Virtual instrumentation combines hardware and software with industry-standard computer technologies to create user-defined instrumentation solutions. National Instruments specializes in developing plug-in and distributed hardware and driver software for data acquisition (DAQ), IEEE 488 (GPIB), PXI, serial, and industrial communications. The driver software is the application programming interface (API) to the hardware and is consistent across National Instruments application software, such as LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, and Measurement Studio. These platforms deliver the sophisticated display and analysis capabilities that virtual instrumentation requires.

You can use virtual instrumentation to create a complete and customized system for test, measurement, and industrial automation by combining different hardware and software components. If the system changes, you often can reuse the virtual instrument components without purchasing additional hardware or software.

Taking Measurements with Virtual Instruments

Different hardware and software components can make up a virtual instrumentation system. You can use a variety of hardware components to monitor or control a process or to test a device. If you can connect the hardware to the computer and understand how the hardware takes measurements, you can incorporate hardware into a virtual instrumentation system.