Global instrument products and provider, National Instruments has unveiled VirtualBench, an all-in-one benchtop instrument that integrates a mixed-signal oscilloscope, function generator, digital multimeter, programmable DC power supply and digital I/O. The company is targeting the SMEs and the educational institutions to push this next generation instrument in the Indian market.
Users can interact with VirtualBench through software applications that can run on PCs or iPads. The device provides the most common functionality affordably and is set to open up new possibilities for how engineers and academicians use benchtop instruments. The company has priced this product at Rs 1.38 lakh (USD 1,999) for the Indian market.
Joel Shapiro, Leader of Emerging Markets at NI, said, “Many entrepreneurs, engineers and scientist don’t always have easy access to the instruments they need. Doe to the excellent functionality, affordability and portability of VirtualBench, every engineer can immediately be equipped with the next generation tools they need to bring their innovative ideas to life and most importantly take it to market in a faster manner.”
According to Abhay Samant, R&D Section Manager, National Instruments, “There are 3600 AICTE approved colleges in India and this means that there could be more than 2 lakh engineering stations that can be equipped with such benchtop instrument solution. We would be reaching out to India first and then move to other regions within SAARC,”
After launching the product in India, the company is also planning to launch the same in neighboring SAARC countries.
Manufactured at the company’s facility in Penang, Malaysia, VirtualBench comes after rigorous research and development. “There is multiple years of R&D that has gone into the development of this product and we are hoping that this would clearly change the way research and educational institutions perform their benchtop instrumentation tasks,” explained, Joel Shapiro, Leader of Emerging Markets at NI.
Arunkumar Doraiswamy, Founder and Chief Executive of Yashika Industries, said, “VirtualBench has been a game-changer for our productivity. It carries an amalgamation of several latest technologies like multi core processors, data acquisition and control, wireless connectivity and intuitive user friendly interfaces. This device is really bringing a large lab to the engineer’s desk and simplifying circuit debugging and validation,”
