Pico Technology

Pico Technology is a British test-and-measurement equipment manufacturer founded in 1991. The company developed its business around the idea that a personal computer could serve as the display, processing platform, and user interface for precision electronic measurement. This approach emerged when analogue storage oscilloscopes were still the prevailing market standard and helped position Pico Technology as an alternative to conventional bench-top instruments. Its principal product family is PicoScope, a range of USB-connected PC-based oscilloscopes covering general-purpose electronics, embedded systems, communications, signal integrity, education, and specialist engineering applications. Depending on the model, PicoScope instruments offer multiple analogue channels, high sampling rates, extended memory, high vertical resolution, integrated function or arbitrary waveform generators, automated measurements, spectrum analysis, waveform mathematics, mask testing, and serial-bus decoding. The company has supported interfaces and protocols including I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, LIN, FlexRay, RapidIO, PCI Express, and Serial ATA. Its product portfolio spans entry-level and mid-range instruments as well as high-bandwidth sampling equipment. Pico Technology also produces PicoLog data loggers for periodic measurement of variables such as voltage, temperature, and power consumption. The PicoLog family includes the DrDAQ educational multifunction data logger, which is designed to simplify computer-based measurement and experimentation. Alongside its instruments, the company sells passive and active probes, high-voltage and high-bandwidth differential probes, current probes, thermocouples, accelerometers, and pressure transducers. A distinct part of the business is automotive diagnostics. Pico Automotive equipment is designed to help technicians investigate ignition, fuel injection, fuel pumps, starting and charging systems, batteries, alternators, starter motors, timing-related circuits, sensors, and other electrical or electronic systems. The Advanced Automotive Diagnostics Kit is intended for use across vehicle makes and models and is powered through a connected computer rather than separate batteries or mains leads. Automotive products have helped extend the brand beyond laboratory and engineering users into vehicle-service workshops and professional mechanics. Software is central to Pico Technology's proposition. PicoScope software is supplied with its oscilloscopes and provides real-time acquisition, waveform capture, zooming, panning, triggering, automatic measurements, FFT and spectrum-analysis functions, waveform storage, and historical-buffer review. It has supported Windows, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, and macOS environments, with development and beta support also described for ARM-based platforms such as the BeagleBone Black and Raspberry Pi. A software development kit enables integration with programming and engineering environments including C#, Visual Basic .NET, C++, Microsoft Excel, LabVIEW, and MATLAB. The company competes in the low-to-middle end of the electronic instrumentation market and emphasizes portability, computer connectivity, software capability, and lower acquisition cost relative to traditional bench-top equipment. Recognition has included a Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2014, the 2013 Elektra Test & Measurement Product of the Year award for the PicoScope 5000 series, and a DesignVision award for the same family in 2014. Pico Automotive products have also received trade-publication and tool-industry recognition. Pico Technology remains an active specialist brand serving electronics engineers, researchers, educators, test engineers, and automotive technicians.

Pico Technology was established in the United Kingdom in 1991, during a period when laboratory and industrial measurement was dominated by conventional analogue and digital bench-top instruments. From its beginning, the company pursued PC-based oscilloscopes, using the computer as the instrument's display and analytical environment. This model allowed the hardware to be compact while shifting substantial functionality into software, including waveform storage, mathematical analysis, triggering, spectrum analysis, and reporting. The company's early and continuing strategy was to make precision measurement more accessible and portable than traditional equipment. USB connectivity became central to the product architecture, allowing oscilloscopes to draw power from and communicate with a desktop or laptop computer. PicoScope software supplied with the hardware provided real-time displays, configurable analogue and digital triggers, automatic measurements, zooming, panning, waveform buffers, and file-based storage. The software approach also allowed users to benefit from computer screen size, processing capacity, and extensibility rather than being limited by a fixed instrument interface. Pico Technology expanded its portfolio beyond basic oscilloscopes. PicoScope families developed across different performance levels, from general-purpose USB instruments to high-bandwidth and deep-memory equipment. The 5000 series introduced variable-resolution operation, while the 6000 series emphasized deep memory and hardware acceleration for rapid display updates. The 9000 series addressed high-speed sampling and communications analysis, including signal-integrity work and serial standards. Product specifications described in reference material include bandwidths reaching the gigahertz range, high sampling rates, multiple input channels, substantial buffer memory, and integrated signal-generation functions. The company also developed PicoLog data loggers for longer-duration or periodic monitoring of electrical and physical variables. The DrDAQ multifunction data logger extended the platform into education and introductory computer interfacing, where simplified measurement tools could support classroom demonstrations and experiments. A broad accessory range, including voltage, current, temperature, acceleration, pressure, and high-voltage probes, complemented the core instruments. Automotive diagnostics became another important field of activity. Pico Automotive equipment adapted the PC-oscilloscope concept to vehicle troubleshooting, enabling technicians to examine ignition, injection, starting, charging, battery, alternator, sensor, and actuator circuits. The Advanced Automotive Diagnostics Kit was designed for use across vehicle makes and models and provided a portable way to investigate electrical and electronic faults. Recognition from automotive trade publications and professional tool organizations during the early 2000s reflected the growing role of waveform-based diagnostics in vehicle service. Pico Technology's software platform broadened the potential customer base further. Versions and support were described for Microsoft Windows, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, and macOS, while development work also extended toward ARM-based educational and embedded computing platforms. The company's software development kit allowed engineers to integrate measurements into applications written in several common programming and laboratory-automation environments. The brand received industry recognition during the 2010s. The PicoScope 5000 series was named Test & Measurement Product of the Year at the 2013 Elektra Awards and later received a DesignVision award at DesignCon 2014. Pico Technology also won a Queen's Award for Enterprise for International Trade in 2014. These distinctions reinforced its positioning as a European specialist in computer-based instrumentation. The available reference material does not document later ownership changes, leadership appointments, financial results, or a change in operating status. Pico Technology is presented as an active manufacturer serving electronics, engineering, education, and automotive markets.

• 2014

  PicoScope 5000 receives DesignVision award

  [1]Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  The series receives DesignVision recognition for test and measurement equipment at DesignCon 2014.

• 2014

  Queen's Award for Enterprise

  [1]Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  Pico Technology wins a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category.

• 2013

  PicoScope 5000 wins Elektra award

  [1]Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  The variable-resolution PicoScope 5000 series is named Test & Measurement Product of the Year at the Elektra Awards.

• 2005

  Automotive diagnostic kit named a top product

  [1]Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  Commercial Vehicles Workshop magazine names the Pico Automotive Diagnostic Kit its Top Product of 2005.

• 2004

  FirstLook Sensor wins an innovation award

  [1]Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  Pico Technology's FirstLook Sensor receives an Innovation Award from Professional Tool & Equipment News.

• 2003

  Pico Automotive products receive additional trade recognition

  [1]Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  The Pico Automotive Diagnostic Kit is included among Motor magazine's Top 20 Tools of 2003 and is also recognized by Professional Motor Mechanic magazine.

• 2002

  Pico Automotive receives professional-mechanic product recognition

  [1]Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  The Pico Automotive Diagnostic Kit is identified as a Top Product of 2002 by Professional Motor Mechanic magazine.

• 1991

  Pico Technology is founded

  [1]Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org

  The British company begins developing PC-based oscilloscopes at a time when analogue storage oscilloscopes were a common market standard.

A specialist, software-led alternative to conventional bench-top test equipment, combining USB-connected measurement hardware with computer processing and analysis. In automotive diagnostics, the brand emphasizes broad vehicle compatibility, portability, and access to oscilloscope-based fault finding at a lower cost than many traditional diagnostic instruments.

• PC-based oscilloscopes

  PicoScope

  PicoScope is the company's main family of USB-connected PC oscilloscopes. Models combine measurement hardware with PicoScope software, providing waveform capture, configurable analogue and digital triggering, automatic measurements, FFT and spectrum analysis, waveform mathematics, mask testing, serial decoding, and saved waveform review. The range covers general-purpose electronics, embedded systems, education, communications, and specialist engineering applications.

• Variable-resolution USB oscilloscopes

  PicoScope 5000 series

  The PicoScope 5000 series is a variable-resolution family of USB oscilloscopes. Reference material describes the series as supporting multiple channels, high sampling performance, integrated signal generation, and software-based analysis. It received Test & Measurement Product of the Year recognition at the 2013 Elektra Awards and a DesignVision award in 2014.

• Deep-memory oscilloscopes

  PicoScope 6000 series

  The PicoScope 6000 series is positioned as a deep-memory oscilloscope family. Its hardware acceleration engine is designed to process captured data rapidly and improve display update performance, allowing engineers to inspect long or complex waveforms through a connected computer while retaining PicoScope's software analysis functions.

• High-speed sampling oscilloscopes

  PicoScope 9000 series

  The PicoScope 9000 series comprises high-speed sampling instruments intended for communications analysis and signal-integrity work. Reference material describes sampling rates reaching 12 GHz and 20 GHz on relevant instruments, with PicoScope software supporting analysis of numerous serial standards, including RapidIO, PCI Express, and Serial ATA.

• Automotive diagnostic equipment

  Pico Automotive Advanced Automotive Diagnostics Kit

  This diagnostic kit applies oscilloscope-based measurement to vehicle electrical and electronic systems. It is designed to test ignition, injectors, fuel pumps, starter and charging circuits, batteries, alternators, starter motors, timing-related relays, and other components. The kit is described as compatible with any vehicle make or model and can be powered through the computer's USB connection.

• Data loggers

  PicoLog

  PicoLog is a family of data loggers for periodic or extended recording of measurements such as voltage, temperature, and power consumption. The range supports monitoring and data collection use cases that differ from the rapid waveform capture associated with oscilloscopes.

• Educational multifunction data logger

  DrDAQ

  DrDAQ is an educational multifunction data logger within the PicoLog range. It is intended to simplify computer interfacing and scientific demonstrations, offering a more approachable measurement platform for teaching, experimentation, and introductory data acquisition.

• Measurement and analysis software

  PicoScope software

  PicoScope software is supplied with Pico Technology oscilloscopes and provides real-time signal display, waveform capture, zooming, panning, configurable triggers, automatic measurements, FFT and spectrum analysis, waveform mathematics, mask testing, serial decoding, and saved-waveform management. It has been offered for Windows, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, and macOS, with an SDK supporting integration through several programming and engineering environments.

• 2021.01.12

  Reported2021.01.12

  PicoScope PS4000A Series announced[2]PicoScope PS4000A 系列发布eejournal.com

  Saelig announced the PicoScope PS4000A Series, a line of USB-connected PC oscilloscopes with two, four, or eight high-resolution analog channels. The series is made by Pico Technology and available from Saelig.

Read more

1. 1Pico Technologyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2PicoScope PS4000A 系列发布eejournal.com