Design of FPGA based DAQ card using PCI express protocol

Most of the currently available PC based data acquisition systems are based on discrete components and therefore these are burdensome and costly. System-on-chip technology, like FPGA, has not only reduced the size of such systems, but also, it has improved the efficiency in processing speed and energy consumption. In this paper FPGA based DAQ card supported with PCI express (the fastest communication protocol for desktop PC) is being presented. Although there are many companies like National Instruments, Ballard etc. which provide DAQ systems with these features but they are too costly to be afforded by local industry. The DAQ card being presented in this paper is a cheaper solution to industrial problems of process monitoring, controlling, and fastest data logging.