NI ELVIS Now Offers USB Plug-and-Play Connectivity

NI ELVIS, a premier design and prototyping teaching suite from National Instruments, now offers USB plug-and-play connectivity and LabVIEW Express VIs for point-and-click configuration. With the incorporation of USB M Series data acquisition devices into the NI ELVIS product offering, educators will have the plug-and-play simplicity of USB, as well as tight integration with National Instruments LabVIEW, NI SignalExpress and Electronics Workbench Multisim 9 and MultiMCU, to teach science and engineering concepts in multiple disciplines.

NI ELVIS (Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite) integrates theory and simulation with a low-cost, hands-on design and prototyping platform based on the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment. The teaching platform incorporates 12 different integrated instruments, reducing the cost of lab equipment while reinforcing theory through hands-on learning. In this single platform, students have access to instruments such as an oscilloscope, digital multimeter, function generator, power supply and bode analyser, and each comes equipped with Express VIs for point-and-click configuration.

The new USB plug-and-play connectivity of NI ELVIS simplifies lab setup and maintenance. Students can now use their personal laptops to test and prototype their applications and take advantage of USB M Series data acquisition devices to perform data acquisition. Additionally, NI ELVIS is more rugged than previous designs, a change made in response to user feedback.

LabVIEW 8 and the latest enhancements included in the NI ELVIS 3.0 software integrate seamlessly with Electronics Workbench Multisim 9 and MultiMCU, a widely recognised schematic capture and SPICE simulation tool, giving students a complete circuit simulation, design and prototyping experience. With the new technology of NI ELVIS 3.0, students can also simulate multicontrollers (MCUs) and obtain measurements quickly using NI SignalExpress interactive measurement software.

Professors can customise NI ELVIS by ordering bundles that best suit their classrooms. NI currently offers several bundles for teaching measurements, circuits, MCU concepts and more. For more information on NI ELVIS 3.0, readers can visit www.ni.com/academic/ni_elvis/ltb.htm.