InstrumentationNewsletter The Worldwide Publication for Measurement and Automation l Fourth Quarter 2009

6 New NI PXI Semiconductor Suite Expands Measurement Capabilities for Chip Test

8 The Robot Revolution: BuildingCover Better Title Measurement Cover Title: LabVIEW Addresses the Needs Systems with Windows 7 of an Emerging Market 10 Virtualization Provides a More Cover Title page 3 page 3 Efficient Use of Multicore Hardware

11 NI Expands HIL Test Platform with New Embedded Network Interfaces and Fault Insertion

12 Learn Best Practices for Building Automated Test Systems

14 LabVIEW and PXI Control the World’s Most Powerful Laser

15 Did You Know LabVIEW Could Edit VIs through Voice Commands?

16 Special Focus: Choosing the Right Technology for Your Wireless Application

24 Deploy Your .m Files to Real-Time Hardware

26 Guarding Against Hardware Obsolescence

28 NI Announces the 2009 Graphical System Design Achievement Award Winners

ni.com Inside NI

Staying On Top of Technology Trends

At National Instruments, product development is driven by a passion for Tools for Innovation innovation and new technologies. By staying on top of technology trends, The LabVIEW platform takes advantage of advanced technologies including we have built a platform of tools that has helped engineers and scientists wireless, embedded processors, and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) worldwide create some of the most advanced applications. We are always to make it easy for you to develop cutting-edge applications. As a result, planning for what’s ahead, and our foresight means that you can be ready LabVIEW has grown from a virtual instrumentation tool to a powerful for important advancements, from multicore processors to the latest programming environment that helps you create exciting and innovative Microsoft OS. solutions using graphical system design. Examples in this issue range from the world’s most powerful laser to robots and unmanned vehicles. Embracing Windows 7 A technology that has had a big impact on engineers and scientists is Do More Microsoft Windows and its evolution from Windows 3 to Windows 95 to For more than 30 years, National Instruments has continued to deliver its Windows NT and Windows XP. When Microsoft released Windows Vista promise of innovation and continuous improvement to give you the tools in 2006, wide adoption did not occur as it did with previous Windows to be successful, whether you have a simple data acquisition application updates. However, with Windows XP starting to show its age and the or a more complex system. Windows 7, PCI Express, robotics, multicore, economy affecting PC purchases, there appears to be a demand for and FPGAs are just some examples of our investments to help you do more. improvement. Windows 7 promises increases in performance and security as well as data throughput, which may entice engineers and scientists using older OSs to make the switch. NI engineers have been testing and running Windows 7 for months – John Graff [email protected] prior to its recent release. As you would expect, we are proud to announce John Graff has been with National Instruments that the entire NI LabVIEW 2009 platform officially supports Windows 7. since 1987 and is the vice president of marketing This means you can upgrade your systems with confidence, whether and customer operations. He received a you are controlling a traditional instrument or looking to make use of bachelor‘s degree in electrical engineering high-performance technologies such as multicore and PCI Express. from The University of Texas at Austin.

Newsletter Instrumentation Volume 21, Number 4 Fourth Quarter 2009

Executive Editor John Graff Creative Manager Joe Silva Production Artist Fatos Shita Editor in Chief Andria Balman Art Director Adam Hampshire Photo Editors Nicole Kinbarovsky, Allie Verlander Managing Editor Jenn Giles Project Manager Megan McCall Image Coordinator Kathy Brown Associate Editors Jennifer King, Jontel Moran Illustrators Brent Burden, Komal Deep Kaur Production Specialist Robert Burnette Contributing Editors Johanna Gilmore, Tiffany Wilder Print Production Art Manager Laura Thompson Circulation Coordinator Molly Rand

Instrumentation Newsletter is published quarterly by National Instruments Corporation, 11500 N Mopac Expwy, Austin, TX 78759-3504 USA.

©2009 National Instruments. All rights reserved. ActiveMath, AutoCode, BioBench, BridgeVIEW, Citadel, CompactRIO, Crashbase, CVI, DAQCard, DAQ Designer, DAQPad, DAQ-STC, DASYLab, DIAdem, DIAdem CLIP, DIAdem-INSIGHT, DocumentIt!, Electronics Workbench, FieldPoint, Flex ADC, FlexDMM, FlexFrame, FlexMotion, HiQ, HS488, IMAQ, Instrumentation Newsletter, Instrupedia, LabVIEW, LabVIEW Player, Lookout, MANTIS, MATRIXx, Measure, Measurement Ready, Measurement Studio, MITE, Multisim, MXI, NAT4882, NAT7210, NAT9914, National Instruments, National Instruments Alliance Partner, NI, NI-488, ni.com, NI CompactDAQ, NI Developer Suite, NI FlexRIO, NI-Motion, NI Motion Assistant, NI SoftMotion, NI TestStand, NI VeriStand, NIWeek, RIDE, RTSI, SCXI, Sensors Plug&Play, SignalExpress, SystemBuild, The Software is the Instrument, The Virtual Instrumentation Company, TNT4882, TNT4882C, Turbo488, Ultiboard, VAB, VirtualBench, VXIpc, and Xmath are trademarks of National Instruments. The mark LabWindows is used under a license from Microsoft Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. LEGO, the LEGO logo, MINDSTORMS, and WEDO are trademarks of the LEGO Group. MATLAB® and Embedded MATLAB® are registered trademarks and Parallel Computing Toolbox is a trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. A National Instruments Alliance Partner is a business entity independent from National Instruments and has no agency, partnership, or joint-venture relationship with National Instruments. Cover

Building Better Measurement Systems with Windows 7 With the latest version of the Windows OS, Windows 7, LabVIEW users can unlock new technologies.

overall attainable bandwidth with Windows 7, compared to the same hardware running on Windows XP. The increased hardware performance, combined with the multicore optimization of both the Windows 7 OS and LabVIEW software, resulted in a performance increase of up to 20 percent during high-speed or multifunction I/O measurements, as shown in Figure 2.

High-Performance Measurements with PXI Express and Multicore Microsoft has restructured much of Windows 7 to perform more system tasks concurrently in order to benefit from increasingly common multicore processors. A key example is the Microsoft rearchitecture of the graphics Figure 1. Due to several improved features, the Windows 7 OS is a reliable program for measurement applications written with LabVIEW software. device interface (GDI), which was designed to improve responsiveness when multiple Instead of adding significantly new or different functionality in Windows 7, applications are running simultaneously. This rearchitecture results in Microsoft improved many of the features introduced in Windows Vista, fewer sequential obstacles, which can provide a more responsive user refined the usability of the shell, and increased the system responsiveness interface and better overall system performance of multithreaded and performance. These changes, combined with a focus on hardware and measurement applications. software compatibility, make Windows 7 a strong candidate for the latest Multithreaded software assigns independent, asynchronous processes test and measurement applications. This article explains how applications to separate threads, which can be executed in parallel by separate computer written within the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment can cores. Computer processor clock rates are experiencing minimal increases; take advantage of Windows 7 and the latest computing platforms to thus, the processor manufacturers are adding more cores onto a single chip. increase data throughput, improve performance, and take advantage of For LabVIEW programmers, it is common to create multiple computationally technologies such as 64-bit, USB data acquisition (DAQ), and PCI Express. intensive tasks in a single application that can run in parallel; this is as simple as drawing two loops on a block diagram. LabVIEW and NI drivers, Increasing Throughput with NI USB DAQ and Windows 7 such as NI-DAQmx, are multithreaded, which helps test engineers easily Commercial vendors are already shipping computers with Windows 7. These create high-performance acquisition and analysis applications without computers offer benefits in overall performance and multiple cores as well manually spawning and managing separate threads. DAQ applications as provide the latest bus technologies, including multiple PCI Express and that are written in LabVIEW and that use NI hardware on a multicore Hi-Speed USB slots. computer benefit from the improvements in Windows 7 and are designed Microsoft has invested significantly in USB improvements for Windows 7. to further optimize the use of multicore processors. These improvements, such as the elimination of unnecessary timers, selective Measurements that require high throughput and fast performance are hub suspension, and lower enumeration time for USB flash devices, increase prompting engineers to use new technologies such as multicore processors the performance of USB test and measurement devices. In recent benchmark and PXI Express to meet increasing demands for speed. The new NI X Series testing, the new NI CompactDAQ chassis achieved a 10 percent increase in DAQ devices natively support PCI Express and PXI Express, which offer

888 279 9833 n ni.com 3 Understanding the Difference Windows 7 Windows XP Between 32-Bit and 64-Bit Versions of Windows 7 Windows 7 is the third Microsoft OS to 5 Signal Streams 5% Improvement support 64-bit processors. Although 32-bit versions of Windows continue to be the most popular and offer the most native 3 Signal Streams 20% Improvement compatibility with applications, 64-bit hardware and software are available. When upgrading to Windows 7, it is important 1 Output Stream to be aware of the potential benefits and 14% Improvement considerations of 64-bit versus 32-bit in order to select the appropriate platform. 1 Input Stream The new 64-bit version of LabVIEW 2009, 7% Improvement which is available for download from ni.com, is the first version of LabVIEW to 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 offer native compatibility with 64-bit Normalized Data Throughput (More Is Better) OSs (Windows Vista and Windows 7 only).

Figure 2. Benchmarks performed with NI CompactDAQ revealed Measurement applications that run natively as much as a 20 percent increase in data throughput on Windows 7. on 64-bit hardware and software can take advantage of a larger amount of physical memory than 32-bit systems, which is beneficial for applications that are Windows 7 Windows XP processing large amounts of contiguous data. Access to additional memory can easily increase system performance by LabVIEW 2009 8% Improvement Parallel For Loop eliminating the need to swap processes in and out of page files on hard drives, which are much slower than physical memory NI TestStand 4.2 10% Improvement and cache. Along with increasing physical Parallel Sequences memory, additional registers on a 64-bit processor can increase execution speed 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 of applications by as much as 20 percent, Normalized Execution Time (Shorter Is Better) depending on how the code is written. Figure 3. With Windows 7, the performance of a LabVIEW application with four parallel loops However, only LabVIEW 2009 core software, on a quad core machine experienced as much as a 10 percent performance increase compared to Windows XP. the NI Vision Development Module, and most NI drivers offer native support for a 64-bit version of Windows. Non-native dedicated bidirectional bandwidth of up to 250 MB/s. NI also offers many support for 32-bit versions of applications is made possible by an emulation additional PXI Express modular instruments for high-precision, high-frequency known as Windows on Windows (WoW); however, this does adversely measurements. Engineers can use these technologies with Windows 7, impact execution speed and performance. which works with the latest buses and improves support for multicore Test and measurement applications created to analyze large data sets, processing to remove restrictions and improve the data throughput of which are synonymous with high-channel-count systems and fast sampling their measurement applications. rates, may benefit from the switch to a 64-bit version of Windows 7. However, a majority of LabVIEW applications does not inherently benefit from switching to 64-bit versions.

4 Q4 2009 The Microsoft OS Support Life Cycle NI Product Compatibility The introduction of Windows 7 is especially relevant given that Microsoft With early access to Windows 7, National Instruments has already ensured officially discontinued sales of Windows XP in June 2008. Released more that the majority of NI application software, including LabVIEW 2009, than nine years ago, Windows XP continues to be the most popular OS LabVIEW SignalExpress 2009, and DIAdem 11.1 SP1 – as well as the on the market. A recent survey of National Instruments customers indicates November version of the NI Device Drivers DVD – already supports that more than 80 percent of their test and measurement applications Windows 7. Additionally, NI is committed to releasing Windows 7 support are still running on Windows XP, while less than 10 percent have adopted for NI LabWindows™/CVI, Measurement Studio, and NI TestStand before Windows Vista. Now that Windows 7 is available, customers have the the end of 2009. Customers interested in transitioning their measurement opportunity to upgrade older PC measurement hardware to take advantage and automation systems to Windows 7 in order to take advantage of the of the latest multicore processors and bus technologies including PCI Express, new productivity and performance benefits can upgrade today. which provides higher throughput and increases overall system performance. – Elijah Kerry [email protected] Ensuring Hardware and Software Compatibility Elijah Kerry is a product manager for LabVIEW at National Instruments, Microsoft has clearly indicated that Windows Vista device drivers work focusing on large, mission-critical development applications and correctly on Windows 7 and that the company is not introducing any new software engineering practices. He holds a bachelor’s degree in compatibility requirements to the driver model. This policy is designed to computer engineering from the University of Missouri, Columbia. avoid the same incompatibility problems users experienced when Windows Vista first debuted. (Many common devices did not work or would not install.) To learn more about official Windows 7 support policies, visit In addition to the compatibility mode option, which helps applications ni.com/info and enter nsi9401. “think” they are running in an older version of Windows, Microsoft is turning to new virtualization technologies in the Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate versions to eliminate the risk that software cannot run on Windows 7. With a new Windows 7 mode, known as Windows XP Mode, users can emulate the popular Windows XP OS. This may present LabVIEW programmers with the easiest possible mechanism for running older applications, which could help ensure compatibility of legacy applications.

Higher-Performance, Lower-Cost Options with New NI CompactDAQ Chassis

Two new chassis enhance the simple, complete NI CompactDAQ data acquisition system by adding a new four-slot option; parallel timing engines for running modules at different rates; external trigger lines; and four new built-in, general-purpose counters. The chassis redesign incorporates user requests and NI-STC3 technology to make programming NI CompactDAQ within LabVIEW software easier and more intuitive. Combine NI CompactDAQ with any of the nearly 50 supported NI C Series modules to create mixed-sensor test systems for applications including appliance test, in-vehicle data logging, small engine test, and production verification test fixtures.

To learn more and purchase the new NI CompactDAQ chassis, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9402.

n The mark LabWindows is used under a license from Microsoft Corporation. 888 279 9833 ni.com 5 Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Feature

New NI PXI Semiconductor Suite Expands Measurement Capabilities for Chip Test For more than a decade, the PXI platform has grown to include some of the highest-performance instrumentation in the industry.

The addition of source measure units (SMUs) and advanced high-speed high-speed digital signal insertion switch, and the ability to import digital I/O has driven PXI into new application areas including semiconductor Waveform Generation Language (WGL) and Standard Test Interface chip test. The PXI modular form factor and compact size, combined with Language (STIL) vector formats directly into PXI. NI LabVIEW software, provide a flexible test platform that is well suited to These instruments double the single-ended clock rates and increase address and meet the challenges faced by semiconductor design and test current sensitivity by two orders of magnitude compared to current NI engineers. Today, companies including ON Semiconductor and Analog instrumentation. The 10 new products in the PXI Semiconductor Suite Devices turn to PXI and LabVIEW as a complete solution for increasing are designed to tightly integrate with each other and offer new features quality and lowering the cost of test in characterization and production. including a sequencing engine on the SMU and enhanced timing control National Instruments provides more than 300 PXI products alone, with more for digital I/O, which make them well suited for semiconductor chip test. than 1,500 available from approximately 70 vendors. NI continues to invest in PXI to bring new capabilities to its platforms and better address the needs High-Precision DC Instrumentation of its semiconductor customers. Parametric measurements are critical to semiconductor component The new NI PXI Semiconductor Suite consists of 10 new products that validation or characterization and require very precise DC instrumentation expand the capabilities of PXI and LabVIEW for software-defined chip test to accurately measure standby or leakage currents on a device. The PXI systems. The suite provides digital instrumentation up to 200 MHz, DC Semiconductor Suite meets these requirements with the addition of a new parametric measurements down to 10 pA, faster RF tuning times, a SMU. The NI PXI-4132 high-precision SMU features current resolution down to 10 pA with remote four-wire sensing as well as external guarding on a single output, providing ±100 V capability in a single PXI slot. The SMU offers several advancements, including an onboard hardware sequencing engine for hardware-timed high-speed curve traces and the ability to trigger and synchronize multiple PXI-4132 SMUs over the PXI backplane. The PXI-4132 complements the existing NI PXI-4130 Power SMU, which provides a four-quadrant, 40 W output (±20 V, ±2 A) to deliver high-precision and high-power source measure options for PXI.

Advanced High-Speed Digital Capabilities Digital instrumentation is another vital component of any semiconductor test system to help characterize digital interfaces both functionally and parametrically as well as control chip operation via common communication protocols including SPI and I2C.

Figure 1. The NI PXI Semiconductor Suite consists of new DC, digital, RF, The new suite adds several new products and switching instrumentation, as well as file importing software. with advanced high-speed digital capabilities.

6 Q4 2009 The NI PXIe-6544 and NI PXIe-6545 modules add 100 and 200 MHz digital generator (VSG) feature fast tuning times using RF List Mode to make I/O to PXI Express, respectively, with up to 32 channels from 1.2 to 3.3 V, multiband RF measurements faster. With deterministic frequency tuning and feature a precision onboard clock with subhertz resolution. The and power adjustments, these modules are uniquely suited for testing NI PXIe-6547 and NI PXIe-6548 modules deliver additional functionality wireless and mixed-signal ICs, such as power amplifiers and transceivers. by offering bidirectional communication on a per-channel, per-cycle basis; real-time bit comparison of acquired data versus expected response; double data rate Products Features Advancements NI PXI-4132 ±100 V, down to 10 pA resolution SMU High-speed sequencing and triggering (DDR) capability up to 400 Mbits/s; and three 100/200 MHz; 1.2 to 3.3 V, NI PXIe-6544/45 Subhertz resolution onboard clock banks of data delay, so engineers can skew up to 32 digital I/O 100/200 MHz; 1.2 to 3.3 V, Bidirectional, hardware comparison, DDR, multiple digital I/O lines on a single instrument NI PXIe-6547/48 up to 32 digital I/O banked data delay, 22 logic levels with respect to each other to stress timing NI PXI/PXIe-2515 High-speed digital signal insertion switches Ability to multiplex in-precision DC instrumentation on a chip. NI PXIe-5663E 6.6 GHz VSA RF List Mode NI PXIe-5673E 6.6 GHz VSG RF List Mode The PXI Semiconductor Suite also contains TSSI TD-Scan for Software for importing Supports NI 654x, NI 655x, the first NI high-speed digital signal insertion NationaI Instruments WGL/STIL vectors and NI 656x digital I/O devices switch, so engineers can multiplex in-precision Table 1. The 10 new products expand measurement capability and add features to existing NI PXI instrumentation. DC instrumentation, such as the new PXI-4132 SMU, a digital multimeter (DMM), or power supply, on up to 32 digital I/O lines. An NI PXI/PXIe-2515 switch Software-Defined Semiconductor Chip Test functions as a pass-through for the new PXI Express digital I/O modules Software-defined instrumentation using LabVIEW gives semiconductor or the existing NI 654x or NI 655x digital instruments to provide per-pin test engineers an advantage in quickly customizing measurements and current measurements with clean connectivity to any digital pin. building high-performance automated test systems. PXI modular hardware Many applications in semiconductor test also require the ability to helps engineers incorporate the latest PC technologies such as multicore import digital simulation test vectors from common design tools. As part and PCI Express to further reduce test times. The addition of the PXI of the new suite, NI has been working with National Instruments Alliance Semiconductor Suite expands the capabilities of PXI and LabVIEW to Partner Test System Strategies Inc. (TSSI), a leader in electronic design develop a stronger platform for testing many semiconductor components automation (EDA) pattern conversion, on a new software product called including analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog TSSI TD-Scan for National Instruments so engineers can import WGL and converters (DACs), power management ICs (PMICs), wireless ICs (RFICs), STIL vector formats into PXI. The software tool is available from TSSI and and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices. is included as a 30-day evaluation package with NI high-speed digital I/O PXI hardware. – Scott Savage [email protected] Scott Savage is the market development manager for semiconductor Faster RF Measurement Times test at National Instruments. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer Testing high-speed RF components can be time-consuming when considering engineering from Texas A&M University. the requirements needed to sweep through multiple frequencies to fully characterize the performance of a chip. The new NI PXIe-5663E 6.6 GHz To learn more about the products and applications for the NI PXI vector signal analyzer (VSA) and NI PXIe-5673E 6.6 GHz vector signal Semiconductor Suite, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9403.

Find Tutorials, Example Code, Case Studies, and More Online

National Instruments offers semiconductor test solutions for a variety of chip types including ADCs/DACs, PMICs, RFICs, and MEMS devices. Download example code from NI systems engineers and view case studies from Analog Devices, ON Semiconductor, and other leading semiconductor companies to learn how they have reduced their cost of test with NI LabVIEW software and PXI instrumentation.

To browse these resources, visit ni.com/semiconductor.

888 279 9833 n ni.com 7 Feature

The Robot Revolution: LabVIEW Addresses the Needs of an Emerging Market Robots are steadily becoming a part of everyday life.

They are vacuuming living room floors, assembling hybrid cars, and business did 30 years ago. With disruptive technologies such as multicore autonomously performing military reconnaissance missions. They serve processing and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), robot builders have the government, defense, medical, agricultural, mining, space, and many access to computer processing that is smaller, faster, and cheaper. They other industries by performing the tasks that are dull, dirty, or dangerous can also choose from the expanding variety of commercial off-the-shelf to humans. (COTS) sensors – from inexpensive infrared microelectromechanical system Despite these recent feats, industry experts suggest that the surge in (MEMS) sensors to highly complex laser rangefinders, or LIDARs, that innovation is just beginning and the robotics industry will be one of the produce intricate 3D models of a surrounding environment. fastest-growing enterprises within the next decade. In his Scientific So why has the robotics industry not yet reached its tipping point? American article, “A Robot in Every Home,” Bill Gates states that the “The hardware capability is mostly there; now the issue is getting the robotics industry is developing in much the same way that the computer software right,” Gates states in his article.

Interfacing and powering all onboard sensors and actuators require electrical engineering and driver development

Mobile platform design, drive-train control, and kinematics require mechanical engineering and controls theory

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for autonomous control and embedded processing require computer science knowledge

Figure 1. Building a robot requires knowledge in multiple disciplines. Finding a software platform that caters to all of these disciplines is key.

8 Q4 2009 The robotics industry needs a software development platform that is speeds at 102 mph. Michael Fleming, TORC Technologies CEO, says, what Microsoft BASIC was to the PC industry. Dr. Dave Barrett, professor at “We see cutting-edge robotic organizations spending too many resources Olin College and former vice president of engineering at iRobot Corporation, reinventing sensor communication, motor drives, and power details rather explains why: than focusing on the higher-level perception, planning, and control issues.” “When building a new robot, one must typically start from scratch. The NI network of hundreds of sensor, actuator, and instrument drivers With no software standard, there is very little opportunity for code reuse eliminated the need for TORC Technologies to create homegrown strategies or sharing. On top of that, to build sophisticated mobile robots, one must for a drive-by-wire autonomous solution for a Ford Escape Hybrid vehicle. have, at minimum, working knowledge of mechanical engineering, electrical Additionally, because LabVIEW is an open design platform that can run engineering, computer science, and controls theory.” .m file scripts on real-time targets and port ANSI C code to FPGAs using A challenge for many roboticists is finding a modular, reusable software the open C interface, TORC Technologies created a heterogeneous, development platform that caters to all of these disciplines. distributed processing solution that used an NI CompactRIO system to Barrett says robotics experts have sent out a distress call. “We need an manage sensor fusion and the drive-by-wire control and two quad-core industrial-grade, hardened, richly supported software development system servers running Linux and Windows OSs to perform the perception, planning, to build autonomous, mobile robots that can sense, think, and act in the and acting algorithms. world around them. I have spent 15 years trying to come up with the best robotics programming language, and LabVIEW has accomplished that.”

Roboticists Do More with LabVIEW Many robot designers, such as Barrett, have found an answer to their distress call in LabVIEW; the built-in fundamental capabilities make it an ideal programming platform for robotics. For example, when servicing the space exploration industry with robotic solutions, Alliance Spacesystems must first quickly prototype and test concepts to demonstrate their feasibility to clients such as NASA. Alliance Spacesystems has found a strategic advantage through the NI graphical system design platform and has used LabVIEW for rapid robotic development for more than 10 years. “What could take years to prototype takes months with LabVIEW,” says Sean Dougherty, mechatronics Figure 2. Switchblade is a mobile robot based on technical advisor. “NI offers the combination of intuitive, simple-to-use NI Single-Board RIO that can climb stairs with ease and balance itself on a point. graphical system design tools that still provide the power and flexibility to do the things we need to do with a complex embedded system.” The tipping point of the robotics industry will happen when roboticists Dr. Thomas Bewley, professor of the Coordinated Robotics Lab at the have found their software programming solution. Barrett, Dougherty, Bewley, University of California, San Diego, has used LabVIEW to create novel and Fleming are examples of the mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, robotics designs such as Switchblade, a small, treaded mobile robot that controls experts, and computer scientists who have become well-rounded manipulates a large mass at its end to hoist itself upright and balance on roboticists that can quickly prototype and build sophisticated robot designs a point. Switchblade can perform unique maneuvers, such as climbing by using LabVIEW. stairs, during search and rescue missions. It was completely designed and verified in less than a month using the LabVIEW Control Design and – Emilie Kopp [email protected] Simulation Module. When it came time to create a physical prototype, Emilie Kopp is a robotics marketing engineer at National Instruments. the seamless integration between LabVIEW and embedded processing She holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Trinity targets, such as NI Single-Board RIO, gave Bewley the ability to port his University and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from closed-loop feedback control code to his embedded hardware in minutes. Rice University. The onboard 400 MHz PowerPC processor combined with a 2 M gate FPGA left plenty of processor power for video processing and other tasks required To get a preview of new LabVIEW software that can aid roboticists, for search and rescue missions. visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9404. Engineers at TORC Technologies have used LabVIEW to gain a running start when creating the world’s fastest unmanned vehicle, which clocks

888 279 9833 n ni.com 9 Product In-Depth

Virtualization Provides a More Efficient Use of Multicore Hardware

The new NI Real-Time Hypervisor software package uses virtualization Program without Changing Your Code technology to run Windows XP and NI LabVIEW Real-Time simultaneously After configuring a PXI or industrial controller system with the Real-Time on the same controller. After ordering a multicore PXI or industrial controller Hypervisor installed, you can program real-time applications in LabVIEW system with the hypervisor installed, you can develop powerful, multi-OS and deploy them exactly as you would with a typical NI real-time system applications while reducing cost and physical footprint. and remote host. You can access the real-time portion of a hypervisor system through MAX for straightforward software installation and Multicore Controller configuration. In addition, LabVIEW applications running on either the Windows or LabVIEW Real-Time side of a hypervisor system can make Windows XP LabVIEW Real-Time use of standard NI device drivers, giving you access to the entire platform of National Instruments I/O hardware. NI Real-Time Hypervisor Software

I/0 RAM CPUs

Figure 1. With new Real-Time Hypervisor software, you can run LabVIEW Real-Time and Windows XP simultaneously on a single controller.

Quickly Configure I/O and Memory Partitioning In real-time systems, reliable performance is important, which is why the Real-Time Hypervisor partitions resources, including RAM and I/O modules,

between LabVIEW Real-Time and Windows. The NI Real-Time Hypervisor Figure 2. You can order the Real-Time Hypervisor software Manager, a built-in utility, helps you quickly reconfigure these OS preinstalled on multicore PXI or industrial controller systems. assignments at any time. In addition, an advanced view in the utility helps you identify and resolve any configuration issues. Make Efficient Use of Multicore Hardware To take full advantage of multicore PXI and industrial controller hardware, Easily Communicate between OSs Real-Time Hypervisor software assigns groups of processor cores to In applications that feature multiple OSs, sharing data can pose a challenge. individual OSs. On dual-core systems, one core is assigned to LabVIEW With the Real-Time Hypervisor, transferring data between OSs is as Real-Time while the other core is assigned to Windows XP. Quad-core straightforward as using a typical network connection. You can access a systems assign three cores to LabVIEW Real-Time, ensuring ample built-in virtual Ethernet port from both LabVIEW Real-Time and Windows XP processing power for the most demanding measurement and control and reconfigure the port in the same way as a physical network interface applications and making efficient use of multicore hardware. from either Windows or NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX). A virtual serial port on Real-Time Hypervisor systems also provides To view more architecture and performance details on the Real-Time convenient access to LabVIEW Real-Time status and debugging information Hypervisor, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9405. from Windows.

10 Q4 2009 Product In-Depth

NI Expands HIL Test Platform with New Embedded Network Interfaces and Fault Insertion

Engineers are adding embedded control systems to medical devices, use CAN and FlexRay. Optimized for high-performance applications such as industrial machines, power generation systems, automobiles, and other HIL testing, these interfaces are ideal for simulating missing nodes on an applications to optimize efficiency, improve performance, and meet embedded network. With extremely low latency and onboard coprocessing regulatory requirements. Because engineers design many parts of these of bus data, HIL systems can use NI-XNET interfaces to more accurately systems in parallel and do not have access to prototypes or encounter simulate one or more embedded controllers on a network. NI-XNET interfaces dangerous test scenarios, system-wide component validation testing use the same API for CAN and FlexRay, and this aspect simplifies the becomes difficult or impossible. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing helps process of working with multiple networks of complex embedded systems address these challenges by simulating incomplete parts of a system so typically found in automotive, aerospace, and other industries. engineers can test embedded control systems as if they were part of a Effective HIL test systems simulate missing pieces of a network as well as complete system. HIL testing requires high-performance I/O to achieve the software and hardware fault conditions. A new NI PXI fault insertion family detail and accuracy often necessary for these simulations. Since the recent can apply physical hardware faults to the unit under test (UUT) such as a release of NI VeriStand real-time testing and simulation software, ground fault or channel-to-channel short to test the behavior of the UUT National Instruments has released additional products to expand the under these conditions. These devices, based on NI-SWITCH driver software, range of I/O, simplify development, and increase performance of HIL test offer application-specific switch topologies capable of handling the systems built on its platform. high-power signals in embedded control systems. In addition to these new product families, NI recently released many other products useful for HIL testing applications including AFDX, ARINC 429, and MIL-STD-1553 aerospace bus interfaces; NI VeriStand real-time testing software; and NI TestStand 4.2 with improved support for Python scripting.

Figure 1. The complete HIL simulation system consists of new products for HIL applications including NI-XNET CAN and FlexRay interfaces, NI fault insertion switch units, and NI VeriStand real-time testing software.

New Interface Families Increase Performance One trend in embedded systems is the increasing number and complexity of embedded devices networked together in a system. Low-cost embedded networks, such as controller area networks (CANs), are commonly linked to Figure 2. The new NI-XNET CAN and FlexRay high-performance several dozen automotive embedded control units to share control data. interface family is optimized for interfacing PC-based test systems with embedded networks in demanding applications such as HIL test. FlexRay, an emerging networking standard in the automotive industry, is rapidly gaining adoption alongside CAN due to its higher data rates and reliability. Both standards present new challenges to the HIL test engineer. To learn why engineers choose NI products to implement critical HIL The new NI-XNET CAN and FlexRay family consists of 14 PCI and PXI test applications, visit ni.com/hil. interfaces for testing, simulating, and validating embedded devices that

888 279 9833 n ni.com 11 Test Techniques

Learn Best Practices for Building Automated Test Systems Developing both durable and flexible test systems to address the needs of today’s complex devices is critical.

National Instruments has collaborated with industry experts to create Step 3 – Designing Software Designing Automated Test Systems, a five-step guide that features best The following step teaches techniques for building a scalable and reusable practices for identifying your measurement needs, selecting hardware software framework and best practices in code module development. and software, and assembling and deploying your software-defined For instance, the guide discusses the importance of making your code automated test systems. An overview of the five steps and a sample “localization friendly” by using pictures to avoid language barriers and section are featured in this article. using words that translate easily. Additional topics covered include choosing a test executive, documenting code, and selecting an instrument Step 1 – Identifying Measurement Needs driver paradigm. Many test engineers choose their hardware based on instrument type rather than measurement need. You do not always need a digital multimeter

(DMM) to make precision measurements, and you do not always have to use Labels expensive tools to calibrate your devices. Step 1 of this guide describes best practices for identifying the measurement requirements of your Wire Ties

automated test system so you can make cost-effective decisions when Sleeves selecting your instruments.

Strain Relief Step 2 – Selecting Hardware The next section of the guide provides specific suggestions as well as practical implementations for choosing your automated test system rack; Figure 2. Sleeves, wire ties, and strain relief are important for protecting cables in test systems. selecting power distribution units; and designing switching frameworks, mass-interconnect solutions, and custom fixtures. One example in the Step 4 – Assembling the Test System guide highlights the importance of choosing a rack size based on the This section of the guide discusses considerations for assembling your Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) standard because most instruments are automated test system. It provides suggestions on cable types and lengths built according to this standard. Another best practice discusses the value to minimize measurement errors. For example, the guide recommends using of keeping enough spacing between instruments in your rack for ventilation. copper conductors with silver plating for low-voltage measurements due to their low thermal characteristics. It also recommends using sleeving and/or wire ties Switching Mass Interconnect Fixturing to protect cable assemblies, hoses, and wire harnesses from chafing, cutting, and abrading. In addition to cabling considerations, Step 4 of the guide describes system grounding considerations, software activation and licensing, and test system validation techniques.

Figure 1. This diagram in Step 2 of the guide illustrates a switching, mass-interconnect, and fixturing solution in an example automated test system.

12 Q4 2009 Step 5 – Deploying the Test System The last step in the guide helps you deploy your software-defined automated test system and discusses various considerations for replicating your NI 9219 Keithley systems. Topics include creating a “deployment image” of your file directory + NI PXI-4071 + R ±125 mA to 60 VDC - - SMU structure and equipping facilities with requirements to run the test system. Voltage Input Module

A Practical Guide for Building Software-Defined Automated Test Systems Figure 3. This image shows the circuit for calibrating the NI 9219 voltage input module. This five-step guide goes beyond theory and places a strong emphasis on presenting best practices in a practical and reusable manner. It This is possible because the PXI-4071 DMM has an accuracy that features specific examples used by industry-leading test engineering is substantially higher than that of the NI 9219. In addition, because teams to show how you can put theoretical concepts into action to save the PXI-4071 was already required for testing other CompactRIO cost and time. In particular, the guide makes several references to the modules, using it for calibrating the NI 9219 helped to substantially system that NI engineers built to test more than 50 I/O modules for the reduce the overall cost of the test system. NI CompactRIO platform. The following excerpt from Step 1 in the guide discusses how choosing NI 9219 NI PXI-4071 (2 yr cal values) hardware based on measurement need rather than instrument type can Gain Error Range Offset Error Gain Error Range Offset Error (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) help reduce cost: 125 mV 3,000 120 32 2 60 V 1,000 20 22 0.8 ppm = parts per million Best Practice: Test engineers often choose an instrument based on Table 1. The accuracy of the NI PXI-4071 is much greater than that of the NI 9219. type rather than need. Such decisions often result in higher costs, so you should choose your instrument based on your measurement need rather than the instrument type. Download the Designing Automated Test Systems Guide Review this content online to develop a stronger understanding of core Real-World Example: Following this practice was highly beneficial when software-defined automated test fundamentals as well as practical NI engineers selected a method to calibrate the NI 9219 thermocouple knowledge for applying test engineering best practices to your applications. module in the test system described in this guide. Typical calibration methods involve using expensive instruments that cost upwards of – Jaideep Jhangiani [email protected] $50,000 USD. In this particular test system, however, the NI 9219 is Jaideep Jhangiani is an automated test product manager at calibrated using a Keithley source measure unit (SMU) and the NI PXI-4071 National Instruments. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer 7½-digit PXI DMM. engineering from Texas A&M University.

To download the Designing Automated Test Systems guide, visit ni.com/automatedtest.

New Waveform Reference Architectures

Use the NI CompactRIO Waveform Reference Architecture to easily stream waveform data from a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to a real-time controller. Ready-to-run FPGA code solves timing and data reliability issues with FPGA data acquisition. Develop real-time data acquisition applications with easy-to-use functional blocks and wire the data to any NI LabVIEW analysis VI.

To learn more about the CompactRIO Waveform Reference Architecture, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9406.

888 279 9833 n ni.com 13 NI in Academia

LabVIEW and PXI Control the World’s Most Powerful Laser

The Texas Petawatt Project is an ongoing venture of the High Intensity Laser CPU running LabVIEW and is connected to a data-logging and supervisory Science Group at The University of Texas at Austin. The Texas Petawatt control (DSC) engine to interface with field PCs, which use LabVIEW as the Project has proved to be the most powerful, fully operational laser in common communication software. These field PCs and various PXI the world, with its final power output documented to reach 1.1 PW controllers interface with and control all of our instruments. (one quadrillion watts). Because of their power, flexibility, and ease of use, we use LabVIEW, What differentiates this laser from other similar lasers under development PXI controllers, the LabVIEW Datalogging and Supervisory Control Module, is that it delivers substantially shorter pulses – as short as 130 femtoseconds the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, and LabVIEW data server and Web – which allows for many unique high-energy density physics experiments capabilities. We can manage several hundred control points and different with principles such as particle fusion for alternative energy research and instruments within the laser system, including motion and vision devices, other applications of controlled switches, limiters, digital and and extremely compacted energy. analog data traces, triggers, and In addition to effectively studying other equipment. the possibilities for future fuel sources, we can create the – Dr. Erhard Gaul conditions of supernovas, Head Scientist, including the plasma associated Texas Petawatt Project, with various astrophysical The University of Texas at Austin phenomena, on a small scale. NI LabVIEW software and PXI To learn more about NI instrumentation manage all aspects solutions for advanced physics

of laser operations and verify human Austin) at Texas University of The (Photo courtesy of applications, visit ni.com/physics. and machine safety before firing. Using NI products, we successfully developed a control system that can precisely control The core of the control system is a the charging, firing, amplification, and targeting of the world’s most powerful operating laser.

Updated Textbooks Include More Preparatory Materials

LabVIEW 2009 Student Edition Discrete-Time Signal Processing Robert H. Bishop (Third Edition) Alan V. Oppenheim Prentice Hall Ronald W. Schafer ISBN-13: 9780132141291 (Educational) ISBN-13: 9780132141314 (Professional) Prentice Hall ISBN-13: 9780131988422 The LabVIEW 2009 Student Edition textbook incorporates many new NI LabVIEW features, problem sets, and relaxed readings. With an updated appendix designed The third edition of Discrete-Time Signal Processing includes a companion Web for Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer (CLAD) test preparation and LabVIEW site so readers can hear, see, and interact with versions of select figures from Student Edition software included, this text continues to be one of the most popular the text. Termed “live figures,” these signal processing simulations, based on ways to learn LabVIEW. LabVIEW software, strengthen students’ understanding of crucial concepts.

To learn more and view ordering information, visit ni.com/info To learn more and view ordering information, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9407. and enter nsi9408.

14 Q4 2009 LabVIEW Everywhere

Did You Know LabVIEW Could Edit VIs through Voice Commands?

can perform actions as simple as hiding the labels of all selected items or as complex as transforming any sequence structure into a state machine. Many common applications have integrated this concept of helping you build onto the LabVIEW environment with your own macros This code is used to create control terminals for all inputs on all selected subVI. and scripts. National Instruments is opening up the LabVIEW software platform for Imagine if you could create a control for every terminal on a subVI simply customization, and LabVIEW Speak is just one example of how users by selecting it and saying, “create all controls.” Imagine building an array have taken advantage of this customization. More examples are available of control references by selecting a group of control terminals and saying, on the LabVIEW API community on ni.com. “build array of references.” With LabVIEW Speak, now you can. If you regularly program with LabVIEW software, start to pay attention NI LabVIEW is an easy-to-use, intuitive application development to how often you repeat some basic tasks that could be streamlined by environment (ADE), but there are still some basic or repetitive actions that a little scripting automation. Familiarity with the VI Server interface is all require you to navigate through a variety of menus and options involving you need to get started creating your own scripting code. Due to the multiple keystrokes and clicks. Over time, these common actions can slow contributions from the user community, ready-to-use tools are available down the process of creating code and affect your efficiency. LabVIEW for those with no knowledge of scripting. Speak reduces many of these time-consuming steps into a single voice Scripting VIs and controlling LabVIEW with your voice is more than a command by using the LabVIEW Scripting API and free, readily available novel idea. It is a quantum leap forward in how you develop your code and speech recognition software. a huge performance booster. So, wipe the dust off of your microphone or LabVIEW Speak uses its native add-on, Quick Edit, to take advantage headset and get ready to take your development process to the next level. of the LabVIEW Scripting API. Quick Edit is a plug-in framework which executes scripting VIs to programmatically edit other VIs. These plug-ins To learn more about LabVIEW Speak, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9409.

Available Verbal Commands

n Align Left/Right/Top/Bottom n Create Control/Indicator/Constant/Reference n Text Bold/Plain/Italic

n Label Visible/Invisible n Create All Indicators/Controls/Terminals n Justify Left/Center/Right

n Smashy Smashy n Insert Bundle/Unbundle n Show Project

Explore Cutting-Edge Tools from NI Labs

NI Labs showcases the cutting-edge NI R&D technologies that are not quite ready for release. Visit this virtual research lab to download and discuss new developments, such as NI LabVIEW Scripting and the LabVIEW Mobile Robots Interface.

To download and discuss the latest technologies, visit ni.com/labs.

888 279 9833 n ni.com 15 Special Focus

Choosing the Right Technology for Your Wireless Application NI offers two wireless measurement platforms that increase flexibility and reduce costs for many new applications: Wi-Fi data acquisition (DAQ) and wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Understanding the different technology capabilities is important when designing wireless applications.

NI Wi-Fi DAQ devices are similar to USB DAQ NI WSN devices deliver reliable, battery-powered devices – streaming continuous waveform data operation and are intended for long-term Wi-Fi to a host PC, but without the cable. WSN deployment in remote applications.

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi RANGE In many wireless applications, a physical obstruction, such as rotating machinery or even an office wall, Wi-Fi prohibits the use of a cable to transmit data. With a range of up to 100 m, NI Wi-Fi DAQ devices can be an Wi-Fi 30 to 100 m ideal solution in this scenario. However, in other applications, a significant physical distance may be the obstacle. NI WSN devices are capable of individuallyWSN transmitting measurements up to 300 m. This range WSN can be extended by up to 900 m by creating an interconnected mesh network of devices. Up to 300 m

WSN WSN 16 Q4 2009 Wi-Fi Wi-Fi THROUGHPUT The sampling rate and channel count of a system determine overall data throughput. NI Wi-Fi DAQ Wi-Fi devices can stream waveform measurements, such as acceleration, at up to 250 kS/s. However, total Wi-Fi Up to 250 kS/s IEEE 802.11g bandwidth (54 Mbits/s) limits the channel count at this rate. NI WSN devices can sample up to 60 S/min (1 S/s), with faster rates achievableWSN using the LabVIEW WSN Module Pioneer. At these WSN rates, IEEE 802.15.4 bandwidth (250 kbits/s) is not a limiting factor for even large channel counts. 1 S/s

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi WSN WSN BATTERY POWER Power availability is another consideration when choosing a wireless technology. For two- to three-year Wi-Fi battery deployments, IEEE 802.15.4-based NI WSN devices are ideal. The NI WSN gateway requires Wi-Fi 1 to 2 days external power; however, end nodes can function for several years on standard AA batteries. By contrast, NI Wi-Fi DAQ devices typically require external WSNDC power, though battery operation for one to two days WSN is possible. Alternative power sources (such as solar power) may be appropriate for certain applications. 3 years

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi WSN WSN SECURITY Because wireless signals cannot be secured through physical means alone, powerful security measures Wi-Fi may be necessary for sensitive applications. NI Wi-Fi DAQ devices support the highest commercially Wi-Fi WPA2 Enterprise available wireless security, the IEEE 802.11i (WPA2 Enterprise) standard, which includes 128-bit AES encryption and IEEE 802.1X authentication. NI WSNWSN end node devices do not encrypt data, but NI WSN WSN gateways provide an access list for managing which end nodes are permitted to join a network. Gateway Association

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi WSN WSN CUSTOMIZATION Some applications greatly benefit from a customized solution. With the LabVIEW WSN Module Pioneer, Wi-Fi Wi-Fi Wi-Fi you can use graphical programming to embed applications on NI WSN devices to perform custom Wi-Fi PFI Trigger Lines analysis on data, respond to stimuli without host interaction, and manage power consumption. You can also synchronize NI Wi-Fi DAQ devices with eachWSN other using two individually programmable digital WSN trigger lines to export or import sample clocks, start triggers, pause triggers, and reference triggers. LabVIEW WSN

To learn more about wireless measurement devices from NI, visit ni.com/wireless. WSN WSN WSN WSN 888 279 9833 n ni.com 17 Product In-Depth

Top Five Productivity Tools in LabVIEW 2009

3

1

2

4

Engineers and scientists working on software projects are constantly 4 Probe Watch Window – With this feature, you can display all looking for ways to become more efficient during development. To probes in a single window with the option to show some data in a address this need, National Instruments has introduced new features graphical representation. Displaying all of the probes from a VI and in NI LabVIEW 2009 that help you increase the overall development its subVIs in the same window makes debugging easier and faster. productivity of your projects. In addition, you can easily integrate some of these features into existing LabVIEW code. 5 VI Snippet – Drag and drop source code captured in an enhanced Explore the following five tools within LabVIEW 2009 to help you PNG image onto a block diagram to create working code with the reduce your development time: VI snippet tool. Creating snippets of commonly used code reduces development time in future projects. 1 Quick Drop Shortcuts – Reduce source code development time on the block diagram by taking advantage of Quick Drop shortcuts such 5 as to create controls and indicators for unwired inputs and outputs, or to create constants for unwired inputs.

2 LabVIEW DataFinder Toolkit – With this toolkit, you can eliminate the upkeep and data conversion associated with a database by programmatically searching metadata within test files. To learn more about these and other new features in LabVIEW 2009, 3 Parallel For Loops – Use parallel for loops to automatically visit ni.com/labview/whatsnew. parallelize individual for loop iterations to take advantage of multicore systems. You can programmatically obtain low-level processor information from the CPU Information Palette.

18 Q4 2009 Product In-Depth

Find Data Faster – Introducing the LabVIEW DataFinder Toolkit Not all measurement applications are created equal. For basic, real-time monitoring, three fundamental steps that satisfy most needs include data acquisition, analysis, and visualization. When you need to store data for historical record or sharing, logging and report generation are useful. And for continuous or periodically repeated measurements, trending and comparisons across multiple data files can uncover useful information. While NI LabVIEW graphical programming software and NI-DAQmx driver software simplify measurement applications, it is challenging to correlate data from discrete measurements. Oftentimes, you can try using complicated databases or custom spreadsheets, but this approach usually counteracts efficiency gains and takes more time to manage the tools than to make the original measurement. Using the new LabVIEW DataFinder Toolkit, you can find meaningful data faster by using common technologies to search and trend multiple test files. The new toolkit consists of NI DataFinder, a self-scaling and Use the new LabVIEW DataFinder Toolkit to create custom data management applications for searching and trending your test data. self-maintaining database, and a LabVIEW API to create queries that quickly return information of interest. You can create custom data management applications using the toolkit To watch a video on how to save time with the LabVIEW DataFinder for the optimal way of trending and comparing data from multiple files Toolkit, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9410. within LabVIEW. You can distribute applications, so other users can benefit from the data management capabilities, or scale to NI DIAdem software for a ready-to-run data management solution that also incorporates NI DataFinder.

New Extended Temperature NI Single-Board RIO Devices Develop Embedded System Software Faster NI Single-Board RIO devices are now available in extended With the NI LabVIEW 2009 temperature versions, featuring Embedded Module for a real-time processor, onboard ARM Microcontrollers, field-programmable gate array you can use new features (FPGA), and analog and digital I/O to more quickly develop on a single board with a -40 to 85 °C your low-power embedded operating temperature range. systems. The latest version offers object-oriented programming, The new NI sbRIO‑9602XT, sbRIO‑9612XT, sbRIO‑9632XT, and easier interrupt configuration, and the ability to read and write sbRIO‑9642XT devices are ideal for high-volume industrial, to flash file systems. medical, transportation, and military OEM embedded systems.

To evaluate the LabVIEW Embedded Module for ARM To view specifications for extended temperature Microcontrollers, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9411. NI Single‑Board RIO devices, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9412.

888 279 9833 n ni.com 19 Product In-Depth

Deterministic Distributed I/O with FPGA Intelligence In 2008, National Instruments released the NI 9144 expansion chassis to provide deterministic distributed I/O for your NI CompactRIO and programmable automation controller (PAC) systems. This eight-slot NI C Series chassis expands real-time applications to high I/O counts while maintaining precise timing and synchronization. With the release of NI LabVIEW 2009 software, you can use the LabVIEW FPGA Module to program the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) on the NI 9144 expansion chassis, giving you an intelligent distributed device capable of custom triggering and inline processing. Adding FPGA capabilities to expansion I/O offers a new level of The NI 9144 deterministic expansion chassis for NI PACs now features FPGA capabilities. customization and flexibility for your application. For example, the ability to conduct embedded decision making at the node reduces response time NI industrial controller platforms. Plus, more than 40 C Series I/O modules and allows the chassis to quickly react to the environment without host are programmable within the CompactRIO Scan Mode, and all C Series interaction. The intelligent distributed I/O can also offload processing from modules are programmable within the LabVIEW FPGA Mode. the controller by administering onboard analysis, custom timing, and signal manipulation before sending back the results. To watch a webcast on using deterministic distributed I/O with Other new features for the NI 9144 chassis include support for all FPGA intelligence, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9413. real-time controllers with two Ethernet ports in CompactRIO, PXI, and

New High-Performance CompactRIO Controller and Chassis

The new NI cRIO-9024 real-time controller and the NI cRIO-9118 real-time OS and supports the CompactRIO Scan Mode programming reconfigurable chassis provide a significant increase in processing interface for even faster application development. All of these features capability for real-time operations and more capacity for NI LabVIEW FPGA deliver a performance boost of 2.6 times single-point loop rates compared Module applications. to the previous-generation NI cRIO-9014 controller, four times faster file I/O, The cRIO-9024 real-time controller is a high-performance modular and five times more Ethernet throughput. controller for NI CompactRIO featuring an 800 MHz PowerPC Freescale Additionally, the cRIO-9118 reconfigurable chassis has the largest processor, dual Ethernet ports, and Hi-Speed USB. It also runs the VxWorks field-programmable gate array (FPGA) available in NI hardware, the Xilinx Virtex-5 LX110 FPGA, which provides a significant increase in FPGA size and performance and can compile to run faster and hold more LabVIEW FPGA code than any other CompactRIO target. LabVIEW FPGA benchmarks show an increase of 3.6 times more capacity than the 3M gate FPGAs in CompactRIO. These new high-performance systems make CompactRIO ideal for advanced control applications such as motion and other closed-loop control systems.

CompactRIO high-performance modular controllers and chassis To learn more about what’s new with CompactRIO, visit ni.com/info are ideal for processing intensive and advanced control applications. and enter nsi9414.

20 Q4 2009 Product In-Depth

Expand Analysis with Sound and Vibration Measurement Suite 2009 The NI Sound and Vibration Measurement Suite 2009 continues to push filter VI. The algorithm can perform frequency response and total harmonic advanced analysis within NI LabVIEW software beyond the fast Fourier distortion tests in one-tenth the amount of time it takes using traditional transform (FFT) algorithm. In this latest release, new features include a swept sine approaches. Additionally, the algorithm provides new signals such continuous frequency sweep algorithm and an AES-17-compliant audio as the device under test (DUT) residue signal. You can analyze this new signal to characterize the response of the DUT without stimulus signal interference. AES-17-compliant audio filters provide easy-to-use software filters for testing audio signal output from Class D user interface amplifiers. The latest version also contains user interface improvements in the NI Sound and Vibration Assistant environment. The channel view provides new, easy tachometer setup and fully supports the use of eddy current probes for displacement measurements. Additionally, audio filters, sound quality algorithms, and other new analysis techniques are now available in the NI Sound and Vibration Assistant. The Sound and Vibration Measurement Suite 2009 includes one full year of the NI Standard Service Program (SSP), so you can upgrade throughout the year for free; future upgrades are available by renewing the SSP subscription yearly.

To download and evaluate the Sound and Vibration Measurement Suite for 30 days, visit ni.com/trysv. The NI Sound and Vibration Measurement Suite 2009 expands signal analysis past the FFT algorithm.

New Vibration Sensors Complete NI Accelerometer Solution NI Adds USB-Based Camera Support National Instruments now Now you can acquire provides a complete images from USB accelerometer-based devices including measurement solution from cameras, webcams, sensor to software. The microscopes, scanners, latest NI vibration sensors include accelerometers, triaxial and many consumer-grade imaging products using NI software. accelerometers, and impact hammers from PCB Piezotronics. The NI-IMAQdx driver now supports image acquisition from These sensors are ideal to use in machine condition monitoring USB devices in Windows OSs as part of the NI Vision Acquisition and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) systems and are Software driver package. guaranteed to work with NI dynamic signal acquisition products.

To learn about the new USB support for image acquisition, To find the right sensor for your application, visit ni.com/info and visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9415. enter nsi9416.

888 279 9833 n ni.com 21 Product In-Depth

New NI VideoMASTER 3.0 Digital Video Analyzer for HDMI NI VideoMASTER 3.0 and the new PXI Express digital video analyzer delivering an easy-to-use, configuration-based software experience when simplify testing of the latest HDMI-enabled multimedia devices including developing complete video test applications. The software also features set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, digital cameras, and high-definition (HD) a full suite of measurements for HDMI with HDCP-encrypted video, televisions. The new PXI Express digital video analyzer solution combines the deep color content, and Full HD video up to 1080p/60 Hz. In addition, NI PXIe‑6545 200 MS/s high-speed digital module and the NI PXI‑2172 NI VideoMASTER 3.0 consists of a stand-alone user interface, deserializer and decryption module with NI VideoMASTER 3.0 software, NI LabVIEW API, and a fully integrated set of test steps for NI TestStand test management software to acquire analog or digital video, compare hundreds of results, and generate pass/fail reports within a few seconds, which simplifies development and reduces automated test costs. The suite of NI VideoMASTER solutions includes tools for analyzing and generating analog and digital video, which makes it ideal for testing set-top boxes, LCD devices, cameras, gaming consoles, DVD players, and more. When new digital video standards arise, engineers can meet those requirements using flexible, software-defined solutions architected with NI VideoMASTER and PXI.

To watch a demo using NI VideoMASTER to test Blu-ray Disc players, The new digital video analyzer based on PXI Express simplifies HDMI video testing using configurable test steps within NI TestStand for automated video measurements. visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9417.

New RF Amplifier and Attenuator Expand Dynamic Range New RF Instruments Add RF List Mode

The new NI PXI-5691 RF Today’s RF engineers amplifier doubles as a power are challenged to amplifier and a preamplifier. perform fast, accurate, With a +20 dBm compression and repeatable tests for and low noise figure, you can wireless components. use this module with both RF These measurements signal generators and signal are often performed over multiple bands, and changing RF analyzers. When combined with the NI PXIe-5663 RF vector signal configurations between measurements can be costly to overall analyzer, the new amplifier is capable of measurements down to test time. The NI PXIe-5663E vector signal analyzer and -163 dBm/Hz. You can use the new NI PXI‑5695 programmable NI PXIe-5673E vector signal generator, powered by RF List RF attenuator with RF signal generators for low-power receiver Mode, increase measurement speed with fast and deterministic sensitivity measurements. changes in RF configuration, significantly reducing test time.

To obtain more information on these and other RF products, To learn more about the RF List Mode feature, visit ni.com/info visit ni.com/rf. and enter nsi9418.

22 Q4 2009 Services and Support

New Online Service Request Manager Improves Technical Support Response Have you ever wanted to review details that an NI applications engineer requests are readily available in a consolidated view of all open, in-progress, shared during a technical support phone call? The recently updated NI and closed service requests. To create a new request, you have convenient support Web site now provides service program members with easy access access to the Ask an Engineer online utility that offers immediate access to to this information. Simply visit ni.com/support and click on the Service phone and e-mail technical support. Currently, this functionality is only Request Manager icon. The Service Request Manager provides you with available for customers of Europe and the Americas. Service requests must around-the-clock access to your service request status and details, so you have been created after April 1, 2009. can easily monitor your open issues from creation to resolution. Service As you use the Service Request Manager, please provide feedback request details include troubleshooting notes and e-mail correspondence through the Give Us Feedback link in the application. NI uses this feedback from NI applications engineers. Solutions to previously opened service to create new features that make the Service Request Manager and your service membership even more valuable. The benefits of service program membership do not end with direct technical support and access to the Service Request Manager. Staying up-to-date with your membership also entitles you to the latest software updates, maintenance releases, and exclusive access to on-demand training modules at no additional charge via the Service Resource Center at ni.com/src. A one-year Standard Service Program (SSP) membership comes free with the purchase of most NI application software, including NI Developer Suite.

To view the status of your service requests with the Service Request Manager, visit ni.com/support.

The Service Request Manager makes it easy to access the details of your service requests.

New Training Modules for Online Credit Card Purchase Option NI Software Service Members for European Customers

View these new training modules in the Services Resource Center: National Instruments is now accepting credit card purchases

■■ LabVIEW 2009 New Features Series (four modules) from online customers in France and Italy, offering easier access

■■ Improving the Performance of Your LabVIEW Application Series to products and simplifying the buying process. NI recognizes (three modules) the widespread adoption of credit card use in these countries,

■■ Troubleshooting Tools for LabVIEW Real-Time Applications and the new payment method provides a better online shopping experience. Streamline, a financial service by National To access on-demand training for these and other courses, Westminster Bank, guarantees the highest levels of security in visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9419. online transactions and credit card payments.

888 279 9833 n ni.com 23 Developer’s View

Deploy Your .m Files to Real-Time Hardware Today’s design engineer uses many software packages that employ mathematical languages.

Designed to provide desktop interfaces for “mathematical exploration,” these example, identifying syntax errors prior to any of the program running). languages typically simplify the process of developing custom algorithms You do not learn if line 100 of a .m file has a syntax error until the first and intellectual property (IP) but often complicate the deployment path to 99 lines of the script are executed. Time is lost when the script errors out embedded hardware. at line 100. Additionally, take into account that the language does not Consider .m file languages used within The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB® contain timing constructs or explicit resource management, and it becomes software, Scilab, and others, which are loosely typed programming clear why the path to embedded hardware requires you to rewrite the languages. They treat all data as a variation of a numeric matrix, so the developed code in a more suitable language, such as C. concept of data types is not realized. Therefore, there is no need to Code redevelopment necessitates additional time, resources, and tools. explicitly cast variables between traditional data types, which can simplify Taking a script you developed using the MATLAB language syntax and the development process. This can be beneficial in desktop environments deploying it to a multicore real-time hardware target could require the with abundant memory; however, embedded hardware and real-time OSs path depicted in Figure 1. cannot operate under these circumstances. The instantaneous declaration With the MATLAB language syntax, you first develop and test your script of memory during an operation can introduce jitter into an application, which in the desktop environment using the Parallel Computing Toolbox™ to can violate the timing rules in a deterministic operation. Furthermore, prepare the code for a dual-core environment. You then use Embedded these .m file languages are not compiled languages; they are interpreted. MATLAB® to generate C code. This requires an additional verification step Without code compilation, a primary benefit of the compiler is lost (for to ensure that the functionality of the two implementations is equivalent.

Legacy Implementation of Real-Time Math

The MATLAB® Parallel Computing Embedded Real-Time Compiler, Linker, Debugger + Environment Toolbox™ MATLAB™ Real-Time Processor and Other Hardware

Compile for Debug Develop Prepare for Generate Real-Time Applications on .m File Dual Core ANSI C Code Target Real Time

The MathWorks, Inc. Toolchain Third-Party Embedded Tools

Figure 1. Deploying your .m files developed using the MATLAB language syntax to embedded hardware is a multistep procedure that requires additional tools and nontrivial verification processes.

Recommended LabVIEW Architectures for CompactRIO Developers

The online CompactRIO Developers Guide introduces best practices and programming examples that cover aspects of programming CompactRIO controllers with LabVIEW such as setting up out of the box, building a simple architecture, programming the field-programmable gate array (FPGA), adding a human machine interface (HMI), debugging, deploying, and replicating. Each section presents programming recommendations and explanations as well as example code to help you get started quickly.

To download a free PDF of the CompactRIO Developers Guide, visit ni.com/compactriodevguide.

24 Q4 2009 MATLAB® and Embedded MATLAB® are registered trademarks and Parallel Computing Toolbox is a trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. At this point, you still have to compile and debug the code in a separate markup in your code to force parallelism on the compiler, as is needed in embedded toolchain. This path can be costly and can compromise the text-based languages. In addition to the intuitive mapping of the language time and accuracy of the mathematical implementations. representation, the LabVIEW compiler provides several optimizations. The changes made to the LabVIEW MathScript compiler in the LabVIEW 2009 Using LabVIEW to Deploy Your .m Files to Embedded Hardware MathScript RT Module improve the performance of the generated code The NI LabVIEW 2009 MathScript RT Module adds math-oriented, textual and allow the LabVIEW compiler to further optimize that code. programming to LabVIEW software through a native compiler for your custom .m files. With this module, you can incorporate your custom .m Deploying Your .m Files Is Easier Than Ever files into the LabVIEW graphical development environment and deploy The traditional path for deploying your .m files to embedded hardware is those same .m files to all NI real-time hardware platforms, even if you complicated and requires code rewrites and multiple tools. LabVIEW 2009 developed them outside of LabVIEW MathScript. The difference is how streamlines this process by providing one integrated environment to develop, debug, and deploy your custom .m files. Simply combine your .m file with Loop Fusion Constant Folding LabVIEW graphical code using the MathScript 1 1 Node, and drag and drop your application onto the real-time target within the LabVIEW project. The MathScript and LabVIEW compilers 2 2 prepare the code to run on the embedded hardware, optimizing the code for real-time requirements. With LabVIEW 2009 and the LabVIEW 2009 MathScript RT Module, deploying your custom .m files to embedded Figure 2. Compare examples of LabVIEW compiler optimizations. hardware has never been simpler. the LabVIEW 2009 MathScript RT Module treats custom .m files for embedded hardware deployment. The LabVIEW MathScript compiler, which lives “under the hood” of the LabVIEW MathScript Node, compiles your .m file code into graphical code at edit time. This identifies syntax errors in the .m file code function calls. Furthermore, this edit-time compile applies and propagates strict data types throughout the underlying G code. Aside from the performance gains realized, this propagation provides a new script highlighting option called “Data Type Highlighting” so you can visualize in-node variables based on the colors of their LabVIEW data types. (For example, green Figure 3. Deploying your .m files with LabVIEW is as simple as a drag-and-drop function. represents Boolean and orange represents Double.) With the LabVIEW MathScript compiler, you can interact with your – Jeffrey Phillips [email protected] text-based code but still pass G code to the LabVIEW compiler. Therefore, Jeffrey Phillips is a product manager for LabVIEW at the generated code benefits from the optimizations provided by the National Instruments. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical LabVIEW compiler. Figure 2 shows two examples of the optimizations engineering from the University of Tennessee. that the LabVIEW compiler offers. Loop fusion eliminates unnecessary indexing operations while constant To learn more about simplifying the development and deployment of folding eliminates unnecessary code execution that always produces the real-time math with LabVIEW, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9420. same result. It is important to understand that the compiler does not change the code on your diagram; it only changes the compiled representation of that code. A primary benefit of the LabVIEW compiler is the ability to express parallelism naturally. You do not need “special” or “artificial”

888 279 9833 n ni.com 25 Instrument Drivers

Guarding Against Hardware Obsolescence

The life cycle of a device under test (DUT) is often longer than the life cycle of the test Test Application Function 1 Function 2 . . . equipment, so engineers face the challenge of replacing individual instruments of a test system. Other times, the DUT has an active Application- service life measured in months, which means Function 1 Function 2 . . . Separation Layer the test system needs to be continually

modified for each new DUT. Replacing the HA L hardware becomes especially challenging Device-Specific Instrument 1 Instrument 2 Specific Software Specific Software . . . because it also requires changes to the test Software Plug-In Plug-In Plug-In software, resulting in time-consuming development or costly revalidation. You can LabVIEW VISA and IVI Driver mitigate hardware obsolescence by using a Instrument Driver Plug and Play Direct I/O well-designed hardware abstraction layer (HAL). LAN/LXI USB/GPIB PXI What Is a HAL? Instrument Instrument 1 Instrument 2 Instrument 3 A HAL refers to a programming practice used in test systems to separate the test application

software from the instrument hardware, which Mitigate hardware obsolescence in your test systems with a user-defined HAL architecture. minimizes the time and costs associated with migrating or upgrading test systems. Most HALs fall into one of three groups: but not all – instruments are grouped in the extended functions, which 1. An industry-standard HAL is defined and maintained by an have a standard API if that function exists on the instrument. Finally, industry-standard body. While such a HAL is typically stable and has uncommon functions are grouped with the specific functions. If an many companies invested in it, it may not be readily extensible if your application-specific API is better suited for the given requirements, you requirements exceed existing standards. need to decide which division of application functions is the most efficient 2. A vendor-defined HAL is provided and maintained by a single vendor. to develop and easiest to reuse. This type of HAL requires less development time; however, you become locked into its technical architecture, which limits your ability to migrate Developing Your User-Defined HALs without pain (and defeats the purpose of implementing HALs in the When developing your HAL, keep the following best practices in mind:

first place). ■■ Separate test logic from common test functions hardware

3. A user-defined HAL is defined and maintained by the end users ■■ Separate test system parameters from test logic

building the test systems. Implementing your own HAL gives you the ■■ Design for dynamic or static interchangeability opportunity to pick the right architecture, tools, and software standards, so you can mix and match between existing industry-defined HALs HALs separate the test application from the instrument hardware and and your own HAL implementation. hardware-specific software to streamline the upgrade process. This streamlined upgrade process minimizes the time and costs associated with Defining an API for User-Defined HALs migrating test applications. Implementing HALs also result in higher code When designing a user-defined HAL, you should decide whether an reuse and easier maintainability. instrument-centric or application-specific API works best for your requirements. For an instrument-centric API, it helps to define an internal To read a white paper on HAL implementation, visit ni.com/info and common instrument-centric API “standard” that you can use across enter nsi9421. multiple types of DUTs. Break functions into three categories: base, extended, and specific. The most common functions for each instrument type are included in the base functions. Functions that are shared across many –

26 Q4 2009 Web Connections

Do More with the NI Code Exchange

National Instruments has very active and resourceful online users. In an effort to help these engineers and scientists be even more effective, NI created the NI Code Exchange, a one-stop portal where users can view, download, and share example programs, instrument drivers, and intellectual property (IP) for software including NI LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI, and Measurement Studio for Visual Studio. In addition, users can find example code for products ranging from data acquisition devices to VXI/VME. Aside from a product search, the portal gives users the option to sort through example programs and instrument drivers by using a wide range of search criteria, such as application area and industry type. This feature makes it possible for engineers to increase their efficiency and save time and energy when in the planning phase of projects. In this online hub, customers can find ready-to-use example code to help get projects up and running faster, as well as share their VIs with other engineers and scientists.

To get started, visit ni.com/code.

The NI Code Exchange provides a space for visitors to access ready-to-use example code for a range of applications.

Top Five New Online LabVIEW Resources

1. NI Code Exchange (ni.com/code) – Download and share code, drivers, and other software Top Five Webcasts

2. LabVIEW Idea Exchange (ni.com/ideas) – Share, rank, 1. Introduction to the LabVIEW Platform and discuss new feature ideas 2. Video: LabVIEW CD-Based Training Demo Modules 3. Online Groups (ni.com/groups) – Join more than 180 technical (Basics I and II) groups focusing on topics from large application development to robotics 3. Introduction to PC-Based Data Acquisition – Featuring USB Devices 4. Technical Blogs (ni.com/blogs) – Read the latest news and programming best practices from NI LabVIEW R&D 4. Demo: NI Multisim 10.1 Interactive Demonstration

5. Career Network (ni.com/labviewcareers) – Find a new job 5. Introduction to LabVIEW FPGA and network with fellow developers To view these and other webcasts, visit ni.com/webcasts. To get involved in the NI community, visit ni.com/community.

n The mark LabWindows is used under a license from Microsoft Corporation. 888 279 9833 ni.com 27 Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Case Studies

NI Announces the 2009 Graphical System Design Achievement Award Winners

Green Engineering and Application of the Year Awards NI Tools Keep Ford at the Forefront of Innovation

The Challenge The Solution Developing an electronic control unit (ECU) for an automotive fuel Designing and implementing a real-time embedded control system cell system (FCS) capable of demonstrating significant progress for an FCS using the NI LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA toward achieving a commercially viable design competitive with modules and an NI CompactRIO controller, and verifying the conventional internal combustion-based power trains. system with LabVIEW and a real-time PXI chassis HIL system.

controller. This HIL system, implemented with LabVIEW Real-Time, has a graphical user interface that provides manual and automatic input stimuli to the ECU to validate the control strategy operation while displaying the CompactRIO I/O feedback on the HIL monitor. We successfully validated the HIL system and had only to make minor changes to the strategy after CompactRIO began controlling the actual FCS plant. To provide the determinism required for real-time performance, we used the LabVIEW Real-Time Module to deliver a commercial real-time OS (RTOS) for the selected controller. When we upgraded to an NI cRIO-9012 embedded real-time controller to boost performance, the LabVIEW Real-Time Module automatically switched from a Pharlap RTOS to a VxWorks RTOS. Since 1992, Ford Motor Company has been dedicated to FCS R&D. In In addition, the NI Real-Time Execution Trace Toolkit quickly became conjunction with our groundbreaking FCS design, we recently developed a important to solve chronometric issues. Using this toolkit, we found areas new control system using rapid prototyping. Instead of modifying production of the real-time embedded code that were not performing as expected ECU I/O circuits to adapt to interface changes, we used CompactRIO to and then optimized the code to ensure correct real-time performance. rapidly prototype our fuel control unit. With CompactRIO, we quickly Ford has a long history with NI, and we have used LabVIEW to develop adapted to the design changes and experimented with new sensors and various aspects of every fuel cell electric vehicle that we produce and to actuators for novel design solutions. successfully design and implement a real-time embedded control system We implemented a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system composed of an for an automotive FCS. NI PXI-8186 controller in an NI PXI-1010 combination PXI/SCXI chassis with associated PXI and SCXI I/O cards, including a controller area network (CAN), – Kurt D. Osborne, Ford Motor Company to verify the control strategy functionality embedded in the CompactRIO

Awards Honor Authors from Around the Globe

This year, 187 authors in more than 25 countries submitted their elite application papers to the second annual Graphical System Design Achievement Awards. Finalists and winners were chosen for 10 application categories and considered for the Green Engineering, Humanitarian, and Multicore awards. The category winners also had the opportunity to win the Application of the Year and Editor’s Choice awards.

To learn more about the 2009 winners and submit your application paper to the 2010 contest, visit ni.com/gsdawards.

28 Q4 2009 Editor’s Choice Award Controlling a Dual-Robot System to Provide Upper Limb Therapeutic Exercise to Stroke Patients

The Challenge The Solution Developing a safe rehabilitation system Using LabVIEW to implement a real-time that can help people with arm impairments control system for two custom robots that perform therapeutic exercises by coordinate and assist arm movements by coordinating and guiding the arm. communicating with a user interface.

‘‘ The modular nature of the LabVIEW environment has been ideal for prototyping and developing our system.’’ – Martin Levesley, University of Leeds

Multicore Award Developing a Real-Time MAV Flight Control System Test Bed Using LabVIEW and PXI

The Challenge The Solution Creating a modular test bed for rapid flight Using the LabVIEW Real-Time Module to control development of autonomous micro develop a PXI machine application for air vehicles using real-time motion capture processing, executing the controller, and technology. sending actuator commands.

‘‘ Using LabVIEW and NI PXI hardware, we achieved full dynamic flight control of two vehicles with a team of two developers.’’ – Christopher McMurrough, Automation and Robotics Research Institute at The University of Texas at Arlington

Humanitarian Award Using Graphical System Design to Help Premature Infants Learn to Orally Feed

The Challenge The Solution Helping premature infants learn how to Creating a device that helps premature coordinate sucking, swallowing, and infants learn to orally feed so doctors and breathing for oral feeding. nurses can accurately assess the baby’s feeding ability.

‘‘ With LabVIEW and CompactRIO, we were able to reduce our development cost by $250,000 [USD]. In addition, we were able to reduce our development time from four months to four weeks and avoid the necessity of developing custom control software and drivers.’’ – Daryl Farr, KC BioMedix Inc.

888 279 9833 n ni.com 29 Product Network

Enhanced 3D Visualization Using the LabVIEW Interface for VSG Avizo Visualization Sciences Group (VSG) has developed an NI LabVIEW interface tendon for anatomy segmentation, geometry reconstruction, and tissue that allows for advanced visualization in a convenient software bridge and measurement and statistics. complements the existing capabilities within LabVIEW. 3D imaging structural Advancement in sensor and data acquisition capabilities have led to an health monitoring are application areas that show connectivity between the explosion of experimental data. There are growing needs to visualize and two software packages. process large amounts of measurement data, and the LabVIEW interface for Avizo is one approach to meet these challenges.

Structural Health Monitoring In the second application, a simulated model at resonant frequency generates 3D structural data for a bridge, which is then validated and calibrated using accelerometers, strain gages, and displacement sensors. LabVIEW captures and preprocesses the experimental data using data acquisition devices and signal conditioning. Users can obtain corresponding CAD geometry and simulation with finite element analysis (FEA) software. They can apply Avizo to map the sensor data to the 3D model and implement Figure 1. Noise removal algorithms are rendered for tendon data, so a user can analyze tissue segmentation and geometry reconstruction. advanced vector visualization.

3D Imaging To download a free evaluation or obtain more information on the In the first application, LabVIEW acquires mouse tendon data, as shown in LabVIEW interface for Avizo, visit ni.com/info and enter nsi9422. the first slide of Figure 1. If the users know the desired filtering techniques, they can program the algorithms in LabVIEW to render a more detailed view of the mouse tendon, thereby understanding the tissue characteristics. However, an alternative – and more configuration-based – approach is to use the LabVIEW interface to pass data to VSG Avizo data analysis software and implement filtering techniques without additional programming. In the second slide of Figure 1, the data is filtered with a few noise removal algorithms and rendered with high-quality lighting and transparency in Avizo. Users can then perform further analysis to inspect the Figure 2. Advanced 3D structural data is applied to a bridge model.

Interested in Becoming a Lead User for This Technology?

VSG and National Instruments are looking for customers with advanced visualization needs to try out this new integration. Visualization application areas that may be applicable include structural health monitoring, medical imaging, tomography, oil and gas, and wind. Space in the lead user program is limited.

To request more information and find out if your application may benefit from this technology, e-mail [email protected].

30 Q4 2009 Events

Do More at NIDays

Attend NIDays and join thousands of industry experts and NI employees worldwide to learn about the latest technologies and trends in design, test, and control. Find out about recent software upgrades – including NI LabVIEW 2009 – as well as emerging hardware platforms and industry applications. Learn how you can improve performance, and discover solutions based on NI products that can save you time and money without sacrificing flexibility and longevity. Each NIDays conference features a keynote presentation, technical sessions, and hands-on trainings. Events are scheduled in more than 20 countries, so you can attend an NIDays event near you. The event series began in October 2009 and continues through May 2010.

To view specific event dates and locations, Attendees review LabVIEW and NI CompactDAQ highlights visit ni.com/nidays. during a hands-on session at NIDays in the United Kingdom.

Train in a Day at an NI Technical Symposium

Register for the 2009 National Instruments Technical Symposium, a series of opportunity to see new product demonstrations and network with colleagues free, full-day conferences exploring the latest trends in automation, design, and professionals. Learn how industry leaders are adapting NI products to and test. With an open agenda format featuring keynotes from NI experts, meet their specific application needs. The conference offers information a variety of technical sessions, hands-on labs, and presentations, take the on emerging industry trends within a valuable networking forum and product exhibition where you can meet with product and solution integrators. This year, explore the latest technologies for improving system performance and productivity, including field-programmable gate array (FPGA) hardware, multifunction data acquisition (DAQ) devices, embedded control applications, and the latest in programming strategies for optimizing automated test and measurement systems.

To view registration information, visit ni.com/techsym.

Attendees explore emerging industry trends in an hands-on lab at an NI Technical Symposium.

888 279 9833 n ni.com 31 Address Service Requested

11500 N Mopac Expwy Austin, TX 78759-3504

Technology Outlook

Streamline Machine Design with Virtual Prototyping Engineers can begin working on the control algorithm before a physical prototype exists Mechanical Design and apply their custom motion profiles to a 3D CAD model within SolidWorks software. Others can simulate the dynamical behavior Electrical Physical Design Prototype of their mechanical system by applying these System Virtual Manufacturing real-world motion trajectories and use the Specification Prototype Embedded Test System data to analyze the dynamic behavior of their Design Design design. This information helps engineers streamline their machine design process by Control reducing the number of physical prototypes, Design so they can focus on design validation and optimization without stressing physical parts

With virtual prototyping tools, engineers can implement parallel design practices and reduce the number of physical prototypes. and implement a parallel design process for mechanical and control design. The LabVIEW 2009 NI SoftMotion Module meets the challenge of a mechatronics-based design approach and provides seamless integration To join the virtual prototyping community, visit ni.com/info and between NI LabVIEW software and the DS SolidWorks 3D CAD design tool. enter nsi9423.

Newsletter Information and Resources Buy Online

■■ To view past issues of Instrumentation Newsletter; update your subscription preferences; or subscribe to the semimonthly NI e-mail newsletter, NI News, visit ni.com/newsletter.

■■ For inquiries, requests for permission, or changes of address, e-mail the managing editor at [email protected]. ni.com/products 351201W-01 0185