Real-Time Virtual Instrument Platform Based on Multi-Thread Technique

Abstract

In Virtual instrument (VI) established for computer based automated test and control, the process with only single thread has limits when developed for acquiring high speed data, analyzing and displaying them the meaning while. Any interference from another task may block the whole running process and cause data missing. In order to increase the throughput, responding time and multi-task processing efficiency of VI, multi-thread programming with the platform LabWindows/CVI is introduced in this paper. Contents include the two strategies to establish multi-thread program, Thread pool and Asynchronous Timer, and how to protect data with multi-thread programming. Finally, a case study showed a multi-thread VI based on Asynchronous Timer method, with the comparison of performance between single thread and multi-thread program.