Modular and flexible power network analyzer

Traditional Power Network Analyzers available on the market provide fixed functionality and they do not offer possibility to modify instrument behavior or instrument parameters. Virtual instruments are much more flexible when changing measurement tasks due to changes in international standards or because of research activities in academia. In 2007 appears on the market CompactRIO hardware with open embedded architecture. CompactRIO has been recognized as the right platform to change some features of PC-based Power Network Analyzer: size, power consumption, ruggedness. Paper deals with the firmware architecture of Power Network Analyzer for CompactRIO platform.