Data Acquisition (DAQ) technology plays an essential role across a wide range of sectors, including scientific research, industrial manufacturing, environmental monitoring, life sciences, energy, and telecommunications. Among the many DAQ solutions, plug-and-play DAQ devices and modular DAQ systems stand out for their distinct advantages. This article delves into the concepts, features, applications, and benefits of these two approaches.

1. Understanding Plug-and-Play DAQ Devices

Plug and Play (PnP) technology enables seamless connection between external devices and computers, eliminating complex configurations. Once connected, the computer automatically detects the device and installs the necessary drivers, enabling immediate use. Plug-and-play DAQ devices interface with computers or data acquisition systems via PCI, PCIe, USB, or Ethernet, using the host computer for signal acquisition, processing, storage, and analysis. These devices are known for high performance, reliable communication, fast deployment, ease of maintenance, and cost-effectiveness.

2. Smartgiant’s Plug-and-Play DAQ

Smartgiant offers an array of high-performance plug-and-play DAQ products, including the SG1227 PCIe High-Speed Acquisition Card and the SG2168 High-Speed Acquisition Box.

SG1227 PCIe Acquisition Card  features an 8-bit dual-channel digitizer with a maximum sampling rate of 5 GS/s and an analog bandwidth of 500 MHz. With a PCIe 3.0 x 8 interface, it offers high data transfer rates and customizable hardware, FPGA, and software.

With features including versatility, low power consumption, and easy integration, the SG1227 DAQ Card is an excellent option for OEM applications such as mass spectrometry, fiber optic sensing, semiconductor testing, and laser detection. However, its dependence on PCIe slots can limit scalability in multi-channel data acquisition scenarios due to the finite number of available slots.

SG2168 High-Speed Acquisition Box is a dual-channel, high-precision data acquisition device with a sampling rate of 500 MSPS and a 14-bit resolution. It features an analog input bandwidth of 200 MHz and is powered by a high-performance Xilinx MPSoC processor. The device is equipped with 2G DDR4 and 16G eMMC storage, supporting both internal and external precise trigger sampling modes. Additionally, it offers a wide range of communication interfaces, including Gigabit Ethernet, CAN, RS485, and RS232.

The DAQ Box is extensively utilized in sectors such as new energy, wireless communication, biomedical, and industrial automation, providing robust support for real-time data acquisition. However, it lacks the synchronous sampling capabilities, making it less suitable for tasks requiring simultaneous multi-device data acquisition.

3. The Concept of Modular DAQ Systems

A modular DAQ system is a flexible and scalable data acquisition solution built with a modular architecture. It supports isolated and synchronized sampling, allowing users to customize and configure modules according to their specific needs, all housed in an independent chassis for tailored setups. A typical modular DAQ system usually consists of a chassis, a controller, various functional modules, and supporting software. It also offers data interfaces such as USB and Ethernet, facilitating rapid deployment and easy connections to industrial computers.

A key feature of these systems is the networking capability, achieved through daisy chain, which enables data interconnection and time synchronization between multiple devices. This design allows a single industrial computer to control multiple data acquisition devices remotely, ensuring synchronized data collection. Networking multiple modular DAQ systems is ideal for complex data acquisition tasks, such as monitoring generator performance and collecting sensor data in automotive R&D and testing.

4. Smartgiant’s sDAQ

To meet the evolving market demands, Smartgiant has developed the sDAQ modular DAQ system, which also boasts the aforementioned plug-and-play advantages. The sDAQ is an efficient, customizable data acquisition solution built on FPGA architecture, featuring a modular design and thirteen standard acquisition modules. Users can either select existing modules or customize modules from the module library for a more tailored data acquisition solution, ensuring that the system aligns perfectly with their specific application scenarios.

In summary, plug-and-play DAQ devices and modular DAQ systems each offer unique advantages, catering to different needs. 

• Plug-and-play devices are intuitive and affordable, making them perfect for users who need straightforward configurations and quick deployments for fixed measurement tasks.
• Modular DAQ systems combine the ease of plug-and-play with extensive scalability. They support flexible module combinations within a single chassis and enable networking across multiple systems for large-scale data acquisition, making them suitable for complex applications that require customization, real-time processing, and long-term testing.

Smartgiant offers a variety of customizable plug-and-play DAQ products and modular DAQ systems to meet diverse industry needs. As the market continue to evolve, Smartgiant remains committed to delivering innovative products and top-tier services to our customers.