CompactRIO is an ultra high-performance embedded control and acquisition platform powered by reconfigurable I/O (RIO) technology for advanced applications where small size and reliability are crucial.
National Instruments' RIO technology gives LabVIEW developers the ability to define their own custom measurement hardware circuitry using reconfigurable FPGA chips and LabVIEW graphical development tools.
"Because of their performance and flexibility, FPGA chips have gained wide market adoption among digital design engineers. RIO technology delivers these benefits to a broader range of engineers and scientists by eliminating the steep learning curve traditionally required to program FPGAs," said Tim Dehne, NI senior vice president of R&D. "Graphical programming of FPGAs extends virtual instrumentation by empowering LabVIEW users to synthesise their own custom measurement circuitry that rivals the performance and optimisation of vendor-defined hardware."
There are two configurations for CompactRIO: an embedded system and an R Series expansion system.
The embedded system features a realtime embedded processor, four or eight-slot reconfigurable chassis containing a user-programmable FPGA and 10 hot swappable industrial I/O modules. Each I/O module includes built-in field wiring connectivity, signal conditioning, conversion circuitry and an optional isolation barrier. By integrating the connector junction box into the modules, CompactRIO significantly reduces the space requirements and cost of field wiring. This low-cost embedded architecture delivers open access to low-level hardware resources for rapid development of custom standalone or distributed control and acquisition systems.
The R Series expansion system provides high-performance signal conditioning and industrial expansion I/O for PCI or PXI/CompactPCI R Series FPGA devices. Engineers can install an R Series FPGA device in any desktop or industrial computer running Windows or LabVIEW realtime operating systems. In this configuration, an R Series expansion chassis connects directly to one of the digital ports on the R Series FPGA device. The expansion system adds custom measurement capabilities to applications that include traditional plug-in data acquisition, vision, motion and modular instrument devices.
The RIO FPGA circuitry at the heart of the CompactRIO system is a parallel processing reconfigurable computing engine. With CompactRIO, engineers can implement multiloop analog PID control systems at loop rates exceeding 100 kSps and digital control systems at loop rates up to 1 MSps and evaluate multiple rungs of Boolean logic in less than 25 ns.
A four-slot CompactRIO embedded system measures 18 x 8,8 x 8,8 cm and weighs 1,57 kg. The DC-powered system typically consumes just 7 to 10 W of power and can withstand temperatures ranging from -40 to 70°C, and up to 50 g of shock. CompactRIO is designed for advanced developers who will use LabVIEW graphical development tools to adapt the reconfigurable hardware for a wide variety of industries and applications.
For more information contact NI South Africa, 0800 203 199, ni.southafrica@ni.com
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