Configuration strategies for reconfigurable virtual instruments using FPGA

Reconfigurable virtual instruments play a vital role in test and measurement systems due to rapid development in technology. In a conventional instrument, functionality of the instrument is decided by the user since the data processing, analysis and presentation is done with the help of a software program in PC platform. Unlike traditional standalone instruments where the instrument functionality is decided by the manufacturer, virtual instruments offer a great level of flexibility to the user. But virtual instruments are not efficient systems to handle time critical instrument tasks since they are run by an operating system which introduce timing errors into the system. Hence it is desirable to design a system which not only offers user reconfigurable feature, but also satisfy the time critical functions like traditional instruments. Reconfigurable virtual instruments are measurement systems which allow the user to reconfigure a single hardware kernel to multiple measurement instruments depending upon the user requirement. Reconfigurable virtual instruments combine the advantage of conventional virtual instruments and traditional instruments by offering both user reconfigurablity and real time performance. In this paper, three different reconfiguration schemes for RVI are designed and their comparative performance analysis is done for a typical instrument.