Service provider architecture for dynamically reconfigurable virtual instruments in networked environments

This paper proposes an online service provider architecture for reconfigurable, expandable and coherent virtual instruments. Using an FPGA chip with embedded software-core processor which provides both software-programmable and hardware-reconfigurable abilities, it is possible for us to construct a hardware kernel that can serve as the kernel of versatile measurement instruments. Reprogramming the embedded processors and reconfiguring the internal FPGA logic in the hardware kernel, we can implement various instrumental functions. The possibility of modifying the measurement procedure simply by changing the algorithm executed, which imitates hardware kernel for measurement instruments, by the computer-based architecture/software-core processor without replacing the hardware components makes the experimental activity easier. But the existing reconfigurable virtual instrument setups make the user to reinvent the wheel and make measurement process a tedious one. In this paper a novel service provider architecture is proposed which allows the user to dynamically reconfigure the hardware depending upon their measurement needs. With adaptively reconfiguring the hardware kernel, SDI concept can easily respond to the rapidly changing user-application-specified needs in measurement and test markets in a distributed measurement system (DMS).