Did You Know LabVIEW Could Inspire 50,000 Robotics Students?

[Joe Ross]

Did You Know LabVIEW Could Inspire 50,000 Robotics Students?

At the 2009 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, 50,000 high school students will use the NI CompactRIO platform as their next-generation robot controller. Inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST with a clear vision: “To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.” By adding NI LabVIEW and CompactRIO to the competition’s robotics platform, FIRST hopes to increase the technical capabilities of the teams’ robots while making programming more accessible to a larger group of students through the ease of use of LabVIEW graphical programming.

In 2009, FIRST robots like the NItro robot designed by NI will benefit from the increased power and flexibility of a new CompactRIO system and controller powered by LabVIEW.

LabVIEW and the LabVIEW Real-Time Module power the CompactRIO platform to give high school students access to advanced performance and control capabilities, including thousands of analysis, I/O, and control algorithms; a 400 MHz PowerPC; and field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based I/O. The CompactRIO modular I/O system offers connectivity to a wide array of sensor and actuator options as well as wireless monitoring and powerful real-time vision processing so students can build more advanced robots. During competition, robots need to operate in both joystick-controlled and autonomous modes. Teams now can conquer the complex autonomous mode by writing and deploying algorithms to the CompactRIO system to integrate vision and closed-loop control. Many of the teams are excited about the option of using LabVIEW graphical programming and wireless communication to gain instant visual feedback from their robot during the event.

Students and mentors are now preparing for 2009 and asking pressing questions about software development techniques, including integrating C code into robotics control programs and more, via the new National Instruments FIRST community Web site (ni.com/first). The LabVIEW community can get involved in this program by sharing expertise with or mentoring these motivated high school students.

A Testament from the LabVIEW Community

“Having just come back from a trip to the FIRST Robotics Competition in Atlanta, I have to say that I’m excited and reinvigorated about the future of LabVIEW. I was surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of high-school-aged children down to the lower grades, involved with robotics, science, technology, and software development. From the FIRST LEGO® League using LEGO MINDSTORMS® and NXT-G, to the FIRST Tech Challenge using LabVIEW, and now the FIRST Tech Challenge using CompactRIO with LabVIEW, there has never been a better time to get involved, give back to your community, and use your knowledge for something that really matters.”

Michael Aivaliotis

LabVIEW Champion and Administrator of the LabVIEW Advanced Virtual Architects (LAVA) Forum at lavag.org

http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/pub/p/id/453