Can I make a dashboard program in visual studio? If so, how do I do it?
yes, there is a standard network UDP packet send every 50 ms.
you can receive UDP data from port 1165, and process the data.
this thread has the details for the auto-generated data, you can send and parse your own data (984 bytes) too: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72874 (last post, first image)
In addition, the new driver station software allows you to choose the dash board executable to run when it launches, so it should work with any compiled (.exe) file you choose to use. However, let me point out that you can do MANY things in labview as easily as in visual studio. I had original intended to write a automous mapping program in visual studio (because I’m familiar with it), then I took a look at labview and realized it would actually be easier!