National Instruments introduced 10 new PXI products that expand the capabilities of PXI for mixed-signal semiconductor test. The suite of new software-defined products, which are optimized for use with NI LabVIEW graphical system design software, includes four high-speed digital I/O (HSDIO) instruments, two digital switches, two enhanced RF instruments, a high-precision source measure unit (SMU) and specialized digital vector file importing software. The new NI PXI Semiconductor Suite incorporates numerous new features including 200 MHz single-ended digital I/O, 10 pA current resolution, rapid multiband RF measurements, DC/digital switching and Waveform Generation Language (WGL) and IEEE 1450 Standard Test Interface Language (STIL) file importing capability. The PXI Semiconductor Suite continues the enhancement of PXI capabilities for testing common semiconductor devices such as ADCs, DACs, power-management ICs, wireless ICs and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. The NI PXIe-654x family of HSDIO instruments includes four new modules that offer single-ended clock rates up to 200 MHz and data rates up to 400 Mbps, making it possible for engineers to test high-speed chip designs and accommodate faster custom communication protocols. The new NI PXI-4132 high-precision SMU delivers current sensitivity down to 10 pA for high-resolution current measurements. It features remote (four-wire) sensing and external guarding on a single output to provide up to +/-100 V capability in a single PXI slot. The new NI PXI-2515 and NI PXIe-2515 digital switches further enhance the suite of PXI products by helping engineers to multiplex precision DC instrumentation directly onto HSDIO lines connected to the chip under test. The new NI PXIe-5663E and NI PXIe-5673E 6.6 GHz RF PXI Express vector signal analyzer and vector signal generator offer increased measurement speed through fast and deterministic changes in RF configurations using a new feature called RF List Mode to significantly reduce test time. The PXI Semiconductor Suite also introduces a solution for efficiently importing WGL and STIL digital vector formats to streamline design-to-test integration when using NI PXI high-speed digital products.

National Instruments Corp. introduced LabVIEW Education Edition, a high school-focused version of its LabVIEW graphical programming software. The new edition is designed to help educators implement project-based, hands-on learning for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects. The software was developed in collaboration with the Tufts University Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO). LabVIEW Education Edition helps teachers implement engaging, project-based learning as well as connect theory to real-world examples. The new version works seamlessly with key educational hardware platforms such as LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education NXT, Vernier SensorDAQ and TETRIX ((TM)), a metal robot-building system by Pitsco, making it easy for teachers to integrate hands-on robotics, measurements and data acquisition into their curricula. The software's graphical drag-and-drop paradigm helps students learn key programming concepts and develop analytical skills while gaining experience with technology used in the professional world.

National Instruments Corp. announced the expansion of its hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation platform, which includes numerous products that optimize embedded system validation. During the past six months alone, NI has released nearly 40 new products targeted at delivering flexible HIL solutions to embedded control system developers within a variety of industries. The portfolio of NI HIL simulation tools helps engineers maintain reliability and time-to-market requirements while reducing costs, even as their products become more complex. The NI HIL simulation platform provides unprecedented openness and performance for HIL applications. The platform's highly flexible architecture helps engineers address a wide range of applications, from those in automotive and aerospace to new fields such as alternative energy and medical device development. Recent product releases include NI VeriStand software for real-time testing and simulation; the NI TestStand 4.2 automated test management environment including support for Python scripts; a new family of fault insertion units; NI-XNET high-performance CAN and FlexRay bus interfaces optimized for HIL applications; ARINC 429, MIL-STD-1553 and AFDX (ARINC 663) military and aerospace avionics bus interfaces; low-cost and high-performance real-time processor cards; and several other I/O interfaces. To ensure that applications can easily scale and meet evolving requirements, the NI HIL simulation platform supports third-party hardware interfaces and integrates with C, C++, .NET and Python programming languages. In addition to integrating seamlessly with the NI LabVIEW graphical system design environment, the platform works with a variety of modeling environments such as The MathWorks Inc. Simulink(®)software; ITI SimulationX; Maplesoft MapleSim; and Gamma Technologies GT-POWER.