At Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg, DigiKey interviewed Miha Gjura, Field Application Engineer at Red Pitaya, about the latest capabilities of the STEMlab Gen 2 platform.
The conversation focused on two major developments engineers have been asking for: scalable multichannel synchronization and significantly faster data streaming. Together, these capabilities allow developers to build modular measurement systems with higher channel counts and much greater data throughput.
The interview was filmed at the DigiKey booth, where Red Pitaya also demonstrated a demo with synchronized multi-board setup.
One of the key themes of the discussion was how multichannel synchronization has evolved across the Red Pitaya ecosystem.
Earlier generations already allowed engineers to perform precise signal acquisition and generation on individual boards. With the Gen 2 architecture, however, multiple boards can now be combined into tightly synchronized measurement systems.
Using Red Pitaya Click Shields and shared clock distribution, engineers can synchronize combinations of:
This enables flexible configurations depending on the application. For example, pairing a STEMlab 125-14 PRO Gen 2 with a STEMlab 125-14 4-Input creates a synchronized 6-input, 2-output system, while larger setups can scale to even higher channel counts.
For engineers building custom instrumentation, this approach allows them to expand system capacity using standard modular boards instead of designing custom hardware from scratch.
Accurate synchronization across multiple devices requires precise clock and trigger control.
Red Pitaya’s architecture uses a clock-select design that allows engineers to switch between the internal 125 MHz oscillator and an external reference clock. Clock and trigger distribution across boards is handled through the Click Shield architecture, which incorporates the ZL40213 LVDS clock fanout buffer.
This ensures deterministic alignment between boards while maintaining the signal integrity needed for applications such as:
For engineers building custom test setups, deterministic synchronization is often the difference between a collection of boards and a true measurement system.
Another highlight of the interview was the major upgrade to Red Pitaya’s streaming architecture.
Through software optimization and improved data handling, streaming throughput between the board and host computer increased from 20 MB/s to 62.5 MB/s per board.
This improvement significantly expands what engineers can do with real-time data.
Higher throughput enables:
For users working with data-intensive experiments, the increase in streaming speed removes a major bottleneck.
The Gen 2 platform also introduces Deep Memory Generation, a feature that allows engineers to stream waveform data directly from system memory to the DAC outputs.
Combined with synchronized multi-board setups, this opens new possibilities for:
Because the architecture supports both high-speed bursts and long continuous streams, engineers can tailor the system to their specific workflow.
At Embedded World, Red Pitaya demonstrated these capabilities using live synchronized setups running multiple boards together.
Visitors to the booth were able to see how modular FPGA-based instrumentation can be scaled into high-channel-count systems while maintaining precise timing and fast data streaming.
According to Miha Gjura, the goal is to give engineers the flexibility to build custom instrumentation without the cost and complexity of traditional rack-mounted systems.
For many developers, the appeal of Red Pitaya lies in its combination of hardware performance and open architecture.
Engineers can integrate the boards into their workflows using:
This makes the platform suitable for everything from research experiments to industrial testing setups.
As multichannel synchronization and high-speed streaming continue to evolve, modular FPGA-based platforms like Red Pitaya are enabling engineers to design measurement systems that were previously possible only with expensive custom equipment.
The full interview with Miha Gjura, Field Application Engineer at Red Pitaya, was recorded at the DigiKey booth during Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg.
In the video, Miha explains:
Watch the full video to see the system and demonstration discussed in this article.
Multichannel synchronization allows multiple Red Pitaya boards to operate as a single measurement system. Using shared clock and trigger distribution, engineers can align signal acquisition and generation across several devices with deterministic timing.
The upgraded streaming architecture supports up to 62.5 MB/s per board, a significant increase from the previous 20 MB/s. This enables higher-throughput signal acquisition and faster waveform generation workflows.
Yes. Engineers can synchronize combinations of boards such as STEMlab 125-14 PRO Gen 2, STEMlab 125-14 PRO Z7020 Gen 2, STEMlab 125-14 4-Input, and SDRlab 122-16 using Click Shields and shared clock distribution.
Deep Memory Generation allows waveform data to be streamed directly from system memory to DAC outputs. This enables high-speed waveform playback and complex signal generation in synchronized multi-board systems.