NI Extends Design and Prototyping Platform for Hands-On Learning

Educators teaching circuit theory and electronics can use this system to engage students through project-based, hands-on learning with instrumentation based on NI LabVIEW graphical system design software, which is used in industry and research throughout the world. With its open configuration, NI ELVIS delivers a cost-effective, expandable teaching and prototyping platform for a variety of advanced topics.



The 100 MS/s oscilloscope featured in NI ELVIS II+ samples nearly 100 times faster than that of NI ELVIS II, extending the reach of hands-on education into advanced circuit design. Using the new oscilloscope, students can gain tangible exposure to high-frequency measurement techniques and high-frequency filter designs. NI ELVIS II+ also features a variety of new add-on boards to deliver a fully functional, multidisciplinary teaching platform. In addition to NI ELVIS add-on boards for the study of control, telecommunications and embedded systems and microcontrollers, students can use new bundled packages to learn about aerospace dynamics and control, mechatronics sensors and the block diagram approach to fiber optics. This expanded variety of add-on boards provides greater flexibility to any educational laboratory requiring a cost-effective selection of instructional instrumentation.



Two new add-on boards from Quanser, a manufacturer of advanced controls and mechatronics systems, offer students hands-on experience in exploring controls topics. The Quanser QNET-014 mechatronics sensor board helps students gain a fundamental knowledge of sensor physical properties as well as sensor application techniques and limitations. The second Quanser board, the QNET-013 Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) actuator, introduces the aerospace application fundamentals of motion control, dynamics and kinematics. Additionally, Emona, a telecommunications training equipment and software provider, has created a board that takes a block diagram approach to teaching fibre-optics concepts.



NI ELVIS II+ continues to be an integral part of the NI electronics education platform, providing tight integration with NI Multisim circuit design and SPICE simulation software. By combining NI ELVIS II+ with Multisim, educators can guide their students through a full range of circuit concepts with interactive simulation, analysis experiments and printed circuit board (PCB) creation. Educators, students and professional PCB designers can also take advantage of the NI Circuit Design Community, a new collaborative online community that provides a variety of resources, including access to circuit diagrams from leading manufacturers and a forum for the interactive discussion of circuit design topics.