Fact Fest

The latest methods in data acquisition provide engineers with stronger support than ever to make more informed decisions. Data acquisition is the process of making repetitive, timed measurements of multiple signal sources. The robotics team at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories builds a computerized model of robotic parts, such as robotic arm, and then runs a series of data acquisition tests on a prototype to determine how the arm will move. The robotic arm was constructed after engineers ran data acquisition tests on a prototype to learn how it would react to forces from the arm and from the human controlling the robot. Those results were considered when programming the robotic arm. Some companies use data acquisition methods to determine if it makes economic sense to implement a project. Data acquisition boards measure signals like friction, as measured here, and provide feedback that appears as numbers and wave measurements on the computer screen. Results can be downloaded to another software package, which displays the hard data as waves or graphs for analysis.