A client had a particularly interesting problem in that the project engineer needed a Data Acquisition System to be mobile while at the same time be completely customizable to handle almost any sensor or output device the company had in stock. The system needed to be able to accept a variety of input devices such as different types of flow meters, all ranges of pressure transducers, level, displacement, etc. It also needed to be able to allow the user to configure any type of thermocouple for temperature measurement. The system also needed to drive a variety of devices such as back pressure regulators, metering valves, and volume controllers as well as operate solenoid valves.
Another major caveat to this system was that it could be wheeled indoor or outdoor so it needed to be connected to their laboratory network wirelessly. Additional effort was used to identify and procure the appropriate equipment to allow the mobile DAQ station to operate up to 100 feet away from the access point while not losing the data connection. The software needed to be fully configurable in the respect that calibration information for the sensors could be inputted, the type of sensor or device on the specific channel could be selected. The software would scale the sensor or device per the calibration data provided by the client (from their calibration records). Once fully configured, the user interface would auto populate with the necessary controls and indicators per the user’s settings. The user could then start a test. The Graphical User Interface allowed the user to view the current value of any particular sensor and it charted the results. All data, including control information was logged to a TDMS file that was then uploaded to a user’s computer for post data processing.