LabView 8.6 adds wireless, enhances multicore and FPGA features
With LabView 8.6, you can develop and control a wireless sensor network that uses technologies such as Bluetooth, GPRS, and GSM.
Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 8/4/2008 11:47:00 AM
National Instruments continues to expand the horizons for LabView, its popular graphical programming language. With the introduction of version 8.6, LabView can now control NI's wireless data-acquisition products, and the software also extends beyond its traditional test-and-measurement base into multicore processing and emdedded-systems design.
LabView 8.6 lets you make remote measurements using a WiFi connection to data-acquisition devices. You can connect to wireless devices through technologies such as Bluetooth, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and GSM. Using these technologies, you can develop a wireless sensor network and control it with LabView. You can also download drivers for numerous proprietary wireless sensor networks, and using the LabView Wireless Toolkit, you can test wireless devices that use any of these technologies.
Sensors are often used to collect data on mechanical devices, and with LabView 8.6, you can bring in simulations of mechanical devices, then collect data on a real device and integrate the data into the model. This feature lets you see how the model reacts so you can make design changes as needed.
Multicore processors let computers perform tasks in parallel. LabView 8.6 can automatically assign a processor to a specific task, or you can optimize your system by assigning processors to tasks. Using multicore processors, you can run automated test functions in parallel and improve system throughput. LabView 8.6 also has more than 1200 data-analysis functions optimized for multicore processors.
LabView already lets you program custom functions into NI's CompactRIO line of measurement modules, but with previous versions, you had to directly program a module's field-programmable gate array (FPGA). With LabView 8.6, you no longer need to program the FPGA. Instead, you can use new development and integration features to add functions to an FPGA. Predefined functions include fast Fourier transforms so you can convert data to the frequency domain in the module.
With LabVIEW 8.6, you can convert LabView applications into Web services that run on desktop or real-time processors. Users can gain access to your applications through any Web-enabled device, which includes smart phones, PDAs, and PCs. This new feature in LabView 8.6 means you can develop remote user interfaces for your applications using technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and Flash.
Base price: $1199. National Instruments, www.ni.com/labview86.
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