Editing Data acquisition (section)

{{short description|Process of sampling signals from sensors and converting into digital data}}

'''Data acquisition''' is the process of [[Sampling (signal processing)|sampling]] signals that measure real-world physical conditions and converting the resulting samples into [[Digital data|digital numeric values]] that can be manipulated by a computer. Data acquisition systems, abbreviated by the acronyms ''DAS,'' ''DAQ,'' or ''DAU,'' typically convert [[analog waveform]]s into [[Digital signal|digital]] values for processing. The components of data acquisition systems include:

* [[Sensor]]s, to convert physical parameters to [[electrical signal]]s.
* [[Signal conditioning]] circuitry, to convert sensor signals into a form that can be converted to digital values.
* [[Analog-to-digital converter]]s, to convert conditioned sensor signals to digital values.

[[File:DigitalDAQv2.pdf|thumb|392x392px|Digital data acquisition system [[block diagram]]]]

Data acquisition applications are usually controlled by [[software]] programs developed using various general purpose [[programming languages]] such as [[Assembly language|Assembly]], [[BASIC]], [[C (programming language)|C]], [[C++]], [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], [[Fortran]], [[Java (programming language)|Java]], [[LabVIEW]], [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]], [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]], etc. Stand-alone data acquisition systems are often called [[data logger]]s.

There are also open-source software packages providing all the necessary tools to acquire data from different, typically specific, hardware equipment. These tools come from the scientific community where complex experiment requires fast, flexible, and adaptable software. Those packages are usually custom-fit but more general DAQ packages like the [[Maximum Integrated Data Acquisition System]] can be easily tailored and are used in several physics experiments.