Test & Measurement World Names NI SignalExpress Software Best in Test
Editors from Test & Measurement World magazine recently recognized two National Instruments products in the publication’s Best in Test 2005 competition, naming the NI SignalExpress interactive measurement environment a Best in Test winner and finalist for Test Product of the Year 2005 and the NI PXI-5670 2.7 GHz RF vector signal generator an honorable mention recipient.
“For the Best in Test competition, our technical editors recognize 12 new products that stand out as innovative and useful to test engineers,” said Rick Nelson, chief editor of Test & Measurement World. “We selected NI SignalExpress because it provides engineers with an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop environment for acquiring and analyzing signals without programming. With the software, engineers can now compare simulated results with real-world signals from National Instruments hardware to quickly verify their prototypes.”
In the past, electronic design and test engineers spent hours acquiring and analyzing electronic measurements manually with traditional benchtop instruments. This year, NI introduced a simple and interactive alternative with SignalExpress, a software environment for acquiring, comparing, automating, testing and storing benchtop measurements. The new software works with NI data acquisition and modular instrumentation hardware to quickly perform interactive measurement tasks common throughout the product development cycle including design verification and validation, automated test troubleshooting and manufacturing repair bench applications. SignalExpress also integrates with electronic design automation (EDA) tools to instantly acquire and compare real and simulated measurements in the time and frequency domains. Engineers can use the software to perform interactive measurements with stand-alone instruments via GPIB, Ethernet, USB and Serial bus interfaces.
Judges also recognized the NI PXI-5670 RF vector signal generator as a Best in Test 2005 honorable mention recipient for its software-based method of generating complex, modulated RF signals. The module can produce analog and custom digital modulation in software as well as standard digital modulation formats such as AM, FM, PM, ASK, FSK, MSK, PSK and QAM. It offers signal generation ranging from 250 kHz to 2.7 GHz, 16-bit resolution arbitrary waveform generation at 100 MS/s, up to 256 MB of memory and 22 MHz real-time bandwidth.
“National Instruments invests heavily in R&D to deliver innovative test software and hardware products that dramatically improve the productivity of engineers,” said Tim Dehne, NI senior vice president of R&D. “NI SignalExpress and the PXI-5670 RF vector signal generator module represent two strategically designed products that assist engineers in accelerating the product development cycle by streamlining the interactive benchtop measurement process and improving RF design and test capabilities in the compact 3U form factor.”
Nominations for the Best in Test competition were submitted by manufacturers and users of products introduced between Nov. 1, 2003 and Oct. 31, 2004. The magazine publishes its list of Best in Test finalists in December and asks readers to vote for the Test Product of the Year. Representatives from Test & Measurement World announce the results at the APEX tradeshow on Feb. 22 in Anaheim, Calif.
Engineers can learn more about SignalExpress through the Measurements in the Design Flow Partner Web Event Series this February and March. The series of 45-minute Web events highlights the latest in product integration and design and measurement techniques from industry leading collaborators such as National Instruments, EMA Design Automation, SolidWorks, Tektronix, National Semiconductor and Electronics Workbench. For more information, readers can visit www.ni.com/info and enter exfxiv.
About National Instruments
National Instruments ( www.ni.com ) is 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 the PC and its related technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs through easy-to-integrate software, such as the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment, and modular hardware, such as PXI modules for data acquisition, instrument control and machine vision. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 3,100 employees and direct operations in 41 countries. In 2003, the company sold products to more than 25,000 companies in 90 countries.
