Virtual Instrumentation and Distributed Measurement Systems

The development and use of programmable measurement systems have been widely explored. The possibility of modifying the measurement procedure simply by changing the algorithm executed by the computer-based architecture without replacing the hardware components makes the experimental activity easier. Virtual measurement systems have been introduced to simplify the design, implementation and use of programmable measurement systems by adopting a visual interface. Networking has also been introduced successfully in measurement to interconnect different instruments and data processing sites into a distributed measurement system (DMS). Industries that develop and use DMS are migrating away from proprietary hardware and software platforms in favour of open systems and standardized approaches.