Digital Communication

Custom or proprietary digital protocols are commonly used for device or subsystem communication in applications ranging from aerospace to consumer electronics. While custom protocols often ensure hardware-timed speed and reliability, they also require a custom digital interface for prototyping and testing, which can be costly. Although custom hardware provides a specialized solution, engineers cannot reconfigure or expand it to meet their changing needs. Additionally, custom hardware is nearly impossible to maintain over time. By adopting a prototyping and testing platform with a reliable and reconfigurable architecture, engineers can focus on the entire system rather than abstracting low-level hardware design. This saves resources and development time, especially as needs change.

Mechanical system - This includes the communicating device and any cabling or terminal blocks necessary to link digital lines to industry-standard connectors.

Third-party external hardware - This layer may include necessary converters, level shifters, or protocol interpreters.

I/O - There are many I/O options to meet your needs, including typical transistor-transistor logic (TTL) digital signals, 24 V industrial levels, and other signal types.

FPGA - FPGAs provide bit-level control in hardware. You can program FPGAs to handle many aspects of digital communication, from translating protocols to error insertion for test.

Host computer - This includes high-level control, test vector storage, and user-interface programming.