The dawn of a new instrumentation era

Based on some instruments I’ve seen recently, I have to believe we are seeing the dawn of a new era in instrumentation, just as when the PC gave rise to the era of virtual, modular instruments.

Rather than use a PC, these new instruments make use of the latest portable computing system, the smart phone or tablet, as an instrument system controller. The handheld device serves as the computational hub of the system.

The actual measurement is performed by a small device, with a dongle-like appearance. But unlike most dongles, it isn’t necessarily plugged into the computational subsystem. In some cases, it communicates wirelessly with the handheld device. The dongle consists of one or more measurement sensors, digitizing and processing circuits, and a wireless transmitter receiver.

Some of the first instruments I’ve seen that are blazing the trail to this new territory are the WiPry-Combo module from Oscium ( www2.electronicproducts.com/M-article-tmrc03_jan2012-html.aspx) and the U1177A wireless connectivity solution from Agilent ( www2.electronicproducts.com/_-article-hlrc03_apr2012-html.aspx). The former module plugs into an iPhone to turn it into a spectrum analyzer, while the latter attaches to a DMM so it can be controled by an Android based device.

For lack of a better term, I’d call these dongle instruments, but maybe you can come up with a better name. If so, send me an e-mail and the person who comes up with the best name will win an appropriate prize.