National Instruments Expands Wireless and Ethernet Data Acquisition Platform

March 24, 2009 – National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) has announced six new wireless and Ethernet data acquisition modules and two ingress protection (IP) enclosures for remote monitoring and control in harsh environments. The new modules combine high-voltage digital I/O and IEEE 802.11b/g (Wi-Fi) or Ethernet communication to remotely monitor and control actuators such as pumps, valves and relays. Engineers and scientists can use these and other NI Wi-Fi or Ethernet devices with the NI 9921 and NI 9922 IP enclosures to protect their equipment from dust particles and splashing water or rain in outdoor or industrial environments.

These new devices build on the NI Wi-Fi and Ethernet DAQ product family, which features 10 devices with built-in signal conditioning and direct sensor connectivity for electrical, physical, mechanical and acoustic measurements. NI Wi-Fi DAQ devices reduce cabling costs and increase system flexibility without compromising the performance of a cabled solution. For integration into enterprise network infrastructure, engineers and scientists can also connect NI Wi-Fi DAQ devices to a host PC wirelessly using the highest commercially available wireless security, IEEE 802.11i (WPA2). Similarly, NI Ethernet DAQ devices extend portable and distributed measurements up to 100 m per segment to connect to any computer on a network.

The NI WLS-9421 and WLS-9472 Wi-Fi DAQ devices provide eight channels of digital input and output, respectively, with 24 V logic levels. NI ENET-9421 and ENET-9472 Ethernet DAQ devices offer these same measurements over a standard Ethernet connection. With these capabilities, engineers and scientists can monitor and control actuators such as pumps, valves and relays in remote applications. The NI WLS-9481 and ENET-9481 provide four electromechanical relay outputs capable of switching up to 2 A at 30 VDC or 1 A at 60 VDC.

The NI 9921 and NI 9922 are environmentally sealed IP enclosures that simplify the installation of NI Wi-Fi DAQ devices in harsh outdoor or industrial applications by protecting them from dust and splashing water or rain. The NI 9921 enclosure provides a minimum of IP 54-rated connectivity for passing I/O signals and an external antenna for communication to a host PC. The NI 9922 enclosure offers an additional Ethernet port and a four-pin trigger connector, which are also protected from environmental conditions.

These new devices can be combined with the NI LabVIEW graphical system design software platform to meet wireless monitoring and control needs for structural diagnostic, environmental and machine condition monitoring applications. With the flexibility of LabVIEW graphical programming and the ubiquity of IEEE 802.11 network infrastructure, NI Wi-Fi DAQ makes it easy to incorporate wireless connectivity into new or existing PC-based measurement or control systems.

NI Wi-Fi and Ethernet DAQ devices are shipped with NI-DAQmx driver software, which delivers time-saving features such as the configuration-based NI DAQ Assistant with code generation for both LabVIEW and other programming languages; more than 3,000 measurement examples; device simulation; connection diagrams; and compatibility with LabVIEW, ANSI C/C++, C#, Visual Basic .NET and Visual Basic 6.0.

For more information, visit www.ni.com/wifi.

About National Instruments
National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 25,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing more than 10 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 5,000 employees and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 10 years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. Readers can obtain investment information from the company’s investor relations department by calling (512) 683-5090, e-mailing nati@ni.com or visiting www.ni.com/nati.        

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