National Instruments Introduces New Intelligent Data Acquisition Devices; New Reconfigurable Devices Powered by LabVIEW FPGA Technology Feature Onboard Processing.

AUSTIN, Texas -- National Instruments (Nasdaq:NATI) today announced the release of seven new R Series devices and five CompactRIO modules for embedded digital signal processing and high-speed control. Engineers and scientists can use these intelligent devices to create their own data acquisition and control circuitry through National Instruments LabVIEW graphical development tools.

For example, by using the new LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit, LabVIEW programmers can take advantage of automatically generated LabVIEW FPGA code and easily design digital filters on the FPGA chips of their RIO devices. The LabVIEW code in the FPGAs of these devices can run at rates up to 40 MHz, making these devices an ideal solution for ultrahigh-speed analog and discrete control.

"LabVIEW FPGA and RIO technology is the heart of our data acquisition and control system, and the new denser 3 million-gate version of R Series devices provides for additional onboard processing and future expandability," said Michael Wiltberger, principal engineer at Optimedica Corporation. "By leveraging an off-the-shelf product, we are reducing our engineering and maintenance costs, and at the same time the FPGA offers greater safety and system reliability than a custom solution."

The new NI R Series devices feature a denser 3 million-gate FPGA chip, 40 MHz digital I/O (DIO) rates, 200 kHz analog input rates and 1 MHz analog output rates. The new R Series plug-in devices include:

--NI PXI/PCI-7833R: 3M gate multifunction DAQ devices (8 AI, 8 AO and 96 DIO channels)

--NI PXI/PCI-7813R: 3M gate digital only DAQ devices (160 DIO channels)

--NI PXI/PCI-7830R: 1M gate multifunction DAQ devices (4 AI, 4 AO and 56 DIO channels)

--NI PCI-7811R: 1M gate digital only DAQ device (160 DIO channels)

The five new NI CompactRIO modules expand the RIO embedded platform with up to 32 channels per module and increased digital performance with 100 nanoseconds I/O rates. With the new NI 9476 module, engineers can control 24 V actuators with up to 8 A of current drive per module. Two of the new CompactRIO modules feature new D-Sub connector options for the industrial NI 9221 and NI 9201 analog input modules, offering low-cost cabling options for high-volume OEM applications. The three additional new CompactRIO modules include:

--NI 9401: 8-channel, ultrahigh-speed bidirectional TTL digital I/O module with 100 ns I/O delay time

--NI 9476: 32-channel, industrial digital output module with 500 microseconds I/O delay time

--NI 9265: 4-channel, 16-bit simultaneous current output module with 100 kS/s update rate

"Since its inception, virtual instrumentation has given users the power to define their own data acquisition and control hardware using high-level software tools," said Tim Dehne, National Instruments senior vice president of R&D. "These new RIO devices represent a powerful extension of virtual instrumentation; engineers and scientists now can create and customize their own data acquisition hardware using LabVIEW FPGA technology."

About National Instruments

National Instruments (www.ni.com) is a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation -- a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government and academia approach measurement and automation. Leveraging PCs and commercial technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs for test, control and design applications through easy-to-integrate software, such as NI LabVIEW, and modular measurement and control hardware for PXI, PCI, USB and Ethernet. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 3,500 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries. In 2004, the company sold products to more than 25,000 companies in 90 countries. For the past six 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, by e-mailing [e-mail] or visiting www.ni.com/nati.

Pricing and Contact Information

NI PXI/PCI-7833R, PXI/PCI-7830R, PXI/PCI-7813R, PCI-7811R, NI 9401, NI 9476, NI 9265 and NI 9201 and NI 9221 with D-Sub

Priced from $245

Web: www.ni.com/compactrio and

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