Introduction to NI LabVIEW

Payman Tehrani
Academic Field Sales Engineer - National Instruments
 Our Mission
We equip engineers and scientists with tools that accelerate
productivity, innovation, and discovery.

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Who Chooses NIs Virtual Instrumentation Platform

Eighty-five percent of Fortune 500 manufacturing

companies have adopted NI virtual instrumentation.
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 Empowering Users Through Software
Providing Unique Differentiation and Preserving Investments

LEGO MINDSTORMS CERN Large Hadron Collider

NXT the most powerful instrument on
the smartest, coolest toy Earth
of the year

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ni.com
 Large Channel Case Studies
Boeing: 448-channel Microphone Array
200 Hz

Airframe Noise

400 Hz

Inlet Noise

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 LabVIEW: Graphical System Design

Timing Textual Math

I/O integration Data Flow

Parallel C and HDL Code

Statecharts Simulation

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 The Foundation of LabVIEW: Virtual Instrumentation
By leveraging COTS PC components, the software becomes the instrument

LabVIEW unlocks the power of instrument and data acquisition hardware

by capitalizing on the PC industry and abstracting redundant circuitry.

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 National Instruments Strategy: Graphical System Design

Test Monitor Embedded Control Cyber Physical

Industries and Applications

Hardware and I/O Devices

Desktops and PXI and Modular Open Connectivity

NI CompactRIO
PC-Based DAQ Instruments With Third-Party I/O

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 Therefore, LabVIEW Building Blocks Are Called
Virtual Instruments (*.VI)

LabVIEW Front Panel

The user interface of a VI

LabVIEW Block Diagram

The source code of a VI

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all three elements
 Front Panel Object Styles

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 Instructor Demo: Using Help Tools
Use Highlight Execution, Context Help and Block
Diagram Cleanup

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 Front Panel

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 Block Diagram

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 Block Diagram
Block diagram items:
Terminals
Constants
Nodes
o Functions
o SubVIs
o Structures
Wires
Free labels

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 Context Help
Displays basic
information about
wires and nodes when
you move the cursor
over an object.
Can be shown or
hidden in the following
ways.
o Select HelpShow
Context Help from the
LabVIEW menu.
o Press <Ctrl-H>.
o Click the following
button on the toolbar:
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 LabVIEW Help

Contains detailed descriptions and instructions for most palettes,

menus, tools, VIs, and functions.

Can be accessed by:

Selecting Help
LabVIEW Help from the
menu.
Clicking the Detailed help
link in the
Context Help window.
Right-clicking an object
and selecting Help from
the shortcut menu.
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 Examples

LabVIEW
includes
hundreds of
example VIs.
Use NI Example
Finder to browse
and search
installed
examples.

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 Examples

Click the example

buttons in
LabVIEW Help
topics.
Select HelpFind
Examples in the
menu.

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 Controls Palette

Contains the
controls and
indicators you use to
create the front
panel.
Navigate the
subpalettes or use
the Search button to
search the Controls
palette.
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 Functions Palette

Contains the VIs,

functions, and
constants you use to
create the block
diagram.
Navigate the
subpalettes or use the
Search button to
search the Functions
palette.
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 Searching with Quick Drop

Lets you quickly find

controls, functions,
VIs, and other items
by name.
Press the <Ctrl-
Space> keys to
display the Quick
Drop dialog box.

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 Selecting a Tool

A tool is a special operating mode of

the mouse cursor.
Create, modify, and debug VIs using the
tools provided by LabVIEW.
By default, LabVIEW automatically
selects tools based on the context of
the cursor.
If you need more control, use the Tools
palette to select a specific tool.
o Select
ViewTools Palette to
open the Tools palette.

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 Correcting Broken VIs

Broken Run arrow VI cannot be compiled VI cannot be executed

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 Single-Stepping

Single-step through the VI to view each action of the VI on the

block diagram.
Suspend the execution of a subVI to edit values of controls and
indicators, to control the number of times it runs, or to go back to
the beginning of the execution of the subVI.
o Open subVI and select OperateSuspend When Called from the
shortcut menu.

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 Execution Highlighting

Use execution highlighting to watch the data flow through the

block diagram.
If the VI runs more slowly than expected, confirm that you turned
off execution highlighting in subVIs.

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 With LabVIEW, You Can Program the Way You Think

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 With LabVIEW, You Can Program the Way You Think

The graphical, dataflow-based G programming language

is ideal for programming parallel data acquisition
hardware.
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 Execution Control Structures: Loops
For Loop
Count Terminal
The code contained within this For
Loop will execute N times.

While Loop
Loop Iteration Terminals
This provides the current loop
iteration count, which ranges from
0 to N-1.

Conditional Terminal
The code within this While Loop will
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run until a True value is evaluated. 29
 The Color, Style, and Thickness of Common Wires

Wire Type Scalar 1D Array 2D Array Color

Floating Point Orange

Integer Blue

Boolean Green

String Pink

Error Yellow

A broken wire represents a data type conflict that LabVIEW

cannot automatically resolve. Fix it, or your code wont run!
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 Terminals

Same label name

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 View Terminals as Icons

By default, View as Icon

option enabled.
Deselect View as Icon for a
more compact view.

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 Nodes
Nodes are objects on the block diagram that have inputs and/or outputs
and perform operations when a VI runs.

Nodes

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 SubVI Nodes
SubVIs :
o Are VIs that you use on the block diagram of another VI.
o Have front panels and block diagrams.
o Use the icon from the upper-right corner of the front panel as the
icon that appears when you place the subVI on a block diagram.
When you double-click a subVI, the front panel and block
diagram open.
Any VI has the potential to be used as a subVI.

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 As Complex as You Need

Express Quick, easy

VIs Limited

Hides
unnecessary
Regular details
VIs Retains power
and flexibility
Powerful,
Low-level flexible,

VIs Difficult, time-

consuming

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 Building a Simple VI

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 While Loops

Repeat (code);
Until Condition met;
End;

LabVIEW While Loop Flowchart Pseudo Code

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 For Loop/While Loop Comparison
For Loop
Executes a set number of
times unless a conditional
terminal is added.
Can execute zero times.
Tunnels automatically
output an array of data.
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While Loop
Stops executing only if the
value at the conditional
terminal meets the
condition.
Must execute at least once.
Tunnels automatically
output the last value.
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 Wait Functions
A wait function inside a loop:
Allows the VI to sleep for a set amount of time.

Allows the processor to address other tasks during the wait

time.
Uses the operating system millisecond clock.

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 Case Structures
Case Selector Label
o Contains the name of
the current case.
Case Selector Label
o Has decrement and
increment arrows.
Selector Terminal
o Letsyou wire an input
value, or selector, to
determine which case
executes.

Selector Terminal
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 What Is Data Flow?
Each block diagram node executes only when it receives all inputs
Each node produces output data after execution
Data flows along a path defined by wires
The movement of data determines execution order

Formula: Result = (A+B*C) / (D-E)

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 What Is Data Flow?
Each block diagram node executes only when it receives all inputs
Each node produces output data after execution
Data flows along a path defined by wires
The movement of data determines execution order

The [Multiply] and [Subtract] operations can execute at the same time since they
dont have any data dependencies.
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 Dataflow Languages Naturally Express Parallelism
The LabVIEW compiler will automatically multithread code expressed in parallel

Task Parallelism

Data Parallelism

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 What are Resources?

Resources An addressable file, hardware

device, object, or network connection available
on your system

LabVIEW includes VIs and functions to allow you to

access your resources.
Resources are known to the system by a path, name,
port, or other identifier.

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 Accessing Resources in LabVIEW

A typical resource operation involves the following process:

Open, Read
Check for
Initialize or and/or Close
Errors
Create Write

Specify the path or device name. The refnum becomes obsolete.

LabVIEW creates a refnum as a unique
identifier to the resource.
A refnum is a temporary pointer to the
resource.
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 Accessing Resources in LabVIEW

Sample refnum wires:

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 File I/O
Understanding File I/O
File Formats
High-Level File I/O VIs
Low-Level File I/O VIs

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 Understanding File I/O
File I/O writes to or reads from a file.
A typical file I/O operation involves the following process:

Open/ Read
Close Check for
Create/ and/or
File Errors
Replace File Write to File

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 Understanding Low-Level File I/O VIs

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 DAQ Programming Basic Flow
A basic DAQmx application involves the following
process:
Acquire or Check
Create Configure Start Clear
Generate for
Task Task Task Task
Data Errors

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 Understanding Modularity SubVIs

Repeated code can become subVIs.

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 Understanding Modularity SubVIs

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 Understanding Modularity SubVIs

Function Code Calling Program Code

function average (in1, in2, main
out) {
{ average (point1, point2,
out = (in1 + in2)/2.0; pointavg)
} }

SubVI Block Diagram Calling VI Block Diagram

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 Creating Icons - Icon Editor
Open the Icon Editor using one of these methods:
o Right-click the icon in the upper-right corner of the front panel or
block diagram and select Edit Icon.
o Double-click the icon.

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 Parallelism
Execute multiple tasks at the same time

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 Variables

Variables - Block diagram elements that allow

you to access or store data in another location

Variables can be of the following types:

LocalStores data in front panel controls and indicators
Global Stores data in special repositories that can be accessed from multiple
VIs
Functional GlobalStores data in While Loop shift registers
SharedTransfers data between various distributed targets connected
together over a network

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 How do the loops stop in this example?

Passing data among parallel loops is a challenge.

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 Local Variables

Use local variables to pass data within a single VI.

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 Race Conditions Sequencing
What is the final value?
Four possible outcomes:
Value = (Value * 5) +2
Value = (Value + 2) * 5
Value = Value * 5
Value = Value +2

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 Arrays

An array:
Is a collection of data
elements that are of
same type.
Has one or more
dimensions.
Contains up to (231)1
elements per dimension,
memory permitting.
Accesses elements by
its index.
Note: The first element
is index 0.

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Arrays 1D and 2D Examples

ID array
One row of 10-elements
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1.2 3.2 8.2 8.0 4.8 5.1 6.0 1.0 2.5 1.7

Index
2D array numbers
Five-row by seven-column table of 35
elements
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0
1
2
3
4

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 Common Array Functions
Array Size
Initialize Array
Array Subset
Build Array
Index Array

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 Auto-Indexing Input
If the iteration count terminal is wired and arrays of
different sizes are wired to auto-indexed tunnels, the
actual number of iterations becomes the smallest of the
choices.

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 Charts vs. Graphs Single-Plot

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 Why Use Build Specifications?
Use build specifications to build the following:
Stand-alone applications
Installers
Source distributions
Zip files
Shared libraries
Packed Project libraries
.NET Interop Assemblies
Web services

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Leveraging the LabVIEW Ecosystem
LabVIEW Tools Network
1,000,000+ Add-Ons Downloaded
26+ Certified Add-Ons
100+ Available Add-Ons
User Community
9,000+ Certified Users
700+ Alliance Partners
60+ Registered User Groups
Modules and Toolkits
40+ Toolkits and Modules Including:
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LabVIEW Real-Time Module
LabVIEW FPGA Module
LabVIEW Embedded Module for ARM
LabVIEW Touch Panel Module
LabVIEW Wireless Sensor Network Module
LabVIEW C Code Generator
NI Real-Time Hypervisor
Vision Development Module for LabVIEW
Sound and Vibration Measurement Suite
Sound and Vibration Toolkit
LabVIEW Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit
LabVIEW Adaptive Filter Toolkit
LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit
LabVIEW MathScript RT Module
Spectral Measurements Toolkit
Modulation Toolkit for LabVIEW
LabVIEW Robotics Module
LabVIEW Biomedical Toolkit
ECU Measurement and Calibration Toolkit
GPS Simulation Toolkit for LabVIEW
Measurement Suite for Fixed WiMAX
WLAN Measurement Suite
Automotive Diagnostic Command Set
LabVIEW GPU Analysis Toolkit
Multicore Analysis and Sparse Matrix Toolkit
LabVIEW PID and Fuzzy Logic Toolkit
LabVIEW Control Design and Simulation Module
LabVIEW System Identification Toolkit
LabVIEW Simulation Interface Toolkit
LabVIEW SoftMotion Module
LabVIEW Datalogging and Supervisory Control Module
LabVIEW Report Generation Toolkit for Microsoft Office
LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit
LabVIEW DataFinder Toolkit
LabVIEW SignalExpress
LabVIEW VI Analyzer Toolkit
LabVIEW Statechart Module
LabVIEW Desktop Execution Trace Toolkit
NI Requirements Gateway
NI Real-Time Execution Trace Toolkit
LabVIEW Unit Test Framework Toolkit
66 LabVIEW Application Builder for Windows
Stratos II+ The Space Rocket
Designed, Built & Launched
Entirely by Students
The Challenge
Developing a robust and flexible remote ground
control system to control and monitor the
Stratos II+ rocket filling and firing procedures
during both the engine test and the launch
campaigns.
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The Solution
CompactRIO used to provide time-critical,
remote-control of rocket fuelling and
launching, and aided the development of one
of the most powerful hybrid rocket engines
ever built by students.
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 IMPACT: Stratos II+
The rocket launched to an altitude of
21.5km, setting a new European record
for amateur rocketry

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Colorophone Enabling Visually
Impaired Users to Listen to Light
The Challenge
Developing a novel, low-cost visual sensory
substitution device, which transforms visual
information into soundwaves, to help blind
people in orientation and identification tasks
in everyday life.
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Norwegian Association of the
Blind and Partially Sighted
The Solution
Using an NI myRIO to transform light and
color into sound. The soundwaves, which mix
values for RGB in the same way the human
eye does, are communicated to the wearer
using bone-conduction headphones.
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IMPACT: Colorophone
Having received overwhelmingly positive feedback
from potential users, the students have formed a
startup company to commercialise the colorophone.

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DeepFreezeROV Underwater
Robot for Arctic Research
The Challenge
Ice algae represents the main food source for
all life beneath the 5 million square km of ice
covered Arctic ocean, and significantly
contributes to global CO2 adsorption.
Surprisingly then, this vital organism has rarely
been studied within its own environment.
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The Solution
Developing a unique, low-cost aquatic robot,
called the DeepFreezeROV. NI myRIO controls
the entire robot, from propulsion to bio-
sensing. myRIO also processors web-cam
images, as part of their unique vision-based
navigation & positioning system.
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 Impact: DeepFreezeROV
The data collected on its Artic mission, is
now being used to generate sustainable
fishing quotas and global CO2 models

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Roadrunners Rising from the Ashes
to Set World Record in Fuel Efficiency
The Challenge
To compete in the Shell Ecomarathon, the
students designed and build a urban-concept
car, and used NI cRIO as a high-perform ECU
that controlled all engine and in-vehicle sub-
systems. 48hrs before the race, the car
caught fire in the Paddock, and was
destroyed in the blaze.
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The Solution
Fortunately, the rugged, cRIO-based electronic
systems survived the blaze, allowing the team
to concentrate on rebuilding the vehicle
chassis and mechanical components. Within
48hrs, the car was fully restored, and the
team were able to successfully compete in
the Ecomarathon.
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 IMPACT: DTU Roadrunners
Not onlyImpact: DTUthey won and set
did they compete,
a world-record for fuel-efficiency
ROADRUNNERS
Not only were they able to compete,
they won the Ecomarathon and set a
new world record for fuel-efficiency

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Breath-to-Speech Giving a Voice
Back to Paralysed People
The Challenge
Augmented communication systems help
disabled people to speak again. However,
existing technologies are both expensive and
rely on muscle movements (eg. facial
twitches, fingers taps, hand gestures)
therefore, they can not be used by people
suffering with acute paralysis.
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The Solution
Using myDAQ to monitor user breath-patterns,
which are interpreted in LabVIEW, matched
against a specific phrase, and spoken aloud
using voice synthesis. The student also
implemented machine-learning alogirthms, to
allow the device to continuously adjust and
improve for a particular user.
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IMPACT: Breath-to-Speech
This device received ethical approval and
funding from the NHS, and is undergoing
patient-trials in hospital intensive care units

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Project ALAN Remote, Robotic
Rehabilitation for Stroke Survivors
The Challenge
Leeds researchers used cRIO to develop iPAM,
a robotic rehabilitation system, which can be
installed at the homes of stroke survivors. iPAM
improves the convenience and intensity of
physio-exercise, and transforms it into highly
motivating games. Now, a robust, mechatronic
verification system is required to accelerate the
time-to-market for this life-changing device.
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The Solution
Using the myRIO to control a 3D printed
humanoid arm, capable of operating iPAM for
extended periods of time, in a highly accurate,
repeatable and life-like manner. As both the
rehabilitation system and the verification
system were developed with a common
platform, control, kinematic and processing
algorithms could be reused throughout.
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 IMPACT: Project ALAN
The robotic test arm is so life-like that, when
connected to the web, can enable remote
consultations with live physiotherapists.

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