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Anatomy of a Data Acquisition Experiment
For each new data acquisition experiment, you need to perform these tasks:
System Setup
The first step in any data acquisition experiment is to install the hardware and software. Hardware installation consists of plugging a board into your computer or installing modules into an external chassis. Software installation consists of loading hardware drivers and application software onto your computer. After the hardware and software are installed, you can attach your sensors.
Calibration
After the hardware and software are installed and the sensors are connected, the data acquisition hardware should be calibrated. Calibration consists of providing a known input to the system and recording the output. For many data acquisition devices, calibration can be easily accomplished with software provided by the vendor.
Trials
After the hardware is set up and calibrated, you can begin to acquire data. You might think that if you completely understand the characteristics of the signal you are measuring, then you should be able to configure your data acquisition system and acquire the data.
In the real world however, your sensor might be picking up unacceptable noise levels and require shielding, or you might need to run the device at a higher rate, or perhaps you need to add an antialias filter to remove unwanted frequency components.
These real-world effects act as obstacles between you and a precise, accurate measurement. To overcome these obstacles, you need to experiment with different hardware and software configurations. In other words, you need to perform multiple data acquisition trials.
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