Software

Hardware
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Components of Virtual Instrumentation

1.Software: The heart of any virtual instrument is flexible software. With such software, we can interface with real-world signals; analyze data for meaningful information. Lab VIEW software , is the graphical development platform for test, design and control applications.
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Continue
2. Modular I/O: Modular Instrument hardware use the latest I/O and data processing technologies, including ADC/ DAC, FPGAs, and buses to provide high resolution and throughput for measurements .

3.Computing Platform: computing platform (PC or Server) to run the software and connect to I/O module. Together, these components empower to create their own solutions with virtual instrumentation.

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Rohit Gurjar (112012)

Virtual Instruments versus Traditional Instruments

Traditional Instruments: o such as oscilloscopes and waveform generators are very powerful, expensive. o knobs and buttons on the instrument, the built-in circuitry, and the functions available to the user, are all specific to the nature of the instrument and are not customizable. Virtual Instruments : o It is PC-based, take advantage of latest technology powerful processors and operating systems. o These platforms offer easy access to Internet. o It is portable in nature.
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Traditional versus virtual instrumentation architectures

Virtual instruments defined by user while traditional have fixed , vendor-defined functionality

Both share similar hardware components; primary difference between architectures is where the software resides and whether it is user accessible.
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Advantages of Virtual Instruments versus Traditional Instruments

Flexibility: Add additional functions into a virtual instrument. Storage: Computers have hard disks that can store dozens of gigabytes which is an absolute. Display: Have better color depth and pixel resolution than traditional instruments. Costs & Size: Smaller size with lower cost.
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Virtual Instrument Architecture

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1. Sensor module:
1. 2. 3. A sensor module principally consists of 3 main parts: The sensor, The signal conditioning part, and The A/D converter

The sensor detects physical signals from the environment. If the parameter being measured is not electrical, then sensor must include a transducer to convert the information to an electrical signal, for example, when measuring blood pressure

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2. Sensor interface
1. Wired Interfaces : General Purpose Interface Bus(GPIB), Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), serial buses (RS232 or USB interfaces).

2. Wireless Interfaces : Bluetooth, or GPRS/GSM interface Wireless communication is important where cable connection is impractical or not possible

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3. Processing Module
1. Analytic processing : Analytic functions define clear functional relations among input parameters. Some of the common analyses as spectral analysis, filtering, transforms, peak detection etc. 2. Artificial intelligence techniques : Artificial intelligence technologies could be used to improve the efficiency, capability, and features of instrumentation in application areas related to measurement, system identification, and Control.

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4. Database interface
Computerized instrumentation allows measured data to be stored for off-line processing, or to keep records. There are several currently available database technologies that can be used for this purpose: Database interface
File System

Description
Random writing and reading of files.

extensible Markup Language (XML)

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)

Standardized markup files.

SQL based interface for relation databases. Java programs SQL based object-oriented interface for relation databases.
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5. Presentation and control

According to presentation and interaction capabilities, we can classify interfaces used in virtual instrumentation in four groups: A. B. C. D. Terminal user interfaces, Graphical user interfaces, Multimodal user interfaces, and Virtual and augmented reality interfaces.

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A. Terminal User Interfaces

communication between a user and a computer is purely textual. The user sends requests to the computer by typing commands, and receives response in a form of textual messages. Additional effects, such as text and background colour or blinking , are possible. Important in distributed virtual instrumentation.
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B. Graphical User Interfaces

Enabled more intuitive human-computer interaction. Creation of many sophisticated graphical widgets such as graphs, charts, tables, meters.

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C & D interfaces
C. Multimodal presentation: It improve the perceptual quality of user interfaces. Sonification (auditory display) or haptic rendering (natural feel of the virtual environment ).

D. Virtual and augmented reality: A combination of virtual presentation with real world objects creates augment reality interfaces. For example: Augmented reality allow computer generated tumor image from MRI recording to be superimposed on real view of patient during surgery.
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Conclusion..
Virtual instruments are realized using industry-standard multipurpose components. They depend very little on dedicated hardware. virtual instruments are more flexible and scalable as

reconfigured in software.
It provide building blocks for next generation of instrumentation and measurement.

Virtual instrumentation rapidly entering in biomedical field.

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Proposed Work for P2

Applications of Virtual Instrumentation in detail. Basics and Working of Lab VIEW . Future scope of Virtual Instrumentation.

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References
1. National Instruments: Instrumentation Catalogue: Measurement and Automation 2. "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_instrumentation". 3. National Instruments: LabVIEW Manual. www.ni.com 4. Hewlett-Packard Company, www.hp.com 5. Caristy, J.: IEEE 488 General Purpose Instrumentation Bus Manual. Academic Press, 1989. 6. Darcy Dement, Book Chap. 33 , Virtual instrumentation systems", National Instrum ,Inc. 7. Hewlett Packard: Test System and VXI Products Catalog. Hewlett-Packard Company, 1997.

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