NI RIO Hardware for PACs
Historically, programming FPGAs has been limited to engineers who have in-depth
knowledge of VHDL or other low-level design tools, which require overcoming a very steep
learning curve. With the LabVIEW FPGA Module, NI has opened FPGA technology to a
broader set of engineers who can now define FPGA logic using LabVIEW graphical
development. Measurement and control engineers can focus primarily on their test and control
application, where their expertise lies, rather than the low-level semantics of transferring logic
into the cells of the chip. The LabVIEW FPGA Module model works because of the tight
integration between the LabVIEW FPGA Module and the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)
hardware architecture of the FPGA and surrounding I/O components.
National Instruments PACs provide modular, off-the-shelf platforms for your industrial
control applications. With the implementation of RIO technology on PCI, PXI, and Compact
Vision System platforms and the introduction of RIO-based CompactRIO, engineers now
have the benefits of a COTS platform with the high-performance, flexibility, and
customization benefits of FPGAs at their disposal to build PACs. National Instruments PCI
and PXI R Series plug-in devices provide analog and digital data acquisition and control for
high-performance, user-configurable timing and synchronization, as well as onboard decision
making on a single device. Using these off-the-shelf devices, you can extend your NI PXI or
PCI industrial control system to include high-speed discrete and analog control, custom
sensor interfaces, and precise timing and control.
NI CompactRIO, a platform centered on RIO technology, provides a small, industrially
rugged, modular PAC platform that gives you high-performance I/O and unprecedented
flexibility in system timing. You can use NI CompactRIO to build an embedded system for
applications such as in-vehicle data acquisition, mobile NVH testing, and embedded machine
control systems. The rugged NI CompactRIO system is industrially rated and certified, and it
is designed for greater than 50 g of shock at a temperature range of -40 to 70 °C.
NI Compact Vision System is a rugged machine vision package that withstands the harsh
environments common in robotics, automated test, and industrial inspection systems. NI
CVS-145x devices offer unprecedented I/O capabilities and network connectivity for
distributed machine vision applications.NI CVS-145x systems use IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
technology, compatible with more than 40 cameras with a wide range of functionality,
performance, and price. NI CVS-1455 and NI CVS-1456 devices contain configurable
FPGAs so you can implement custom counters, timing, or motor control in your machine
vision application.
Building PACs with LabVIEW and the LabVIEW FPGA Module
With LabVIEW and the LabVIEW FPGA Module, you add significant flexibility and
customization to your industrial control hardware. Because many PACs are already