A virtual instrumentation laboratory based on a reconfigurable coprocessor

Today, a measurement-instrument design requires more flexible hardware platforms. This paper describes a new platform based on a reconfigurable coprocessor for the design of virtual instruments. This coprocessor uses a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as the processing unit and the universal serial bus (USB) as the interface with a personal computer. The main characteristics of this system include the versatility of the coprocessor due to the dynamic-reconfiguration capacity of the FPGA, the low complexity, and the low number and cost of the hardware components. Moreover, this platform is completed with one or various expansion cards including the adequate peripherals for the signal adaptation and conversion. As an example, this paper shows the methodology for developing an instrumentation laboratory for basic electronics.