Chapter 1
Introduction
©
National Instruments Corporation
1-3
Software Overview
Programming the IMAQ 1426 requires the NI-IMAQ driver software for
controlling the hardware. National Instruments also offers the following
application software packages for analyzing and processing your acquired
images.
•
NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection
—Allows you to
configure solutions to common inspection tasks.
•
National Instruments Vision Development Module
—Provides
customized control over hardware and algorithms.
The following sections provide an overview of the driver and application
software. For detailed information about individual software packages,
refer to the documentation specific to each software package.
NI-IMAQ Driver Software
The NI-IMAQ driver software ships with the IMAQ 1426. NI-IMAQ has
an extensive library of functions—such as routines for video configuration,
continuous and single shot image acquisition, memory buffer allocation,
trigger control, and device configuration—you can call from the
application development environment (ADE). NI-IMAQ handles many of
the complex issues between the computer and the IMAQ device, such as
programming interrupts and camera control.
NI-IMAQ performs all functions required for acquiring and saving images
but does not perform image analysis. Refer to the
section for image analysis functionality.
NI-IMAQ is also the interface between the IMAQ 1426 and LabVIEW,
LabWindows
™
/CVI
™
, or a text-based programming environment. The
NI-IMAQ software kit includes a series of libraries for image acquisition
for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and Measurement Studio, which
contains libraries for Microsoft Visual Basic.
NI-IMAQ features both high-level and low-level functions. Examples
of high-level functions include the sequences to acquire images in
multi-buffer, single-shot, or continuous mode. An example of a low-level
function is configuring an image sequence, since it requires advanced
understanding of the IMAQ device and image acquisition.
