New Features in LabVIEW 8.20 of Interest to Academia
Print
Table of Contents
- Overview
- Textual Math - Develop algorithms using math-oriented textual programming and widely-used m-file script syntax quickly with LabVIEW MathScript
- Control Design and Simulation - Implement simulation loops and control design models easily, with direct real-time I/O
- RF and Communications - Design communication systems more intuitive and faster than ever before, using hundreds of new modulation schemes and advanced filters
- C Code Generation - Program any 32-bit microprocessor graphically and reuse existing C code with ease
- Advanced Graphics - See new dimensions in your mechanical and control systems with 3-D visualization based on OpenGL
- Additional LabVIEW 8.20 Resources
Overview
Since the advent of LabVIEW in 1986, engineering and science educators have successfully integrated its easy-to-use, interactive interface and its powerful graphical system design capabilities into their curriculum for project-based learning and real-world, hands-on experiments.
With the release of LabVIEW 8.20 - the 20th anniversary edition, the powerful development environment builds upon its rich history of intuitive graphical programming and introduces several features for graphical system design in the areas of measurements, communications, controls, signal processing, and embedded applications.
To help you navigate through the latest enhancements in LabVIEW 8.20, we will discuss the five most requested features from the academic community available in this version.
Textual Math - Develop algorithms using math-oriented textual programming and widely-used m-file script syntax quickly with LabVIEW MathScript
In LabVIEW 8.20, you have the freedom to choose your preferred syntax for technical computing. Whether developing algorithms, analyzing results, processing signals, or exploring DSP concepts, you can combine the intuitive LabVIEW graphical dataflow programming with LabVIEW MathScript, a math-oriented text-based programming language that includes more than 600 commonly used functions for math, signal processing and analysis.
LabVIEW MathScript complements traditional LabVIEW graphical dataflow programming for such tasks as algorithm development, signal processing, and analysis. LabVIEW MathScript speeds up these and other tasks by giving users a single environment in which they can choose the most effective syntax, whether textual, graphical, or a combination of the two.
In addition, because LabVIEW MathScript is generally compatible with the m-file script syntax used by alternative technical computing software such as The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB® software, and others (1), you can exploit the best of LabVIEW and thousands of publicly available m-files scripts from the web, textbooks, or your own existing m-script applications. This compatibility gives you the ability to “instrument algorithms” by running m-file scripts with LabVIEW and accessing LabVIEW features to increase productivity such as simplified instrument control, data acquisition, file, database access, user interface development, and more.
“With LabVIEW 8.20 the combination of graphical programming and MathScript text-based math provides a flexible and highly interactive approach to algorithm development.” Professor Dr. Douglas L. Jones from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
New LabVIEW MathScript Features in LabVIEW 8.20:
- Fully compatible with m-file scripts used by alternative technical computing software such as The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB® software, and others.
- Up to 100x faster than LabVIEW 8.0 for matrix indexing operations: Can reduce the time that its takes a script to complete execution for scripts that include matrix indexing operations.
- More than 600 built-in functions for math, signal processing and analysis; functions cover areas such as linear algebra, curve fitting, digital filters, differential equations, probability, statistics, and much more.
- Over 160 new functions for digital signal processing (DSP), plotting, file I/O, and more.
- Support for application builder to create PC-based standalone DLLs and EXEs from VIs that include the LabVIEW MathScript node.
- Integrated into LabVIEW - Does not require additional third-party software to compile and execute.
(1) MATLAB® is a registered trademark of The Math Works, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
See Also:
More information about MathScript
Control Design and Simulation - Implement simulation loops and control design models easily, with direct real-time I/O
LabVIEW 8.20 makes it easy for to explore control design and mechatronics concepts including controller design, dynamic system simulation, system identification, and real-time implementation. With strong integration between NI hardware and software, educators can transfer theory to real-world examples in a hands-on, interactive manner.
Additionally, the new LabVIEW Simulation Module allows you to combine model-based design and dataflow to easily integrate the advantages of the two models of computation in one programming environment. You can also translate models from The MathWorks, Inc. Simulink® into LabVIEW 8.20 with a built-in utility in LabVIEW Simulation Module. In this version of LabVIEW, the LabVIEW Simulation Module and the LabVIEW Embedded Module are now integrated so that you can design your algorithm with the LabVIEW Simulation Module, prototype it using real-time I/O on off-the-shelf-hardware, and deploy the same code using LabVIEW Embedded Development Module to any 32-bit processor. This way you can simulate and implement models on virtually any target from a desktop PC all the way to a microcontroller.
New LabVIEW 8.20 Control Design and Simulation Features:
- Deploy simulation models to any embedded 32-bit processors.
- Improved performance of simulation models - Over 10x improvements in run-time performance, compile time, as well as the ability to work with large models.
- Direct real-time implementation of control design models.
- Model and simulation of dynamic systems such as motor controllers and hydraulics with direct real-time I/O.
- Tight integration with NI hardware provides many options for prototyping, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test, or final implementation.
See Also:
More information about Control Design and Simulation
RF and Communications - Design communication systems more intuitive and faster than ever before, using hundreds of new modulation schemes and advanced filters
Teaching and researching today’s complex communications systems require a flexible platform that scales from software design to hardware prototyping while integrating with hundreds of instruments. LabVIEW 8.20 and the LabVIEW Modulation Toolkit extend the built-in analysis capability of LabVIEW and provide support for multiple modulation formats that are the foundations for numerous emerging technologies such as WiFi, ZigBee, RFID, HDTV, and others. The new LabVIEW Modulation Toolkit enables software simulation of communications systems as well as direct hardware implementation. With this toolkit, you can rapidly develop custom applications for exploring concepts, developing research, and designing communications systems and components that modulate and demodulate signals.
In addition, you can use LabVIEW 8.20 and its prebuilt function library for signal processing simulation, interactive digital filter design using the LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit, and hands-on prototyping by programming microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). As an integral part of communication systems, the LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit in LabVIEW 8.20 has several new features designed for communication systems, including 12 new text-based LabVIEW MathScript filter-design functions and the ability to target microcontrollers, DSPs, and FPGAs leveraging technology from LabVIEW Embedded Development Module, LabVIEW DSP Module, and LabVIEW FPGA Module. The new LabVIEW Digital Filter Design also enables students to gain a better understanding of digital filters by graphically rendering common discrete equations associated with a filter. The new tool can render a filter transfer function, pole/zero/gain format (with roots separated or combined), difference equation (with multiline feedback and feedforward and single line feedback and feedforward).
New LabVIEW 8.20 Communications Features:
• LabVIEW Modulation Toolkit for common and custom communication protocols
• Reuse existing communication algorithms with textual programming in LabVIEW MathScript
• Microcontroller, DSPs, and FPGAs-based hardware design and prototyping platform
• New floating- and fixed-point multirate filter design tools for decimation, interpolation, and rational resampling with fixed-point code generation capability
See Also:
More information about LabVIEW Modulation Toolkit
More information about Digital Filter Design
C Code Generation - Program any 32-bit microprocessor graphically and reuse existing C code with ease
You can now take advantage of LabVIEW graphical programming to program any embedded system with a 32-bit microprocessor. The LabVIEW Embedded Development Module extends LabVIEW to work with 3rd party tools to provide a platform that facilitates hands-on learning in embedded design. With the LabVIEW Embedded Development Module you can easily incorporate legacy C code as well as analog, digital and communications I/O drivers through specialized virtual instruments (VIs). This module includes several example targets for popular processor architectures including PowerPC, ARM, TI C6x, x86.
New LabVIEW 8.20 Embedded Features:
• Easily integrate and work with embedded targets using the LabVIEW project
• Program low-cost example targets including PowerPC, ARM, TI C64x, x86 architectures and VxWorks, eCos, Windows and Embedded Linux Operating systems
• Reuse existing C code with the inline C-node and work with C development tools such as Eclipse
• Create NEW targets with a simplified approach including I/O abstraction layer
See Also:
More information about LabVIEW Embedded
Advanced Graphics - See new dimensions in your mechanical and control systems with 3-D visualization based on OpenGL
The 3D picture control in LabVIEW 8.20 gives you the ability to create advanced three-dimensional graphics with powerful rendering of the 3D scene. Objects can easily be created and controlled from a set of simple VIs. This technology enables the display of 3D models (formatted as VRML, ASE or STL) from third-party 3D graphics software. The models can be imported into the 3D picture control and instrumented using LabVIEW variables. When displaying the 3D scene in the 3D picture control, the user can easily control the point of view, zoom, and perspective of the 3D scene with the mouse — thereby intuitively exploring the 3D scene.
New LabVIEW 8.20 Advanced Graphics
- Easily create powerful 3D graphics hardware accelerated OpenGL rendering
- Instrument imported 3D objects from common third-party files using real-world data
- Explore 3D scene with interactive mouse control
See Also:
More information about advanced users interfaces in LabVIEW 8.20
Additional LabVIEW 8.20 Resources
Explore academic resources for various application areas including circuits, RF and communication, and control design at http://www.ni.com/academic/.
 |
Measurements |  |
Circuit Design |  |
Signal & Image Processing |
 |
Control Design |  |
RF & Communications |  |
Embedded |
See Also:
Evaluate LabVIEW online, download LabVIEW, or request an evaluation DVD
Register for an event in your area and experience LabVIEW in person
Related Links:
See what is new since you last upgraded - complete list of features
Print
Reader Comments | Submit a comment »
Legal
This tutorial (this "tutorial") was developed by National Instruments ("NI"). Although technical support of this tutorial may be made available by National Instruments, the content in this tutorial may not be completely tested and verified, and NI does not guarantee its quality in any way or that NI will continue to support this content with each new revision of related products and drivers. THIS TUTORIAL IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AND SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS AS MORE SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN NI.COM'S TERMS OF USE (http://ni.com/legal/termsofuse/unitedstates/us/).