New research by engineers from the Universities of Bristol and Lund, working alongside National Instruments (NI), has demonstrated how a massive antenna system can offer a 12-fold increase in spectrum efficiency compared with current 4G cellular technology. Multiple antenna technology, referred to as MIMO, is already used in many Wi-Fi routers and 4G cellular phone systems.

PXI has long been established as the de facto standard for building automated test systems, but its uses stretch beyond solely manufacturing or production test. With the PXI platform’s capability for running real-time operating systems or deploying code to FPGAs, it is also well suited to use earlier in the development process, particularly for complex devices like electronic control units (ECUs) and full authority digital electronics contr...

The TestStand Semiconductor Module from National Instruments provides test system engineers with the software tools to quickly develop, deploy and maintain optimised semiconductor test systems. It means engineers can now programme lab characterisation systems using the same programming paradigm they deploy on the factory floor with the Semiconductor Test System (STS), thus reducing the time required to correlate measurements.

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and industry leaders including Bosch Rexroth, Cisco, Intel, KUKA, NI, Schneider Electric and TTTech will collaborate to develop the world’s first Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) testbed. These organisations aim to advance the network infrastructure to support the future of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0.

A system for testing, experimenting on and prototyping new LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U) and/or License Assisted Access (LAA) wireless access technologies has been introduced by NI.. Though 5G has generated significant interest and focus, new technologies such as LTE-U and LAA are needed today to enhance the 4G data experience and help close the gap until 5G arrives.

Trends from the consumer market are increasingly permeating industrial applications and making them more interconnected. Applying concepts from the consumer IoT to the industrial field offers benefits for large operations including process efficiency, safety and profitability. However, as Carlos Pazos of National Instruments explains, achieving these benefits requires a new approach to industrial applications.

A new, high-performance model of VirtualBench has been introduced by National Instruments. The software-based VirtualBench all-in-one instrument combines a mixed-signal oscilloscope, function generator, digital multimeter, programmable DC power supply and digital I/O. With 350MHz of bandwidth, four analogue channels and Ethernet connectivity, the new version of VirtualBench offers increased functionality for engineers characterising and debugging...

A family of three new industrial controllers that address the complex requirements of advanced Internet of Things (IoT) applications have been released by National Instruments. These industrial controllers feature 5th generation Intel Core processors, rugged packaging, built-in I/O and extensive connectivity options, so that machine builders and system designers can eliminate the need for separate subsystems within complex machines and consolidat...

NI and Astronics Test Systems have collaborated to deliver PXI-based products designed for the aerospace and defence community. The cooperation uses Astronics’ strength in test system integration and NI’s leadership in PXI-based automated test systems to produce a best-in-class portfolio for automated test equipment (ATE) applications.

NI will host its RF & Wireless Virtual Summit from December 1-3. It is aimed at design and test engineers and managers facing the challenge of keeping the cost of test low for devices with wireless connectivity, as well as those prototyping new communications systems, the summit will explore how using a modular, software-defined platform can reduce RF test times, as well as increase speed in wireless prototyping.

A new update to V12 of NI AWR Design Environment. Introduced in June 2015, V12 offers new amplifier-, antenna- and radar-specific features, as well as ease-of-use improvements, speed enhancements and additional third-party integration flows.  Continuing to build upon the new load-pull features of V12, the V12.01 update includes numerous additions to the load-pull capabilities.

European Microwave Week 2015 will provide a platform for National Instruments new LabVIEW FPGA programmable solutions for RF and microwave applications. NI will be showcasing a variety of new products and technologies at the show which runs from September 8-10 in Paris.

Hardware and software additions to help engineers create smarter measurement and data management solutions have been introduced by National Instruments. The 4- and 8-slot CompactDAQ controllers featuring quad-core processing, a new 14-slot USB 3.0 CompactDAQ Chassis, DIAdem 2015 and DataFinder Server Edition 2015 were unveiled at NIWeek in Austin.

The Wireless Test System (WTS) from NI is claimed to be a solution that dramatically lowers the cost of high-volume wireless manufacturing test. It says that the system is optimised for measurement speed and parallel test. The WTS combines multi-standard, multi- DUT and multi-port testing non the PXI platform.

New embedded systems hardware based on the open, flexible LabVIEW reconfigurable I/O (RIO) architecture has been unveiled by National Instruments at NIWeek in Austin. This hardware includes the high-performance CompactRIO Controllerfor integrators with rugged, industrial applications, Controller for FlexRIO for designers with high-performance embedded applications and Single-Board RIO Controller for designers who require more flexibility in their...

Faster development time and more debugging tools feature in the LabVIEW 2015 system design software announced by National Instruments at its annual NIWeek exhibition and conference in Austin, Texas. The aim, as ever, is to help standardise the way LabVIEW users interact with almost any hardware through the reuse of the same code and engineering processes across systems, saving time and money as technology advances, requirements evolve, and time-t...

For the first time in ages, NI (National Instruments) announced a decline in sales with Q2 revenue falling 3 per cent year on year to $302 million, in US dollar terms and up 3 per cent year over year in constant currency terms. The biggest hit came from the company’s largest customer who booked $10m of orders in Q2 this year compared to $27m in Q2 2014.

Among a variety of activities at European Microwave Week in Paris (Sept 6-11) NI (formerly AWR Corporation) will showcase NI AWR Design Environment V12.  New load-pull and antenna features, ease-of-use and speed enhancements and third-party integrated flows will be on display. In addition, key new features will be showcased in several MicroApps presentations and at the combined European venue of AWR Design Forum 2015 (ADF)/European User Gro...

Version 12 Analyst-MP 3D multiphysics finite element method (FEM) electromagnetic (EM) analysis software has been released by NI (formerly AWR). This new version delivers up to 10X improvement in speed from the previous version, making it even faster for analysing extremely complex high-frequency, multiphysics structures like the X- and L-band accelerators designed by Japan’s High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK).

National Instruments has announced that its AWR Design Environment V12 has been awarded the Microwave Journal Magazine 2015 Most Valuable Product for its productivity enhancements that enable RF and microwave designers to streamline their design process, improve end product performance and accelerate time-to-market.