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| R2011b Documentation → Instrument Control Toolbox | |
Learn more about Instrument Control Toolbox |
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Getting to Know the Instrument Control Toolbox Software Exploring the Instrument Control Toolbox Software |
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, 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 your test equipment without writing code.
With Instrument Control Toolbox, you can generate data in MATLAB to send out to an instrument, or read data into MATLAB for analysis and visualization. You can automate tests, verify hardware designs, and build test systems based on LXI, PXI, and AXIe standards. For remote communication with other computers and devices from MATLAB, the toolbox provides built-in support for TCP/IP, UDP, and Bluetooth® serial protocols.
Instrument Control Toolbox software is a collection of MATLAB functions built on the MATLAB technical computing environment. The toolbox provides you with these features:
A framework for communicating with instruments that support the GPIB interface (IEEE®-488), the VISA standard, and the TCP/IP and UDP protocols. Note that the toolbox extends the basic serial port features included with the MATLAB software.
Support for IVI, VXIplug&play, and MATLAB instrument drivers.
Functions for transferring data between the MATLAB workspace and your instrument:
The data can be binary (numerical) or text.
The transfer can be synchronous and block access to the MATLAB Command Window, or asynchronous and allow access to the MATLAB Command Window.
Event-based communication.
Functions for recording data and event information to a text file.
Tools that facilitate instrument control in an easy-to-use graphical environment.
MathWorks provides several related products that are especially relevant to the kinds of tasks you can perform with the Instrument Control Toolbox software. For more information about any of these products, see
http://www.mathworks.com/products/instrument/related.html.
For a list of the toolbox functions, type
help instrument
For the code of a function, type
type function_nameFor help for any function, type
instrhelp function_nameYou can change the way any toolbox function works by copying and renaming the file, then modifying your copy. You can also extend the toolbox by adding your own files, or by using it in combination with other products such as MATLAB® Report Generator™or Data Acquisition Toolbox™ product.
To use the Instrument Control Toolbox product, you should be familiar with the:
Basic features of MATLAB.
Appropriate commands used to communicate with your instrument. These commands might use the SCPI language or they might be methods associated with an IVI, VXIplug&play, or MATLAB instrument driver.
Features of the interface associated with your instrument.
Start with this chapter, which describes how to examine your hardware resources, how to communicate with your instrument, how to get online help, and so on. Then read Instrument Control Session, which provides a framework for constructing instrument control applications. Depending on the interface used by your instrument, you might then want to read the appropriate interface-specific chapter.
If you want detailed information about a specific function, refer to Functions — Alphabetical List. If you want detailed information about a specific property, refer to Properties — Alphabetical List.
The examples in this guide use specific instruments such as a Tektronix® TDS 210 two-channel oscilloscope or an Agilent® 33120A function generator. Additionally, the GPIB examples use a National Instruments® GPIB controller and the serial port examples use the Windows® specific COM1 serial port. The string commands written to these instruments are often unique to the vendor, and the address information such as the board index or primary address associated with the hardware reflects a specific configuration.
These documentation examples are collected in the example index, which is available through the Help browser. You should modify the examples to work with your specific hardware configuration.
 | Getting Started | Toolbox Components |  |
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