USB Data Acquisition Units Provide New Measurement and Control Optionsfor Engineering Technology Students

摘要

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) has become a ubiquitous technology for computer peripherals.It is available on virtually every new computer and in most cases provides a seamless connectionmethod for a variety of consumer electronics devices such as digital cameras, scanners andprinters. This ease of connection together with the inherent high data rate of USB also makesthis technology very useful for data acquisition and control units. This paper presents the use ofUSB data acquisition units in an electromechanical engineering technology laboratoryenvironment. Features, advantages and disadvantages of the hardware are discussed. TheLabVIEW? software tools (virtual instruments) developed to interface with the USB device arepresented. Examples of sensing and control systems experiments and projects are also given.