HOME / NI PRODUCTS / DATA ACQUISITION (DAQ)
What is DAQ?
Data acquisition (DAQ) is the process of measuring an electrical or physical phenomenon, such as voltage, current, temperature, pressure, or sound. A DAQ system consists of sensors, DAQ measurement hardware, and a computer with programmable software. 
Turning Real-World Data
into Insights
Every data acquisition task has its own set of requirements. To help meet your unique needs, NI products range from plug-and-play DAQ devices for fixed and repeatable measurements, to scalable and flexible modular DAQ systems. Our versatile driver is extended by NI data acquisition-specific software and supports third-party programming languages.
Accurate
Maximize the absolute accuracy of your measurements with NI’s industry-leading performance for automated data acquisition.
Flexible
Build mixed-measurement systems tailored to your needs and swap out or add hardware as your needs change.
Scalable
Choose from hardware options that let you control multiple data acquisition systems as part of one synchronized application.
Programmable
Program your hardware with the same API in your choice of language, including G, Python, ANSI C, C#, and .NET. Or, use interactive software without writing code.
DAQ System Options
NI offers PC-based systems with plug-and-play DAQ devices with fixed functionality or configurable systems that let you mix and match hardware.
PC-Based Systems
Achieve electrical and physical measurements with a customizable, accurate, yet cost-effective way to conduct benchtop measurements.
CompactDAQ
This portable, flexible approach is ideal for applications with a wide mix of measurement types, where scalability and flexibility are important. Hardware ruggedness makes it a great fit for high-channel-count distributed applications in the field.
CompactRIO
Take advantage of real-time data processing capabilities, sensor-specific conditioned I/O, and a closely integrated software toolchain for long-running, industrial data acquisition applications.
PXI
Use this modular approach for high-channel-count data acquisition and sensor measurement applications. Systems range from tens to hundreds of channels, mixing and matching measurement functionality and output capabilities.
Find the Right DAQ Hardware
NI’s DAQ devices are divided into categories to help you easily find options that meet your needs. Select by measurement type, such as temperature or strain, or common form factors, including USB.
Products to ENGINEER THE FUTURE
Software
Control Your DAQ System
NI’s DAQ devices include the NI-DAQmx driver, utilities, and getting-started examples. It integrates with development environments such as LabVIEW, or application software such as FlexLogger™ software, to create an application without coding.