USB Data Acquisition Products Offer Many Advantages |
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USB data acquisition products offer a number of advantages over PCI and ISA boards. USB devices:
- are easy-to-use, since you don’t have to open up a computer chassis to install a board.
- are easier to move from one application to another.
- have the capacity to enable a user to begin taking measurements very quickly (when they are combined with ready-to-run DAQ software) because of the plug-and-play capability of USB.
USB data acquisition products are offered in a wide range of configurations to meet most any application. These products are available for multifunction I/O, digital I/O, and temperature measurement. The products range from reliable, general purpose modules to robust high-speed, high channel count devices, all at industry-best prices.
Measurement Computing’s USB data acquisition products are shipped with a powerful suite of software that is included in the price of the hardware. This suite includes: InstaCal, the installation, test, and calibration utility that quickly makes a device ready to take measurements, TracerDAQ, a strip chart, data logging, and scope application that is ready to run out of the box.
Also included is the Universal Library which is a complete functional library that saves you time by simplifying the configuration and operation of your data acquisition board and by reducing human errors by eliminating the use of detailed, low-level functions.
By combining USB data acquisition hardware and software together, a virtual instrumentation data acquisition system can be created that converts analog signals into a digital output form that can be manipulated with software. Using software in conjunction with a personal computer, analog data can be displayed, logged, charted, graphed, or stored in memory as needed.
USB data acquisition device’s stored data can later be used and compared with a set of established limits. Control decisions are made if the stored data is at the limit, above or below the limit. With repetitive measurements made by a data acquisition system, continuous monitoring and control can be performed.
Based on matching, meeting or exceeding the set limits, a digital control
signal (in the form of a single-bit output signal) can be used to turn on or
turn off a relay. This in turn can be used to turn on various control elements
like fans, pumps, motors, etc.
Alternatively, based on the difference between an input and an established set
point, a precise analog output signal can be generated. This signal can be used
to provide a complete closed loop control patch, providing continuous control
of a process.
