Virtual instruments in VXI

VXI is an exciting and fast-growing platform for modular instruments on plug-in boards. Because VXI combines a modern computing architecture with a sophisticated instrumentation environment, it makes possible the construction of unique new instrument components and measurement methodologies. This paper discusses the term virtual instrument, a term that has become a buzzword in the VXI industry. Historically, architectural limitations have resulted in hard boundaries between vendor-defined instruments and user-defined functionality in an instrumentation system. The author discusses instrument connectivity and software frameworks for building virtual instruments, and also describes the key architectural and philosophical issues that are changing because of VXI. The purpose is to show how these changes create a new generation of instrumentation tools that empower users, rather than vendors, to define the functionality of instruments.< >