Community Spotlights

Did You Know LabVIEW Could Drive a Car?

Deirdre — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:09:48 GMT

Learn how Virginia Tech and TORC Technologies gained a competitive edge in the DARPA Urban Challenge with LabVIEW, CompactRIO, and graphical system design in this Webcast.

Guitar Hero Robot Built with LabVIEW

ToddS. — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:47:35 GMT

Wired Magazine's Gadget Lab blog recently featured a Guitar Hero robot built by Cyth Systems, a National Instruments Alliance Partner. The robot plays the incredibly popular (and awesome) game with 98% accuracy, 1% better than the best human players in the world. Read more and check out the robot in action.

Wiki:LabVIEW Source Code Control and Group Development

Deirdre — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:44:57 GMT

This wiki examines LabVIEW application development across groups of developers and provides recommendations for organizing and distributing code using tools such as the LabVIEW Project Explorer, Project Libraries and third-party source code control providers. Read and edit the it here.

Featured Example Code: LabVIEW Tic Tac Toe

Deirdre — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:44:32 GMT

This example VI is a variant on the old Tic Tac Toe game and includes low level computer intelligence to allow you to play against yourself or a friend.

Engineering TV: LabVIEW Power Pad

Deirdre — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:33:14 GMT

In the spirit of the Beijing Olympics, NI featured an interactive LabVIEW demonstration at NIWeek 2008 where competitors could compete in a video game reminiscent of the original Konami Track & Field series. Only this game was programmed using LabVIEW and the control interface utilizes the classic Nintendo Power Pad, a mat with twelve pressure-sensors embedded between two layers of flexible plastic. Check out the video here!

Start a LabVIEW User Group

Deirdre — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:43:54 GMT

As the leader of a LabVIEW User Group, you can improve your programming skills through sharing development tips and connecting with product experts working on similar applications. Download this User Groups Startup Kit, which contains resources to help you organize and get rewarded for being a LabVIEW Community leader.

LabVIEW Career Center Online

Deirdre — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:33:42 GMT

Visit ni.com/labviewcareers, which allows employers and recruiters to search resumes of qualified developers or post their own job listing on the NI discussion forums. Additionally, it has information for job seekers and aggregates global openings from ni.com, LabVIEW specific sites, and popular career search platforms.

Soar High with Flight Simulator VIs

Deirdre — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:46:13 GMT

Download this flight simulator VI library from community member Torbjorn Tjellden. His code is based on his 3D-script viewer, which has three inputs: the script with leaves and variable names, the definition of leaves, and the variable array. For the airplane, those variables control the wing, flaps, roll, etc. Torbjorn is currently working on an editor for the landscape and additional features. Visit this wiki collaborate on his code, comment on the functionality, or just have some fun.

Download Wiimote Interface VIs

Deirdre — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:44:30 GMT

With a high-resolution camera, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a Bluetooth wireless link, the Nintendo Wii Controller (Wiimote) offers exciting possibilities beyond use as a video game controller. With the examples in this community document from NI engineer Sam Shearman, you can easily access these data sources in LabVIEW.

LabVIEW Application Featured on Conan O'Brien Show

Deirdre — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:39:26 GMT

LabVIEW developer Brian Turner was on the Conan O'Brien TV show on May 2 to talk about NASA's 2008 Space Elevator Competition. Brian's team, the Kansas City Space Pirates, will be using LabVIEW and NI CompactRIO to compete for a $2M dollar grand prize.

Here is Brian's response on the appearance:

Space Pirate news 5-9-08

The Conan Show was a big hit. I managed not to choke and remained rather articulate through the 5 min interview. We did not however get to cover the competition, the team or the sponsors. They were on the list but I had no idea how fast time would fly. I felt that I was on for only 30 seconds. We clearly managed to inform thousands of viewers about the space elevator and raise awareness. I saw a big jump in web site visitors but only received 1 small donation. The show will be re-run at least once so even more may come of it. I will keep you posted.

You can go watch the video on the NBC site if you missed it. We mechanically steered an beam! It was just a laser pointer and only in 1 dimension. Still it is a small but significant step in our mission. We are planning to go to the ISDC (International Space Development Conference) in Washington DC at the end of this month. I plan on meeting with potential supporters there and hopefully securing the

funds needed for the rest of this year.

Here is a photo from NBC.com. Check out the Powered by LabVIEW hard hat!! LabVIEW really is everywhere.

LabVIEW - Snap to It

Deirdre — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:03:29 GMT

Download Mark Ridgley's SnapToPanel VI, which allows LabVIEW developers to position a target VI window relative to a reference VI window. Click here to get the code or comment on the functionality.

NI Wireless Technology Tested Live on Google Maps

Deirdre — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:21:37 GMT

Using a GPS receiver and a bike-mounted ultra-mobile PC running LabVIEW, the NI Cycling Team tracked rider progress live during a 150-mile bike ride from Houston to Austin, Texas. To make it more interesting they decided to give some prototype wireless devices (currently in development by NI R&D) a trial run by taking simple measurements on nearby riders. Check out the technical tutorial and images of the tracking in the NI Developer Zone Community.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame with LabVIEW and Compact DAQ

Deirdre — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:38:12 GMT

The VI Road Show has a cool video showing how CompactDAQ was used to measure how hard Tim Dehne, senior vice president of R&D and former member of the Rice University baseball team, could hit a baseball. Since it's opening day for the sport in the United States, we figured it would be a cool application to highlight.

NI Labs 3D Visualization Kit

Deirdre — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:04:41 GMT

Download and discuss the latest emerging technology from LabVIEW R&D in the NI Labs virtual playground. Specifically, download the 3D Visualization Kit, which explores how to utilize the 3D picture control along with other NI technologies to help create dynamic, highly practical applications in LabVIEW.

There are two demos in this package to show the versatility of the 3D picture control. The first example demonstrates how to create a 3D graph as an alternative to using ActiveX. The second demo allows users to place sensors across a predefined model and watch them react to dynamic data.