CompactRIO
Encyclopedia
CompactRIO is a realtime industrial controller made by National Instruments
. The CompactRIO is a combination of a Real Time Controller, reconfigurable IO Modules (RIO), FPGA Module and an Ethernet expansion chassis.
The various hardware components of a cRIO are :
The Realtime controller is a powerful processor with a wide range of clock frequencies for implementing the control algorithm.
The FPGA module is used for implementing low level logic on the data acquired using the IO modules. The FPGA Module used in the cRIO is a Xilinx
Virtex series FPGA, which is a high end FPGA. The FPGA can be programmed separately and is connected to the real time controller using an internal bus.
The IO Modules are C series cards made by National Instruments themselves, but also by third party companies. These modules are hot swappable.
The Ethernet expansion chassis comes with an ethernet port (8P8C) which is used for connecting the cRIO to a host PC. The chassis comes in two formats, namely the 4 slot and 8 slot formats.
The FPGA is connected to the Realtime controller by a High-Speed PCI Bus.
. The real time controller can also be programmed with C, C++ or Java. LabVIEW must be used to program the embedded FPGA.
The real time controller comes with a licensed version of the RTOS VxWorks
. The Xilinx FPGA used is programmed using Xilinx's toolchain
. Programs created in LabVIEW are compiled into machine code for VxWorks and hardware description language
(HDL) for the Xilinx FPGA toolchain automatically during deployment of the code to the target.
The VxWorks running in the Realtime controller supports a filesystem and hence minimal data logging is also available at the controller level. The Full Development System version of LabVIEW does not come with the modules needed to program the cRIO. The Realtime Module and FPGA modules have to be purchased separately and installed with LabVIEW for programming the hardware. The programming is done on a Host PC running the Windows Operating System
and is deployed on the cRIO via Ethernet.
National Instruments
National Instruments Corporation, or NI , is an American company with over 5,000 employees and direct operations in 41 countries. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software...
. The CompactRIO is a combination of a Real Time Controller, reconfigurable IO Modules (RIO), FPGA Module and an Ethernet expansion chassis.
Hardware
The cRIO is used in industry for performing control actions on parameters in places where a small form factor and ruggedness are important.The various hardware components of a cRIO are :
- Real time controller
- Reconfigurable IO Modules
- FPGA
- Ethernet Expansion chassis
The Realtime controller is a powerful processor with a wide range of clock frequencies for implementing the control algorithm.
The FPGA module is used for implementing low level logic on the data acquired using the IO modules. The FPGA Module used in the cRIO is a Xilinx
Xilinx
Xilinx, Inc. is a supplier of programmable logic devices. It is known for inventing the field programmable gate array and as the first semiconductor company with a fabless manufacturing model....
Virtex series FPGA, which is a high end FPGA. The FPGA can be programmed separately and is connected to the real time controller using an internal bus.
The IO Modules are C series cards made by National Instruments themselves, but also by third party companies. These modules are hot swappable.
The Ethernet expansion chassis comes with an ethernet port (8P8C) which is used for connecting the cRIO to a host PC. The chassis comes in two formats, namely the 4 slot and 8 slot formats.
The FPGA is connected to the Realtime controller by a High-Speed PCI Bus.
Software
Since cRIO is made by National instruments, the real time controller can be programmed with National Instrument's graphical programming language - LabVIEWLabVIEW
LabVIEW is a system design platform and development environment for a visual programming language from National Instruments. LabVIEW provides engineers and scientists with the tools needed to create and deploy measurement and control systems.The graphical language is named "G"...
. The real time controller can also be programmed with C, C++ or Java. LabVIEW must be used to program the embedded FPGA.
The real time controller comes with a licensed version of the RTOS VxWorks
VxWorks
VxWorks is a real-time operating system developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems of Alameda, California, USA. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems.- History :...
. The Xilinx FPGA used is programmed using Xilinx's toolchain
Toolchain
In software, a toolchain is the set of programming tools that are used to create a product...
. Programs created in LabVIEW are compiled into machine code for VxWorks and hardware description language
Hardware description language
In electronics, a hardware description language or HDL is any language from a class of computer languages, specification languages, or modeling languages for formal description and design of electronic circuits, and most-commonly, digital logic...
(HDL) for the Xilinx FPGA toolchain automatically during deployment of the code to the target.
The VxWorks running in the Realtime controller supports a filesystem and hence minimal data logging is also available at the controller level. The Full Development System version of LabVIEW does not come with the modules needed to program the cRIO. The Realtime Module and FPGA modules have to be purchased separately and installed with LabVIEW for programming the hardware. The programming is done on a Host PC running the Windows Operating System
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
and is deployed on the cRIO via Ethernet.