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National Instruments Extends Design, Prototyping Platform for Hands-On Learning

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 April 2009, 09:00 CDT

NI ELVIS II+ Features 100 MS/s Oscilloscope and New Add-On Boards

AUSTIN, Texas, April 7, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) today introduced the NI Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS) II+ design and prototyping platform, a single, integrated system that is ideal for the lab or classroom because it connects theory to real-world applications. The latest addition to the NI ELVIS family incorporates an onboard, 100 MS/s oscilloscope and features a series of new add-on boards to extend the platform beyond instrumentation and circuits applications. 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 fiber-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 also can 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.

Readers can learn more about the NI ELVIS II+ platform, modular plug-in boards and the NI electronics education platform by visiting www.ni.com/nielvis.

About National Instruments

National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 30,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing more than 10 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 5,000 employees and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 10 years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. Readers can obtain investment information from the company's investor relations department by calling (512) 683-5090, e-mailing nati@ni.com or visiting www.ni.com/nati.

Pricing and Contact Information

LabVIEW, Multisim, National Instruments, NI and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Editor Contact: Hilary Marchbanks, (512) 683-5937 Reader Contact: Ernest Martinez, (800) 258-7022

SOURCE National Instruments

Source: PR Newswire

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