National Instruments has developed a new USB interface device – the USB-8451 - for use with inter-integrated circuit (I2C) and serial peripheral interface (SPI) communication devices.
For use in applications such as embedded consumer devices, it allows creation of programs to test, validate and program devices such as such as analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and EEPROMs in close proximity to the system components.
To deal with the programming challenges when implementing I2C and SPI protocols for use with digital I/O boards, the USB-8451 interface includes driver software that provides high-level, easy-to-use LabVIEW functions for quickly developing
applications without requiring in-depth knowledge of I2C and SPI communications.
In addition to providing both I2C and SPI communication, the new USB-8451 also includes eight digital lines for general-purpose I/O and is capable of full-speed USB connectivity.
Hardware design engineers can use the USB-8451 interface to test and validate component prototypes. For example, engineers wanting to validate the functionality of a microcontroller that includes I2C or SPI communication
lines no longer need to place the microcontroller on the printed circuit board (PCB) and hope that it interacts well with the other components.
The new interface can be used to send I2C or SPI commands to the microcontroller through the USB-8451 interface to validate its functionality before placing it on the PCB.
Pricing for the USB-8451 starts at $399.
National Instruments
Austin, Texas
512-683-5090
www.ni.com
