National Instruments NI VISION PCI-8254R - Manual (Page 8)

© National Instruments Corporation 1-1 NI PCI-8254R User Manual
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Introduction
The NI PCI-8254R is a OHCI compliant IEEE 1394a interface device with
reconfigurable I/O (RIO).
The NI 8254R device ships with NI Vision Acquisition Software, which
contains all of the drivers in the NI Vision product line. With NI Vision
Acquisition Software, you can quickly and easily start your applications
without having to program the device at the register level.
The NI 8254R includes TTL inputs and outputs for triggering, and isolated
inputs and outputs for connecting to external devices, such as lighting
controllers, proximity sensors, and quadrature encoders.
Behind the digital I/O of the NI 8254R is an FPGA which has been
preconfigured with the functionality required for most common machine
vision tasks. However, if the factory configured functionality does not
fulfill your requirements, the FPGA is user-configurable using the
LabVIEW FPGA Module. The NI 8254R provides a convenient 44-pin
D-SUB connector on its front panel to access the digital I/O.
For detailed specifications of the NI 8254R, refer to the Specifications
section of Getting Started with the NI PCI-8254R.
Software Overview
Programming the NI 8254R requires two drivers to control the hardware:
NI-IMAQdx and NI-IMAQ I/O. Both drivers are included with the
NI Vision Acquisition Software.
NI-IMAQdx has an extensive library of functions you can call and handles
communication between the computer and the image acquisition device,
such as programming interrupts and camera control. NI-IMAQ I/O
provides functions to control the I/O on the NI 8254R.
National Instruments also offers the following application software
packages for analyzing and processing your acquired images. For detailed
information about individual software packages, refer to the documentation
specific to each package.