Advances in Instrumentation using FPGAs, Microcontrollers, and Embedded Instruments

Improved accuracy, faster sampling, higher resolution, increased bandwidth; all key words used by instrument designers to describe new products. Custom software, embedded controllers, and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are enabling instrument technologies that rarely get marketed. However, their use in embedded instruments leads to challenges in evaluating measurement accuracy and servicing products. The evolution of instruments from vendor defined functionality through user defined functionality in software is on the verge of another revolution. Continued improvements in embedded controllers and programming environments, coupled with engineers growing up programming, is leading to a new generation of embedded instruments. User defined and customized for specific applications these real time systems are showing in applications that range from medical and commercial to military.