模糊FPGA与测试和测量之间的界限

在2021年，我们提出了Embedded Measurement，我们给出的名称描述了台式仪器的当前收敛性，具有嵌入式系统和FPGA的灵活性和敏捷性。与四月的模拟发现Pro 3000family along with last year’sEclypse Z7 and Zmods，我们已经采取了模糊FPGA开发板和传统测试设备之间的界限的初步步骤。

FPGA何时成为测试的选择？

For Digilent, FPGA has always had sort of a “secret handshake” with our test devices. Even way back in the 2000’s, the Digilent Electronic Explorer was introduced featuring a Xilinx Spartan chip, but because of the other features it offered, it was easy to overlook this symbiotic relationship. So why have we chosen to use FPGAs over a different type of processing chip in test and measurement devices? What is it that makes an FPGA so perfect for test engineering?

• Reconfigurability:可以从其原始设计中重新配置FPGA，这意味着可以对数据进行处理的方式，以响应从现有数据中学到的新信息，或者只是为了适应某些自定义的使用该数据。重新配置性是在制作原型时具有有用的功能。重新配置也很有用，因为测试和测量设备可以具有不同的“个性”或“口味”，因此可以在其中包含独特的功能。
• 部署：FPGA可以为产品的部署添加一层易于自定义的数据处理。FPGA是一种以灵活的方式进行此操作的经济高效的方式，甚至在到达内存之前。它们比针对特定应用的集成电路（ASIC）便宜，这些电路（ASIC）具有巨大的前期投资成本，并且比在处理器中运行相同类型的操作更快，（通常）功率更低。
• SoCs:SoCs (systems-on-chip) also add a processor and additional physical interface hardware to the FPGA. The processor lets you run software efficiently on the device. This even includes the ability to run a Linux OS, adding quick and easy support for很多否则可能需要多年的努力才能重新实现的软件才能在您的设备上运行。物理界面硬件使您可以在实现以太网控制器以外的其他功能上使用FPGA资源，从而可以添加以太网支持并围绕USB传输速度的限制进行工作。

为什么基于FPGA的解决方案对测试和测量越来越必要？

As the greater technology landscape is migrating toward IoT applications and real-time measurements, the necessity of being able to measure much higher speeds with even greater accuracy is growing more important. With low latency and the ability to work and process in parallel, FPGAs and SoCs have proven to be the perfect answer to these measurement needs and enables the engineer to utilize digital signal processing. FPGAs are being used extensively in new instrumentation designs, from general purpose test and measurement products to more application-specific instruments in medical, semiconductor, aerospace, and other industries. By moving the decision making closer to the sensor, or at the “edge” of computing, these measurements can be done in a more responsive way, reducing the overhead demands of a test system.

Digilent的新设备ADP3450和Eclypse, the engineer is able to access Linux straight from the device as a result of the System-on-Chip (SoC) at the core. Both use Xilinx’s Zynq technology, and give the user the freedom to draw on software expertise in creating the test system, rather than relying solely on manipulating the hardware, or requiring a USB-connected host computer to do the bulk of the data processing.

软件如何适应

如果FPGA和测试和测量产品是独立的，但互补的技术，则软件是使其效率最大化的管道。使用Linux设计原型，使工程师能够使用Python，C ++和MATLAB等语言进行编程和脚本自动测试。同时，其他软件（例如我们波形) allows the acquisition, processing, visualization, and management of measurement data and results. In the end, using products that are optimized to take advantage of the benefits of both FPGA and software give the advantage of prototyping, researching, or conducting test functions in a complete hardware-software system.

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