NEWS RELEASE – May 9, 2006 – National Instruments today released its first M Series data acquisition (DAQ) devices for the USB bus – two new external DAQ devices that offer up to 32 analog input channels and data acquisition rates of up to 1.25 MS/s. The NI USB-6251 and USB-6259 DAQ devices feature the same high-performance M Series capabilities but add the simplicity of USB plug-and-play connectivity as well as new These new devices offer a 5 times overall performance increase compared to previous devices and set a new performance precedent for USB data acquisition measurements. “These new USB M Series devices are one of our most innovative USB offerings, and these devices deliver unprecedented performance for a wide range of applications” said Tim Dehne, NI senior vice president of R&D.
“The new data streaming features are especially exciting for engineers and scientists. Simultaneous high-speed signal streaming offers the capabilities of conducting several streaming actions – such as analog input and analog output – at once without the normal degradation to the system performance.”The USB-6251 and USB-6259 DAQ devices are the first to feature the new parallel and simultaneous streaming technology on the USB bus.
The new devices also include M Series features similar to their PCI/PXI counterparts, such as up to 32 16-bit, 1.25 MS/s analog input channels; four 16-bit 2.8 MS/s analog output channels; 32 clocked and correlated digital I/O channels; and two timing counters. Engineers and scientists can take advantage of the integrated terminal block for direct signal connectivity, as well as third-order calibration correction at all ranges to make their USB applications even more accurate. “USB data acquisition devices helped us collect data using ultrasmall-form-factor PCs that were too small to accommodate add-on PCI cards.
This gave us the ability to install our data collection systems in manufacturing environments where floor space was very limited,” said Sherk Chung, vice president of engineering for Pivotal Systems. “In addition, it gave us the flexibility to easily move the data acquisition devices to different PCs without pulling apart the PC on the manufacturing floor. Proven data collection devices with plug-and-play USB connectivity were just what we needed to simplify our lives in the manufacturing environment.”In addition, the new USB-6251 and USB-6259 DAQ devices are shipped with NI-DAQmx driver software and measurement services, a collection of powerful tools including data-logging software that makes system setup even faster and simpler.
NI M Series for USB devices also integrate seamlessly with National Instruments LabVIEW graphical programming environment, helping engineers and scientists quickly and easily create user-defined data acquisition systems on the platforms and in the operating systems of their choice.
About NI Data Acquisition
By integrating commercially available silicon and bus technologies with innovative designs, NI data acquisition (DAQ) products continue to improve measurement speed and accuracy while reducing cost for engineers and scientists. NI data acquisition devices are available on the most widely used buses, including PCI, PXI, PCI Express and USB, and work with the industry’s most popular operating systems such as Windows, Linux® and Mac OS X.
About National Instruments
For 30 years, National Instruments has been a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation – a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government and academia approach measurement and automation. Leveraging PCs and commercial technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs for test, control and design applications through easy-to-integrate software, such as NI LabVIEW, and modular measurement and control hardware for PXI, PCI, PCI Express, USB and Ethernet. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 3,900 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries. For the past seven years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.
