National Instruments flaunts FPGA prowess

Backed by Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA ) processors, low-cost sensors, and rising connectivity, National Instruments (NI) would like to transform its business offerings in the Internet of Things (IoT) space.

Interacting with Deccan Herald as part of the 12th edition of NIDays to exhibit advancements in Industrial IoT, National Instruments Vice President (Sales and Marketing), Europe, Robert Morton said the company finds tremendous opportunity in IoT but there is also hype around it.

“We believe it is here and it is concrete. By harnessing data, we can analyse what is happening in the machine and take decisions accordingly. IoT is driven by three factors. These are low-cost sensors, new processing technology backed by Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA ), and the prevalence of rising broadband connectivity,” he said.

IoT will impact the industry where machine intelligence and capability can be enhanced. “We have built a platform for Industrial IoT and it will help in the extension of the life of instruments. It will help machines to monitor it holistically to take decisions, like when to retrofit, continue with it, and change it. We bring all these service in a package,” he said.
NI adopted this architecture of having FPGA with a processor ten years ago, and created a platform for engineers to innovate.

“The future of computing is not only processors but also FPGA. Very recently Intel acquired  FPGA vendor Altera for $16.7 billion, realising its importance,” he said.