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WHITE
PA P E R
Understanding the Benefits and Potential Hazards
of Using USB-Based Data Acquisition Solutions
for Test & Measurement Applications
Jonathan Tucker
Lead Industry Consultant
Keithley Instruments, Inc.
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is increasingly gaining favor as an alternative
interface for data acquisition and measurement. Computer peripherals such as
printers, mice, and digital cameras already use USB as a quick and easy way to
connect to a PC. The USB connection simplifies the peripheral installation by
eliminating the necessity of "cracking open" the PC to install a plug-in board.
USB was created by a group of manufacturers including Intel,
Microsoft, and Compaq to simplify connecting external peripherals to personal
computers. Today, nearly all desktop and laptop PCs on the market come
equipped with at least one USB port. USB ports can also be added to desktop
computers using a plug-in board that installs into a PCI bus slot. Equally
important, these USB ports have full software support under Microsoft
Windows