What is LabVIEW

[Danny Diaz]

Originally Posted by Jeff Pahl

The most important thing to understand is that LabVIEW is a programming language, just like C, or Visual Basic, or Java. The big differences are that it is a graphical language, where the programmer creates applications by connecting graphical icons, similar to creating a spreadsheet, and then by defining various properties for the icons.

Really close. Deep down, the most important thing to understand is that LabVIEW is a dataflow language; instead of focusing on the control path of the source code, like in C, VB, or Java, you focus more on the way data flows through the program. In LabVIEW, data trumps control code - nothing happens until the appropriate data is available. In C, Java, etc... multithreaded applications suffer because race conditions occur because data isn't available in time - LabVIEW is inherently multithreaded, but since data is the driving element then race conditions because of data are eliminated (with proper use).

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

Labview is normally used to automate electronic test equipment.

Yes. It is also used to test military equipment (things that go BOOM), control factory operations, develop systems to help quadriplegics walk, develop better artificial hearts, determine what makes the best fuel cell, help reduce the vibration felt within an automobile (and also to lower emissions and improve fuel utilization!), test the XBox360 controllers, and much more. LabVIEW not only satisfies the test vector of Measurement and Automation, but it also satisfies the control and design vectors as well.

Originally Posted by Andrew Schuetze

Is the DAQ and LabView going to be used more for external data collection so that one has physical data of how the robot performed so that analysis and verification of predicted robot performance under load conditions can be made?

No, the 6009 does not have the ability to store data on-board; to do so you would need something a bit beyond the capabilities of the NI USB-6009 DAQ device. In order to do everything the 6009 is capable of doing on its own you would really need something with an on-board processor. The DAQ device should be looked at very much like a steroid-infused IFI controller that instead of controlling via a program you upload to it you control it via the USB interface with a PC or LabVIEW-capable device. The DAQ device, in conjunction with LabVIEW, gives you the ability to analyze sensors, tweak PID control loops, simulate sensors, and perform advanced analysis and control tasks not currently supported by available tools (among a myriad of others). With what you learn with the DAQ device, as Don put it, you will be able to more intelligently tweak/control your robot through conventional means for competition.

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

It gets even better, because during development you can use sensors that aren't 'legal' (or, for weight, might not be used in competition) to measure and characterize every aspect of the machine's operation, allowing optimization.

EXACTLY! For other examples, strain gauges can help prevent structural integrity or really nasty torsion problems, current sensors (and other sensors) can help determine how much power your motors are pulling so you can design a drive train or arm mechanism that won't smoke your motors and give you maximum efficiency, and you can even develop a testing environment within LabVIEW to allow you to unit test your autonomous robot software without the need for a completed physical robot!

There are a lot of uses for this that haven't even been considered yet!

-Danny