Hardware based data acquisition systems

[RRraskolnikov]

What does hardware based processing mean? ENIAC does hardware square rooting but what is the classification here? Is it like assembly code and C code difference?

 

[timthereaper]

I know that data acquisition systems do some signal conditioning and some analog-to-digital conversions before passing it back to software, so it could mean that. Some hardware systems are sophisticated enough to do a lot more on the hardware side, especially if they use FPGAs or something akin to that. Modules built specifically for strain gages can filter and process the data into a viable strain reading before passing it back to the software, eliminating the need for conversions. It really depends on the system.