algorithms for intelligent operation and robust perception, and motion functions to make the robot or
vehicle move.
The Robotics Module includes all the necessary software tools to design a sophisticated autonomous or
semi-autonomous system. The Robotics Module also provides VIs and example programs for designing
algorithms and applications that you can deploy to a robotics system. With the Robotics Module, you
can communicate with sensors and actuators, design and control serial robotic arms, create robotics
applications, and simulate robots in a simulation scene you create.
The Robotics Module also adds components, such as VIs and device drivers, setup wizards, simulator,
and examples, to the LabVIEW Development System. Refer to the
LabVIEW Help
for more information
about the components that the Robotics Module adds to LabVIEW and about using these components
in the LabVIEW Robotics environment.
With the Robotics Module, you can create a robotics project. Refer to the
Creating a Robotics Project
section of this manual for information about creating a Starter Kit project using the Robotics Project
Wizard. You also can create a simulation project using the
Robotics Environment Simulator Wizard
.
Choose
Robotics Environment Simulator
on the
Select project type
page of the
Robotics Project
Wizard
to launch the
Robotics Environment Simulator Wizard
. Refer to the
LabVIEW Help
for
detailed information about designing a simulated environment and simulated robots.
Accessing LabVIEW Robotics Software
The Robotics Module provides a different environment than the LabVIEW Development System to
allow you to easily access robotics-specific features and focus on developing robotics applications. To
access the LabVIEW Robotics environment, select
Start»All Programs»NI LabVIEW Robotics
x
,
where
x
is the LabVIEW version.
If LabVIEW is already open, select
Tools»Choose Environment
to display the
Choose Environment
Settings
dialog box, which you can use to change environments.
In the LabVIEW Robotics environment, you can access Robotics specific tutorials and the Hardware
Setup Wizard by clicking the
Welcome
link on the Robotics
Getting Started
window.
Components of a LabVIEW Robotics System
A robotics system consists of software and hardware components. In a system designed with the LabVIEW
Robotics Module, the software components include National Instruments software, such as the projects
and VIs you create in LabVIEW. The hardware components of a robotics system might include the
following:
•
Host computer
—Develop and debug robotics applications on a host computer. You also can
communicate with the robot and log data it acquires using the host computer. Run applications you
develop on the host computer, or deploy them to a Windows-based system or real-time controller.
•
Robot control system
—Construct a robot steering frame that includes the following components:
–
Real-time controller
—Deterministically run the programs you create in LabVIEW and control
data input and output with a real-time, or RT, controller, which serves as the “brain” of the
system.
–
Sensors and actuators
—Acquire data about the robot environment with sensors, such as laser
range finders, and control robot motion with actuators.
The LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit is an example of a robotics system that consists of these components
and runs LabVIEW and Robotics Module software. On the Starter Kit robot, a Single-Board RIO
controller, mounted on top of the robot base, includes a real-time processor and Field-Programmable
Gate Array (FPGA) on a single board. By default, the FPGA has a sensor and motors wired to digital
Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module
2
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