High-Speed Data Acquisition (DAQ) System
Explore
-
Transient Testing & Transient RecordingFast, accurate, and reliable acquisition of high-speed events
Dewesoft provides a complete high-speed data acquisition (DAQ) platform for transient recording, impact testing, crash testing, ballistic measurements, pyroshock testing, and other single-shot events. Capture transients at up to 15 MS/s per channel while synchronizing hundreds of analog, digital, video, and bus channels within a single measurement system.
Conventional transient recorders focus primarily on voltage waveforms. Dewesoft high-speed recorders combine high-speed acquisition with integrated signal conditioning, synchronized high-speed multi-physics measurements, distributed systems, high-speed video, and powerful analysis software – all in one platform.
Configure in minutes. Capture every event. Analyze with confidence. No programming required.
Highlights
Data acquisition you can trust
Capture every critical event with confidence. Dewesoft transient recorders combine reliable hardware, fast storage, intelligent triggering, and DewesoftX software that reloads gigabyte-sized recordings in seconds.
Single‑shot precision
Designed to record non‑repetitive ultra-fast events with per‑channel 5 MHz analog bandwidth and sample rate up to 15 MS/s with SIRIUS XHS HybridADC technology. All this can be combined with synchronized high-speed or IR cameras.
Triggering to capture what matters
Level, window, slope, pulse width, and combined conditions, with pre- and post-buffers, segmented capture, and ring buffer arming in DewesoftX.
Precise and versatile signal conditioning
Charge, IEPE, MEMS, strain, voltage with galvanic isolation, or high voltage with safety isolation and high electrical currents with high signal fidelity.
Scale and grow
Scalable from low to high channel counts. Systems can be centralized or distributed. The Dewesoft system and software adapt to your needs. Distributed Dewesoft systems support edge computing architectures by performing synchronized high-speed measurements close to the test object while streaming selected data to centralized storage or control systems.
Time-synchronized measurements
PTPv2, IRIG-B, or GNSS options synchronize distributed nodes to the microsecond level and integrate easily into any testing environment.
Stream and store
Stream full‑rate data to disk, or use our ring buffer for long-arm periods. Easy export to CSV, MATLAB©, and more. Continuous raw data storage provides a permanent digital record that can later be used for advanced analytics, AI-assisted diagnostics, machine learning, and digital twin development.
Long-term, reliable measurement results
Optimized for minimal long-term drift and electromagnetic noise suppression, ensuring stable, accurate, and repeatable measurements even in demanding test environments.
Software included
Every Dewesoft data acquisition system is bundled with award-winning DewesoftX data acquisition software. The software is easy to use but very rich and deep in functionality. All software updates are free forever with no hidden licensing or yearly maintenance fees.
Proven and supported
Our industry-leading 7‑year warranty supports you locally and globally. Our technical support is free of charge and is available to you online, or locally.
We believe in our products!
And we're confident you'll love it too! But don't just take our word for it. Get hands-on with a demo unit, completely free of charge. No strings attached, just real data. Reach out to your local Dewesoft team and get your demo unit now!
Quality That Lasts.
At Dewesoft, quality is more than just a word — it's a commitment. That's why our products come with an industry-leading 7-year warranty. It's just one more way we protect your investment and give you peace of mind for the long run.
Our base software is always free.
It includes everything you need for advanced data acquisition and common signal processing — no maintenance fees, no contracts. You buy it, you own it. All future updates? Free forever. And the best part? Analysis seats are unlimited and free. Once the data is recorded, anyone can download our software to review and analyze your data — no license needed.
Quality, Made in Europe.
At Dewesoft, quality isn't just a promise — it's a core value. Our products are 100% designed, developed, and manufactured in-house, right in the heart of the European Union. From precision machining and PCB manufacturing to final assembly and software development — we do it all ourselves, to the highest ISO standards. We're proud to support local production and take social responsibility seriously.
Built by Us. Owned by Us.
Dewesoft is 100% owned by employees who believe in what we do — and love doing it. We’re in this with heart, passion, and long-term commitment. What does that mean for you? Our core value — caring for our customers — isn’t going anywhere. We’re here for the next 100 years, protected from outside acquisitions. Your investment in our technology is safe, supported, and future-proof.
What is Transient Testing?
Transient testing is the process of measuring short-duration events whose characteristics change rapidly over time.
Unlike steady-state measurements, transient events may last only microseconds or milliseconds and frequently cannot be repeated under identical conditions. Successful transient recording therefore depends on high sampling rates, reliable triggering, synchronized measurements, and robust data storage.
Typical applications include crash testing, impact testing, lightning strikes, breaker switching, airbag deployment, pyroshock, explosive testing, battery abuse testing, and structural impact analysis.
What is a Transient Recorder?
A transient recorder is a high-speed data acquisition system that reliably captures single-shot, non‑repetitive events with high precision.
Compared with conventional data loggers, transient recorders provide higher bandwidth, faster sampling (in MHz range), deeper recording capability, advanced triggering, synchronized channels, and integrated signal conditioning.
Modern DAQ systems support mechanical, electrical, thermal, and digital measurements within one synchronized platform. Systems can scale from a few to hundreds of time‑synchronized channels, often accompanied by high-speed cameras. In addition, Dewesoft systems can be distributed physically.
Challenges of Transient Recording
The greatest challenge is that engineers often have only one opportunity to capture the event. Missed triggers, insufficient bandwidth, aliasing, poor synchronization between instruments, sensor drift, or incomplete recordings can invalidate an expensive test.
Dewesoft minimizes these risks with deterministic triggering, synchronized multi-channel acquisition, HybridADC technology, ring-buffer recording, galvanically isolated inputs, and integrated hardware and software.
Transient Recorder vs. Oscilloscope
Oscilloscopes excel at analyzing a small number of extremely high-bandwidth electronic signals.
Transient recorders are designed for real-world engineering tests requiring dozens or hundreds of synchronized channels, integrated sensors, isolation, long pre-trigger recording, high-speed cameras, and comprehensive post-processing. They bridge the gap between laboratory electronics and full-scale engineering validation.
Transient Testing Applications
Automotive Testing
Battery and energy storage testing: drop, crash, short circuit, abuse testing
Airbag deployment and restraint system deployment testing
Crash testing
Sled testing at the component-level: seats and cockpits
Seat & restraint system crash tests
Aerospace & Defense
Rocket engine blast testing
Full-scale drop tests
Crashworthiness testing (rotorcraft & fixed wing aircraft)
Landing gear drop & impact tests
Jet turbine blade-off testing
Bird strike & drone impact testing (chicken gun test)
Lightning strike testing
Spacecraft & satellite pyroshock testing
Explosive blast testing
Electrical Power & Energy
High-voltage switchgear testing
Power arc test
Protection relay or pyro fuse testing
Power Electronics & Semiconductor Testing
IGBT testing
SiC MOSFET testing
GaN testing
Short-circuit testing
Fuse testing
DC breaker testing
Inverter testing
Fault injection
Industrial & Research Applications
Material characterisation (Split-Hopkinson pressure bar, Charpy V-notch tests…)
Component drop and impact testing
Rail crash and buff testing
Consumer device drop & impact testing
Helmet and sports gear testing: drop, impact, shoot
Rifle, gun, and revolver test firing
Maritime slamming and wave impact testing
Underwater explosion and shock testing to MIL-S-901D/901E
Lifeboat drop testing
High-Speed DAQ Hardware for Transient Recording
Dewesoft provides scalable, high-speed data acquisition hardware for demanding transient testing applications. The SIRIUS® XHS platform uses HybridADC technology, allowing engineers to select the optimal acquisition mode independently for each channel.
Use high-bandwidth mode for fast transient events, with sample rates up to 15 MS/s per channel and 5 MHz analog bandwidth. For measurements requiring the highest dynamic range, switch to high-dynamic mode for alias-free acquisition up to 2 MS/s. In both modes, each amplifier provides a slew rate greater than 20 V/μs.
Open and Scalable System Integration
SIRIUS XHS supports integration through the openDAQ SDK and interfaces such as USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, XCP, CAN, OPC UA, and PTP synchronization. Systems can scale from compact laboratory setups to distributed configurations with hundreds of synchronized channels.
Scalable Transient Recorder Configurations
Universal inputs for common sensors, transducers, and electrical signals
High-accuracy, galvanically isolated inputs
TEDS support for automatic sensor recognition and channel setup
PTPv2, IRIG-B, and GNSS synchronization
Centralized or distributed multi-channel systems
Ethernet and openDAQ connectivity
Redundant data streaming and recording for greater reliability
Learn more about Dewesoft High-Speed Data Acquisition Systems.
Multi-Physics Transient Recording
Transient events rarely involve just one physical quantity. Dewesoft transient recorders combine electrical, mechanical, thermal, environmental, digital, and bus data into one fully synchronized measurement system.
Measure voltage and current alongside acceleration, strain, force, pressure, temperature, CAN data, and other signals, all precisely time-aligned and recorded in DewesoftX. Universal signal conditioning and scalable DAQ hardware make it possible to capture the complete physical response of an event without combining separate measurement systems.
One system. Every signal. Perfectly synchronized.
DewesoftX Software for Transient Testing
DewesoftX software provides advanced triggering, segmented recording, ring buffers, FFT analysis, mathematics, statistics, synchronized video replay, cursor analysis, report generation, scripting, remote control, and export to MATLAB, Excel, CSV, DIAdem, and numerous engineering formats. Large recordings remain responsive through optimized storage and analysis modes.
Software is easy to learn and built for even the toughest transient recorder workloads.
High-speed video can be replayed in sync with the transient data. Easily navigate single-shot events with the triggered-segment list, the next and previous event controls, timeline cursors, and markers. 
Features
Continuous storage combined with triggering recordings.
Arm once and capture only what matters with advanced triggers: pre‑ and post-trigger buffers, at level, window, segmented capture, slope, pulse width, or combined trigger conditions.
Store always fast, always reduced, fast on trigger, or reduced plus fast on trigger, with ring buffer arming for long pre-trigger periods.
Powerful data visualization and analysis in 2D (y-t, y-x) with reference curves, scope, oscilloscope-style, cursor readouts, and history navigation, FFT spectrum or analyzer.
Optional high-speed video and IR cameras.
Online and post-process data analysis in one software - just replay test data and add further analytics.
On-the-fly calculations with strain gage rosettes, math channels, statistics, filtering, integrals, derivatives, and custom calculations.
Remote control and visualization.
Automate overall processes with the built-in Sequencer or C++ scripting.
Export your data to Excel, MATLAB, DIAdem, and many other file formats.
Flexible Data Storing and Advanced Triggering
Transient events can last only milliseconds, while the waiting period before them may take minutes or hours. DewesoftX supports both short event captures and longer continuous measurements, storing data directly to disk instead of relying only on limited recorder memory.
Choose the storing strategy that fits your test. Record continuously at the full acquisition rate, store reduced data for long-term measurements, capture full-speed data only when a trigger occurs, or combine reduced recording with full-speed transient capture. This helps control file size without losing the critical event.
Capture the Event and What Happened Before It
A configurable pre-trigger buffer continuously retains the latest measurement data while the system waits for an event. When the trigger occurs, DewesoftX stores the selected period before and after it, providing the complete context around the transient. Holdoff and post-time extension settings help manage repeated or overlapping events.
Trigger on Almost Any Measurement Condition
Start or stop recording using measured data, time-based conditions, or frequency-domain events. Trigger options include:
Rising or falling signal edges
Amplitude windows and pulse width
Signal slope and amplitude change
Average, RMS, minimum, and maximum values
Relative or recurring time intervals
FFT limits and frequency-domain conditions
Multiple channels and conditions can be configured for complex transient testing scenarios, while manual controls remain available when a simple start and stop are all that is required.
Advanced Processing Markers for Faster Transient Analysis
Capturing a transient event is only the first step. Extracting meaningful insights quickly is what turns measurement data into engineering decisions. DewesoftX includes powerful Processing Markers directly within the Recorder widget, allowing you to perform advanced time-domain analysis without exporting data to external software.
Simply place markers on your recording to instantly evaluate signal characteristics, compare events, and generate accurate measurement results. Processing Markers are fully integrated into the analysis workflow, making post-processing faster, more intuitive, and highly repeatable.
Powerful marker tools for every analysis task
Free Marker: Place a marker anywhere on the waveform to instantly read the exact time and signal value.
Time Region Marker: Analyze any selected time interval by automatically calculating RMS, average, minimum, maximum, peak-to-peak, energy, and many other statistical parameters.
Trigger Marker: Define value-based trigger conditions to quickly identify when signals cross specified thresholds or trigger levels.
Value Region Marker: Evaluate signal behavior within a defined value range and perform additional limit-based calculations.
Point Marker: Place markers anywhere on the recorder, even between sampled points, to obtain interpolated values with precise timing information.
Reference Marker: Automatically calculate relative signal positions such as 10%, 50%, and 90% amplitude levels, making rise-time, fall-time, and response analysis fast and repeatable.
Damping Marker: Determine the damping factor of oscillating signals directly from the waveform without additional calculations.
Built for efficient engineering workflows
Processing Markers are designed to simplify the analysis of large transient datasets. Instantly navigate back to any marker, compare multiple channels simultaneously, or place markers across entire Recorder Groups with simple keyboard shortcuts. Whether you’re analyzing impact tests, crash events, switching transients, or structural vibrations, Processing Markers help you identify critical events and generate reliable results in just a few clicks.
Oscilloscope-Style Signal Visualization
While transient recorders are designed for capturing complex, multi-channel events, engineers often want the familiar workflow of an oscilloscope when inspecting waveforms. DewesoftX includes a powerful Scope display that provides a traditional oscilloscope-style view while combining it with the capabilities of a modern transient recording system.
Unlike a conventional oscilloscope, the Scope widget operates on fully synchronized measurement data from hundreds of analog, digital, CAN, EtherCAT, and calculated channels. Engineers can zoom into recorded transients, inspect signal details with oscilloscope-like controls, and seamlessly switch between live measurements and post-processing without changing software.
The Scope widget supports multiple display modes, flexible triggering, automatic scaling, cursors, and synchronized operation with all other DewesoftX visualizations, allowing engineers to correlate oscilloscope-style waveforms with recorder data, FFT analysis, high-speed video, and other measurement modules.
Benefits
Familiar oscilloscope-style waveform display
Live and post-processing analysis in the same software
Synchronized with Recorder, FFT, video, and all other DewesoftX widgets
Supports hundreds of synchronized measurement channels
Zoom, cursors, automatic scaling, and flexible display options
Ideal for detailed inspection of fast transient events
Synchronized High-Speed Video
A waveform tells you what happened. High-speed video shows you why it happened.
DewesoftX combines synchronized video with high-speed data acquisition, allowing engineers to analyze mechanical events frame by frame alongside analog, digital, CAN, and other measurement channels. Every video frame is precisely time-aligned with the recorded measurement data, providing complete insight into even the fastest transient events.
Whether you are analyzing an airbag deployment, crash test, impact event, structural failure, or material deformation, synchronized video helps correlate physical behavior with measured signals, making analysis faster and more reliable.
Integrated High-Speed Camera Support
DewesoftX directly supports Photron and Vision Research Phantom high-speed cameras, enabling recording at more than 100,000 frames per second. Camera control, triggering, and playback are integrated into the same measurement software, eliminating the need to synchronize data from separate systems.
During post-processing, video and measurement data remain perfectly synchronized. Engineers can replay recordings frame by frame, navigate directly to trigger events, inspect signal values at any point in time, and generate reports with synchronized visual and measurement evidence.
Benefits of Synchronized Video
Fully synchronized analog, digital, CAN, and video data
Native support for Photron and Phantom high-speed cameras
Camera control and triggering directly from DewesoftX
Frame-accurate replay synchronized with all measurement channels
Combined video and measurement reporting
Ideal for crash, impact, drop, vibration, structural, and materials testing
Integrated Shock Response Spectrum (SRS) Analysis
Capturing a transient event is only the first step. Understanding how that shock affects a component or structure is equally important. The Shock Response Spectrum (SRS) is the industry-standard method for evaluating the severity of mechanical shock events and predicting how products will respond across a wide range of natural frequencies.
SRS calculates the maximum response of thousands of independent single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems to a measured shock pulse. This allows engineers to determine whether a transient event is likely to damage sensitive components, verify compliance with shock specifications, and compare different impact events using a standardized engineering metric.
DewesoftX includes a fully integrated Shock Response Spectrum module that automatically calculates positive, negative, and absolute SRS curves in accordance with ISO 18431-4. Since SRS analysis is built directly into the measurement software, engineers can acquire, visualize, analyze, and report transient data without exporting files to third-party applications.
The module is ideal for applications including impact and drop testing, crash and sled testing, transportation shock, packaging validation, aerospace qualification, pyroshock analysis, and military environmental testing.
Key benefits
Built-in SRS analysis with no additional software required
ISO 18431-4 compliant calculations
Positive, negative, and absolute response spectra
Configurable damping and quality factor (Q)
Instant comparison of multiple shock events
Fully synchronized with all measured channels and high-speed video
Transient Testing Standards
Transient measurements are an important part of many automotive, aerospace, defense, electrical, and environmental qualification tests. Dewesoft high-speed DAQ systems provide the sampling performance, synchronization, triggering, and multi-physics signal conditioning required to capture fast events during standards-based testing.
Dewesoft systems can support measurement and analysis workflows associated with standards including:
| Standard | Typical application |
|---|---|
| IEC 60060 | High-voltage and impulse testing |
| MIL-STD-810 | Mechanical shock and environmental testing |
| MIL-S-901 | High-impact shock testing of naval equipment |
| ISO 6487 | Measurement instrumentation for vehicle impact testing |
| SAE J211 | Instrumentation for automotive impact and crash testing |
| RTCA DO-160 | Environmental testing of airborne equipment |
| IEC 61000 | EMC immunity and electrical transient testing, including IEC 61000-4-4 electrical fast transients (EFT/burst), IEC 61000-4-5 surge/combination wave, IEC 61000-4-12 ring wave, and IEC 61000-4-11 voltage dips and interruptions |
| IEC 60068 | Environmental, vibration, and mechanical shock testing |
One System for Standards-Based Testing
From high-voltage impulses and electrical switching transients to crash, impact, vibration, and mechanical shock, Dewesoft combines high-speed acquisition with synchronized electrical, mechanical, thermal, digital, bus, and video data. Advanced triggering, pre-trigger recording, sensor signal conditioning, and integrated DewesoftX analysis help engineers capture and evaluate even short, non-repeatable events.
Note: Applicable standards and test requirements depend on the specific application, test configuration, sensors, and instrumentation. Dewesoft systems provide measurement and analysis capabilities that can be used as part of standards-based test setups.
Comparing Dewesoft Transient Recorders to Other Solutions
| Feature | Oscilloscopes | Typical Recorders | Dewesoft Transient Recorders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal conditioning | Limited (mostly voltages) | Good | Excellent |
| Hundreds of channels | ❌ | Some models | ✅ |
| Long duration recording | ❌ | Limited | Terabyte range |
| High-speed video cameras | ❌ | Limited | ✅ |
| Infrared (IR) cameras | ❌ | Limited | ✅ |
| IEPE and charge sensors | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Strain and force sensors | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Distributed acquisition | ❌ | Limited | ✅ |
| Analysis & report generation | Basic | Basic | Complete analysis and custom reporting |
| Power analysis | ❌ | Limited | ✅ |
| Vehicle bus protocols | ❌ | Limited | ✅ |
Got Questions? We've Got Answers!
We've gathered all the answers you're looking for, neatly organized just for you.
Transient recorder is a multichannel high‑speed data acquisition system for single‑shot, non‑repetitive events, used in product and safety testing, materials research, ballistics, and pyrotechnics. For example: breaker closings and explosive shocks. Transient recorders are used when dynamic and ballistic events are too fast for conventional DAQ.
Transient recorders are designed to capture a large number of channels in the MHz range. They provide integrated signal conditioning that handles every kind of sensor and signal with high channel counts and electrically isolated inputs. With their advanced trigger capabilities, transient recorders are well-suited for multi-physics testing in ballistic, aerospace, automotive, energy, and industrial test environments, where capturing the complete sequence of an infrequent event is essential.
Oscilloscopes are optimized for capturing a small number of voltage signals in the gigahertz range. They typically provide extensive waveform analysis, measurement, and display functions, making them valuable in electronics development, validation, and troubleshooting.
SIRIUS® XHS offers up to 15 MS/s per channel with 5 MHz analog bandwidth in high‑bandwidth mode, or alias‑free acquisition up to 2 MS/s in high‑dynamic mode.
Dewesoft systems support voltage, current, strain, force, pressure, displacement, acceleration, velocity, temperature, IEPE, charge, bridge sensors, digital signals, CAN, EtherCAT, GNSS, and many other measurement sources.
You can set levels, windows, slopes, pulse widths, and combined OR triggers, as well as pre and post-time buffers, hold‑off, and re‑arm parameters. Storing strategies include always fast, always slow, fast on trigger, and fast on trigger, slow otherwise.
Both options are available. DewesoftX can record continuously to disk, store reduced data over longer periods, capture full-speed data only when a trigger occurs, or combine long-term reduced recording with high-speed triggered acquisition.
Yes. The ring buffer is armed to record to memory while armed, then commits only the pre- and post-windows and the event segments to disk. Our recorders can also store long-term data at full speed, streamed directly to hard drive.
Yes. Dewesoft technology allows the acquisition mode to be selected independently for each channel. This makes it possible to combine high-bandwidth transient signals and high-dynamic-range measurements within the same system.
Yes. Time sync technologies like Ethernet PTPv2, IRIG-B, or even GNSS, without any link in between DAQ devices, enable the use of many distributed devices. You can also align high-speed video data with analog and digital channels for complete event context.
Dewesoft Transient Recorders can capture unlimited data files in the GB and TB range as long as your hard-drive is available. This is an important distinction compared to oscilloscope-type transient recorders.
Yes. DewesoftX directly records or post‑syncs video and displays alongside waveforms, markers, and cursors for debrief and reporting.
Aerospace and defense R&D, automotive, railway, energy and power, maritime, civil engineering, medical, consumer electronics, universities, and material research labs.
Yes. DewesoftX provides Recorder, Scope, FFT, Processing Marker, and other analysis tools within the same software environment. Engineers can review waveforms, calculate signal parameters, compare channels, and generate reports without exporting data to separate software.
Yes. Dewesoft supports open integration through the openDAQ SDK and interfaces such as Ethernet, XCP, CAN, OPC UA, USB 3.0, and PTP. DewesoftX also supports remote control, automation, and sequencing.
The DewesoftX Professional software package is included with Dewesoft data acquisition hardware. Future software updates are also included, helping maintain a consistent hardware and software environment over the system’s lifetime.
Still have questions?
Can't find the answer you're looking for? Our team is happy to answer your questions.
Related products
See and browse related and compatible data acquisition products.
High-performance, high-speed, high-channel-count data acquisition (DAQ) systems for the most demanding applications
Explore
New generation high-channel distributable data acquisition system
Explore
Modular Data Acquisition (DAQ) System
Explore
Portable Data Acquisition (DAQ) Systems
Explore
Portable All-In-One and High-Channel-Count Data Acquisition (DAQ) System
Explore
Related solutions
See and browse related and compatible testing solutions.
Measure, analyze, and report mechanical shock events
Explore
High-speed DAQ for measuring blast pressure, shock waves, impulse, and vibration in explosive testing.
Explore
High-precision electrical power measurement and analysis [AC⚡DC]
Explore
High-precision power quality measurement and analysis
Explore
High-precision equipment for measurement and data analysis
Explore
Power and efficiency testing of electric motor and inverter
Explore
Vibration and frequency analysis with a Fast Fourier transform
Explore