The assembly and setup of a sensor platform is vastly improved with FUTEK’s USB Solution. The traditional assembly of a sensor platform is not an easy task. This means that the engineer or technician involved must have thorough experience and an understanding of all the products involved and how to integrate them to work cohesively. Furthermore, the individual would need to know how to install all of these components. With the number of variables involved, the room for error is high. With the integration of FUTEK’s USB Kit the complexity of the installation process is reduced. You simply install your sensor and plug it to the USB port and you’re ready.

We know that the performance of a sensor system is critical in a number of applications. Having the most accurate measurement is critical. That is why our USB chip and design integrates the best components to offer the highest resolution, accuracy and nonlinearity available in the industry. FUTEK currently offers 18-21 Bit resolution on our USB Kits, with 0.001% accuracy and non-linearity. If your application requires a higher resolution sample we strongly suggest that you contact us directly so we can provide a custom solution.

FUTEK’s USB Kits offer excellent sampling rates, ranging between 2.5 to 14K samples per second. Since FUTEK Engineers designed the entire USB Kit from the ground, they were able to incorporate the very best electronic components. With these specifications, you are able to achieve an incredibly fast response time for your application.

At FUTEK, we believe that our job is to simplify yours. This philosophy is evident in how we run our business and how we design our products. Our USB Solution is proof of our practice. Every day our FUTEK Team works with Engineers and Technicians across the globe to help them select the right test and measurement products. Each application is unique and few applications are alike. Most share one ingredient though. They are not simple. We understand our role and do everything we can to make sure we make your job a little simpler.

Ten years ago, a USB Solution was merely a concept tossed around in boardroom meetings for the test and measurement industry. The idea of creating a solution that simplified the traditional sensing platform was a fleet not many manufacturers were willing to undertake. However, FUTEK wanted to make this concept a reality. So, at the start of 2008, FUTEK’s journey into USB integration began.

Prior to USB, traditional sensing systems consisted of a sensor, an amplifier, a power supply, a data acquisition system and software, on occasion a filter, and then a PC to capture house the data. With these multiple components, users assumed that this measurement platform would be fail proof in computing and collecting the data they required. Unfortunately, that isn’t exactly the case.

Though traditional platforms are suitable for most test-measurement applications, they carry a laundry list of “side effects” with them. Cost, space, noise, accuracy, convenience, and temperature co-efficiency all become variables within that traditional setup. What the industry needed was a fast data exchange solution that wouldn’t be phased by such “side effects.” And there lied the answer, a single unit solution – the USB module.

The above diagram illustrates a traditional sensor system platform. By using FUTEK's USB technology, the Amplifier (Signal Conditioner), Analog Filter, Power Supply, and Multi-meter are no longer necessary. The advantages, besides the cost, include:

• High Resolution Digital Output
• Integrated Digital Filter to reduce high frequency noises
• Ability to increase the sampling rate for high speed applications
• Capability to store calibration values inside the on-board non-volatile memory (in order to apply the real-time calculation to account nonlinearity)
• Alternative configurations can also be stored, eliminating the need for a TEDS chip

The presence of a powerful micro-controller beside a high accuracy delta-sigma Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) not only eliminates analog circuitry (that reduces the sensitivity to environment conditions such as temperature, humidity and noise), but also introduces an intelligent digital system which is able to activate internal circuits such as shunt cal, short circuit protection, built in auto-calibration, integrated temperature sensor, sampling rate changer and etc., following the user prompt.

Furthermore, using the high speed, bidirectional USB link gives the user power to communicate with the sensor by PC based software and monitor/control the functionality of features such as tare, peak, valley and selectable averaging without any need to change the hardware settings manually.

As the Multiple System diagram (see image to the right) illustrates, the USB Sensor Solution feature can seamlessly integrate multiple sensors into one platform. FUTEK Engineers designed our USB Solutions to connect up to 16 different Sensors to one USB port by use of a USB Hub.

What’s more is that FUTEK can provide instruments (boosters) to allow for the system to operate at a 150 feet (45 meters) distance with no impact from electronic noise. Such options are not easily available or user friendly for Sensors operating on an analog platform. The greatest advantage with such a system is that it provides flexibility in system control.

FUTEK understands the importance of quality. With that in mind, the USB Kit was designed completely by FUTEK Engineers at our Irvine Headquarters in Orange County (California). By keeping our USB design in-house, we are able to offer the best resolution, accuracy and non-linearity in the industry, and not to mention true hands-on support.