DC Motor Calculations, part 1
Now that we have a good understanding of dc generators, we can begin our study of dc motors. Direct-current motors transform electrical energy into mechanical energy. They drive de......

Laser Interferometer
Overview In a laser interferometer the laser beam is split into two beams by a beam splitter. One of the beams is directed to a mirror located at a certain distance to provide a re......

ARM Microcontroller Technology Basics
Introduction to ARM ARM Ltd. designs the ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) series of low-cost, power-efficient, 32-bit microprocessors. More than 10 billion processors featuring an ARM c......

Innovating through Tough Times
What do Hewlett-Packard, FedEx, and CNN have in common? Believe it or not, these companies were founded during difficult economic times (1939, 1973, and 1980, respectively). What a......

Five Steps to Define Your Next Real-Time Embedded Control System
In these tough economic times, can you risk being over budget or late to market because your real-time system’s embedded middleware software was unreliable? While deployment hardwa......

Predicting the Future of Technology: Tips for Innovators
Engineers and scientists are often asked to predict the future by selecting a new technology or feature that will enable the success of a new product. Yet, when it comes to predict......

Three Mil/Aero Test Trends and Practical Implementations
Three major trends are pervasive in the military and aerospace (mil/aero) market: • The need to acquire large amounts of data with emphasis on the lowest-possible cost/signal ratio......

Eight Cost-Free Techniques to Improve Test Throughput
Rather than focus on new test platforms that can lower the cost of test, you can improve test system performance without investing more capital into your equipment. Most tips and t......

Think Beyond the Box – A Software-Defined Approach to RF Test
The traditional engineering response to testing a new wireless standard often involves selecting a box instrument with the closest specifications. For automated test systems with m......

Customizing C/C++ Designs with an NI FPGA
Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) create the perfect custom hardware sandbox for today’s increasingly complex applications. For instance, when monitoring current and voltage w......