Instrumentation Evolution through Embedded Systems: Q&A with National Instruments' Chandran Nair

Chandran Nair, Managing Director, National Instruments ASEAN, discusses with Wireless Design and Development Asia some of the current trends in embedded systems, and how these developments are affecting the test and measurement market. Excerpts:



What are some of the current design trends in embedded systems?

From consumer electronics to industrial machinery and automotive computers, the engineers that design embedded systems are working in a fiercely competitive global market. Companies are looking to tackle the time to market and cost of development issue by using comprehensive software tools that can be used on multiple platforms like FPGAs, MPUs, DSPs, etc., so that their embedded designers can save a lot of time and money by being trained on a common platform that can target different deployment systems.



Another important factor is the use of multicore processors. To continue realizing performance gains without increased clock rates, processor manufacturers are developing processors with multiple cores on a single chip. With multicore processors, engineers can develop applications capable of achieving the highest possible throughput through parallel processing.



With the increase in system-level tools for FPGAs, more manufacturers are including FPGAs in their hardware design and in some cases giving engineers the access in software to reprogram them according to their requirements.



What were the major changes that have occurred in the embedded systems design industry over the past year?

One of the major changes that have been going on for a few years but have been accelerated with the introduction of Graphical System Design is software-defined hardware. The use of a common platform approach to design, prototype, and deploy faster and more productively has increased the adoption of software-defined hardware in a wide variety of industries ranging from cell phone makers to automotive electronics and aviation companies. One approach to keeping stride with advances in electronics technology is through software, where engineers model new techniques or algorithms and deploy them on suitable platforms.



National Instruments has spent millions of man-hours of research so that LabVIEW makes it easier than ever to connect algorithms and logic to real I/O signals because it includes built-in support for virtually any type of sensor or actuator. In addition to traditional PC-based I/O modules, FPGA-based intelligent data acquisition (DAQ) devices are increasing in popularity for prototyping. You can customize intelligent DAQ devices to perform the type of I/O and signal processing operations found in very specialized hardware devices. Reconfigurable FPGA hardware technology is at the core of NI’s embedded prototyping and deployment systems.



How has the instrumentation market evolved over the years in terms of usage of embedded systems?

The instrumentation market, over the years, continues to move from a vendor-defined market to a user-defined market. The convergence of multiple technologies and the marriage of different capabilities in a single product like a cell phone for instance, require users to seek easily customizable instrumentation that can meet their complex needs. This is fulfilled through software-defined test, or user defined customizable instrumentation.



What are the product groups with in the instruments market which holds higher potential for embedded systems development or as you say user-defined instrumentation?

Really, all types. Let us take for example the wireless and communications instruments. Bluetooth, WiMAX, cdma2000, ZigBee, GSM, EDGE, RFID—the list of wireless and communications standards continues to grow at an unprecedented pace. At the same time, viewing football highlights on V CAST and obtaining location data from Google Earth are becoming commonplace, fueled by the likes of Microsoft, Vodafone, and Google.



Given this insatiable demand for more data bandwidth and the fact that wireless communications are now outpacing land communications in many countries, the large challenge ahead for mobile communications becomes meeting this demand effectively. Driven by the race to release products, research and design are outpacing test. Manufacturers are releasing ZigBee and 802.11n devices before the standards have even been completed. Predefined standard test systems from traditional instrument manufacturers are nowhere in sight. This is mainly attributed to the fact that the traditional cycle of releasing a wireless standard, prototyping devices among lead users, and developing test equipment for mass commercial use is too lengthy.



Considering that this model is applied horizontally to dozens of standards releasing within the same time frame, test equipment manufacturers are faced with a tough decision—either be late to market with compliant test equipment or potentially spend millions in R&D for a standard that doesn't take off. This is pushing engineers to seek flexible, out-of-the box solutions. The most effective approach to keeping stride with RF and wireless advances in test is through software, where engineers model new channel coding and modulation techniques or algorithms. The logical solution is to take a software-defined approach to instrumentation by using coding and modulation software to generate and measure signals through modular, general-purpose RF instruments. This software-defined radio (SDR) approach to test is then completely application-driven and user-defined.





Nair will be among the speakers at the coming EDN Asia Embedded Systems Seminar (ESS), which will be held at the Suntec International Convention Center in Singapore on September 11, 2008. He will discuss in-depth the dataflow paradigm—focusing on the pros and cons of using such an approach to design, prototype and deploy embedded systems—and how this alternative can help break the multicore programming barrier.



Featuring the latest in technology and market developments, ESS comprises presentations and exhibits from leading companies in the embedded field. From test & debug to software, chip design and more, ESS will cover a broad array of topics that are interesting, current, and important. This seminar will focus on embedded systems specialties including operating systems/kernel development, firmware/device drivers, board support packages and protocol stacks. It will also give the audience an in-depth understanding of the latest technologies and solutions on embedded design.



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