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Instrument Control Toolbox

Instrument Control Toolbox

Control test and measurement instruments and communicate with computer
peripherals and industrial automation equipment

 Download a free trial View Pricing

Instrument Control Toolbox™ lets you connect MATLAB®

directly to instruments such as oscilloscopes, function
generators, signal analyzers, power supplies, and analytical
instruments. The toolbox connects to your instruments via
instrument drivers such as IVI and VXIplug&play or via text-
based SCPI commands over commonly used communication
protocols such as GPIB, VISA, TCP/IP, and UDP. You can
also control and acquire data from test equipment without
writing code.

With Instrument Control Toolbox, you can generate data in

 2:10
MATLAB to send out to an instrument or read data into
What is Instrument Control Toolbox?
MATLAB for analysis and visualization. You can automate
tests, verify hardware designs, and build test systems based
on LXI, PXI, and AXIe standards.

The toolbox provides built-in support for TCP/IP, UDP, I2C,

SPI, and Bluetooth® serial protocols for remote communication
with other computers and printed circuit boards (PCBs) from
MATLAB. It also includes functions and apps for the
MODBUS protocol, enabling communication with industrial
automation equipment such as programmable logic controllers
(PLCs) and programmable automation controllers (PACs).

Get Started:
Test 5G and LTE Signals

Build Test Applications

Interact with Instruments

Use and Develop Instrument Drivers

Interact with Modbus Servers

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I2C, SPI, and Bluetooth

TCP/IP and UDP Communication

Instrument Control Toolbox
Supported Hardware

Documentation and Resources

Try or Buy

WEBINAR

Acquiring Data from Sensors and Instruments

Using MATLAB
Watch webinar (48:48)

Test 5G and LTE Signals

Send out and acquire wireless waveforms over the air using RF test
equipment.

Acquire and Output Signals

Use an RF signal generator to output 5G, LTE, WLAN, and custom wireless signals
that you have designed in MATLAB; acquire data over the air from RF signal and
spectrum analyzers for further analysis in MATLAB.
 5:32
MATLAB for Wireless Communications
Verifying 802.11ax Wireless Signals
Designing and Generating a WLAN Signal Using the Waveform Generator App Over the Air Using MATLAB and Test
and a Keysight Signal Generator and Measurement Equipment

Generate and Transmit 5G Waveforms Using Test and Measurement Equipment

Build Test Applications

Automate test sequences and build graphical applications (UIs).

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Automate and Deploy Tests Instrument Control Toolbox

Use Instrument Control Toolbox to connect to your test equipment; use App Designer
to build UIs that automate your design verification and production test procedures.
Use MATLAB Compiler™ to deploy your test application to multiple test stations.

Verification of High-Efficiency Power Amplifier Performance at Nujira

Oscilloscope App Example Using App Designer App to acquire data and adjust
scope settings.

Interact with Instruments

Use apps and functions to interact with a wide variety of instruments,
such as oscilloscopes, signal analyzers, RF signal generators, network
analyzers, and power supplies. Send out RF signals over the air and
acquire RF signals for further analysis.

Quick-Control Interfaces
Quick-control interfaces provide the most common functions needed to control
oscilloscopes, function generators, and RF signal generators. Read waveforms,
adjust offset and coupling on scopes, and download arbitrary waveforms to signal
generators. 

Reading Waveforms from an Oscilloscope Using a Quick-Control Oscilloscope Spectrum of LTE signal to be
Object output by instrument.
Simplified Programming of Function Generators Using the Quick Control
Interface (5:14)

LTE Waveform Generation and Transmission Using Quick-Control RF Signal

Generator

Instrument Control App

Use the Instrument Control app to communicate with and configure instruments
without writing code. The app automatically generates MATLAB code from an
instrument control session that you can incorporate into other automated test
programs.  4:20

Connecting to Instruments Without Writing Code (4:20) Connecting to Instruments Without

Writing Code
Test & Measurement Tool Overview

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Text-Based Instrument ControlInstrument Control Toolbox

Communicate with instruments using text-based SCPI commands over interfaces,
such as VISA, GPIB, USB, TCP/IP, and Serial. Use IVI, VXIplug&play, and MATLAB
instrument drivers to simplify programming of your instruments.

Reading Inphase and Quadrature (IQ) Data from a Signal Analyzer

Waveform Generation and Transmission Using LTE Toolbox with Test and Power spectral density of acquired
Measurement Equipment IQ data.

Characterizing a Low-Noise Amplifier by Measuring Its S-Parameters

Use and Develop Instrument Drivers

Use IVI, VXIplug&play, and MATLAB instrument drivers directly; develop
and test custom instrument drivers.

Use Instrument Drivers

Use instrument drivers to communicate with instruments independently of device
protocols. Directly use vendor-provided IVI and VXIplug&play instrument drivers, or
create MATLAB instrument drivers with driver development tools included in the
toolbox. 

Getting Started with IVI Drivers Web tool to find instrument drivers.
Getting Started with VXIplug&play Drivers

Find an Instrument Driver with the Instrument Driver Search Tool

Customize Instrument Drivers

Use the MATLAB Instrument Driver Editor to import and customize existing drivers
and to create MATLAB instrument drivers from IVI and VXIplug&play drivers.

Creating MATLAB Instrument Drivers with the Instrument Driver Editor 

Convert Driver to MATLAB Instrument Driver Format
View driver properties in Instrument
Driver Editor.

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Instrument Control Toolbox

Interact with Modbus Servers

Use apps and functions for Modbus communication to acquire data from
industrial equipment such as PLCs.

Modbus Explorer App

The Modbus Explorer app lets you communicate with Modbus slaves without writing
code. Configure a Modbus connection over Modbus RTU or Modbus TCP/IP.
Automatically generate a MATLAB script from the app, and use this MATLAB code in
other programs.  5:10

Read Coils, Inputs, and Registers in the Modbus Explorer Modbus Explorer App Overview

Write to Coils and Holding Registers in the Modbus Explorer

I2C, SPI, and Bluetooth

Use apps and functions to acquire data from I2C sensors, SPI sensors,
and Bluetooth sensors.

Connect to Digital Sensors

Open connections with individual I2C or SPI sensors on your circuit board, and read
and write data from these devices. Transfer data to or from any Bluetooth device that
supports Bluetooth Serial Port Profile (SPP).

I2C Interface Support from Instrument Control Toolbox

SPI Interface Support from Instrument Control Toolbox Read data from a digital
accelerometer using I2C.
Tap Detection with ADXL345 Accelerometer Chip Using the NI USB 8451
Adaptor

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TCP/IP and UDP Communication

Instrument Control Toolbox
Send and receive data over TCP/IP and UDP protocols.

Connect to Networked Devices

Interface with test equipment and other networked devices over TCP/IP and UDP
from both MATLAB and Simulink®. Send data from a Simulink model to a remote
computer over UDP.
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Reading Inphase and Quadrature (IQ) Data from a Signal Analyzer Over TCP/IP

Basic UDP Communication from Simulink Plot of acquired IQ

(inphase/quadrature) signals.

Supported Hardware
Build test systems using a variety of instruments, including oscilloscopes,
signal analyzers, signal generators, network analyzers, power supplies,
and power meters.

Supported Hardware and Standards

Multiple manufacturers of benchtop and modular instruments are supported,
including Keysight™, Rohde & Schwarz, Tektronix®, and National Instruments®. VISA,
GPIB, SCPI, IVI, VXIplug&play, LXI, PXI, and AXIe standards are supported. See link
for details: 

Hardware Support from Instrument Control Toolbox View list of supported hardware.

Product
Resources:

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