National Instruments myRIO-1900 Reconfigurable I/O (RIO) Device

National Instruments created the myRIO-1900 (Part Numbers: 783072-01, 782693-01, 783759-01, 782692-01), a portable reconfigurable I/O (RIO) device that allows students to work on control, robotics, and mechatronic systems design projects. It incorporates a number of different I/O features, such as WiFi connectivity, digital I/O lines, push buttons, push button buttons, integrated accelerometers, Xilinx FPGAs, dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processors, and analog inputs and outputs.

This multipurpose tool allows for programming in C or LabVIEW, providing flexibility in application. The dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU in the myRIO-1900, clocked at 667 MHz, offers sufficient processing capacity for a variety of uses. It features 512 MB of DDR3 memory running at 533 MHz with a 16-bit data bus width in addition to 256 MB of nonvolatile memory.

Wireless connectivity is facilitated through WiFi, operating in IEEE 802.11 b/g/n mode within the 2.4 GHz ISM band, with support for WPA, WPA2, and WPA2-Enterprise security protocols. Analog inputs are available on both myRIO Expansion Port (MXP) connectors A and B, Mini System Port (MSP) connector C, and a stereo audio input connector. MXP connectors A and B feature four single-ended analog input channels per connector for signals up to 0-5 V, while MSP connector C offers two high-impedance, differential analog input channels for signals up to ±10 V.

Stereo audio input channels provide a ±2.5 V full-scale range. There are stereo audio output connectors, MXP connectors A and B, and MSP connector C with analog output channels. Due to the specialized digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for each analog output channel, updates can occur simultaneously. There are 40 lines in total for digital I/O, split between the MXP and MSP connections.

The MXP connectors are combined with UART send and receive lines. Every axis is continuously sampled by the inbuilt accelerometer of the myRIO-1900, updating readable registers with the data. With a maximum power consumption of 14 W and an average idle power consumption of 2.6 W, the power requirements span from 6 to 16 VDC, guaranteeing effective operation.