NI Extends LabVIEW Environmental Monitoring Capabilities

AUSTIN, TX /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Instruments (NI) announced the release of a new instrument driver that gives users of the NI LabVIEW graphical system design platform the ability to interface with environmental monitoring sensors that communicate via SDI-12, a serial-based communication protocol optimized for battery-powered intelligent sensors. With NI LabVIEW SDI-12 application programming interface (API) software, researchers, engineers, and scientists can easily acquire measurements such as turbidity, dissolved oxygen, tank level, soil pH, conductivity, and other critical environmental sensor measurements.

The SDI-12 protocol makes it possible to communicate with a wide variety of sensors and recorders most commonly used in environmental data acquisition applications, such as climate-change tracking, water quality testing, ecological research, soil monitoring, agriculture, and weather analysis. Using the LabVIEW SDI-12 API, researchers, engineers, and scientists can connect traditional environmental data with the wide variety of I/O that works with LabVIEW, making it a comprehensive and flexible environmental data-logging solution.

"National Instruments makes green engineering possible by providing measurement and automation hardware and software to measure and understand real-world data and then to correct or fix the problem," said John Hanks, Vice President of Data Acquisition and Control at National Instruments. "Now, with the National Instruments LabVIEW SDI-12 API environmental sensor software, engineers can shorten their development time when designing data-logging and data-acquisition applications that use common sensors from leading environmental companies."

The LabVIEW SDI-12 API, combined with an RS-232 to SDI-12 converter and any computer or NI programmable automation controller that includes a serial port, can be used to make environmental measurements in a laboratory setting or deploy stand-alone systems in remote locations. The LabVIEW SDI-12 API can be downloaded for free from the NI Instrument Driver Network. Readers also can view the "Building an Environmental Monitoring System for SDI-12 Devices" white paper for more information.

Additionally, readers can visit the company's Web site for information on how NI products are being used in various environmental monitoring applications.

About NI
National Instruments 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% of revenue and no one industry representing more than 10% of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, TX, NI has more than 4800 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries. For the past nine 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 [email protected], or visiting the company's Web site.

LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. For more information contact Ernest Martinez, 800-258-7022.