National Instruments LabVIEW Robotics Module User manual

Getting Started with the LabVIEW™Robotics Module

Version 2012

The LabVIEW Robotics Module is a software package that allows you to develop and deploy a robotics

application using LabVIEW, other National Instruments software, and device drivers.

This document discusses how to develop a robotics project in LabVIEW and deploy the application to

a hardware target, such as a real-time controller. Use this manual to access information about robotics

programming concepts and to complete exercises to teach you how to set up hardware controllers and

build and deploy applications. This document provides references to the LabVIEW Help and other

National Instruments documents for more information as you create the robotics application.

Contents

Overview of the LabVIEW Robotics Module......................................................................................1

Accessing LabVIEW Robotics Software......................................................................................2

Components of a LabVIEW Robotics System......................................................................................2

Host Computer..............................................................................................................................3

Real-Time Controller....................................................................................................................4

Sensors and Actuators...................................................................................................................5

Conguring Software and Hardware for a Robotics System................................................................5

Installing Software and Device Drivers on the Host Computer...................................................5

Conguring an RT Target.............................................................................................................6

Creating a Robotics Project..................................................................................................................6

Creating a Starter Kit Project Using the Robotics Project Wizard...............................................7

Exploring the Project in the Project Explorer Window................................................................8

Exploring VIs that Control the Starter Kit Robot.........................................................................9

Conguring Target Properties.....................................................................................................12

Overview of Robotics Application Architectures.......................................................................13

Deploying and Downloading VIs to a Target.....................................................................................13

Building a Robotics Application that Runs at Startup........................................................................14

Creating a Build Specication....................................................................................................14

Building and Running a Startup Application..............................................................................15

Where to Go from Here......................................................................................................................16

Related Documentation...............................................................................................................16

Related National Instruments Software......................................................................................17

Overview of the LabVIEW Robotics Module

The Robotics Module extends the LabVIEW graphical development environment with additional

functionality for robotics development, control, and application. The LabVIEW Robotics platform

provides a standard hardware and software development solution for designing your robotic control

system. The Robotics Module plugs into the LabVIEW development environment and delivers an

extensive robotics library with built-in connectivity to robotic sensors and actuator, foundational

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-specic features and focus on developing robotics applications. To

access the LabVIEW Robotics environment, select Start»All Programs»NI LabVIEW Robotics x,

where xis 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 specic 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 nders, 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 2ni.com

I/O: an ultrasonic distance sensor, a servo motor on which the sensor is mounted, and two DC drive

motors. Figure 1 shows the components of a LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit robot.

1. Single-Board RIO controller

2. Sensor

3. Motor

Figure 1. Components of a LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit Robot

Note Refer to the Robotics Module»LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit book on the Contents

tab of the LabVIEW Help for more information about the Robotics Starter Kit.

The remainder of this manual uses the Robotics Starter Kit as an example to explain the process of

getting started with a typical robotics system and the Robotics Module.

Host Computer

The host computer is a computer with the LabVIEW Development System and LabVIEW modules and

toolkits installed on which you develop the VIs for the robotics system. After you develop the robotics

VIs, you can download and run the VIs on RT and FPGA targets, such as CompactRIO and Single-Board

RIO products. The host computer also can run VIs that communicate with the VIs running on targets to

provide a user interface.

LabVIEW Projects

Use LabVIEW projects on the host computer (1) to group LabVIEW les and les not specic to

LabVIEW, create stand-alone applications, and deploy or download VIs (3) and applications to RT (2)

and FPGA targets that contain I/O modules (4). When you save a project, LabVIEW creates a project

le (.lvproj), which can include references to les in the project, conguration information, build

information, and deployment information. Figure 2 shows the parts of a typical LabVIEW project.

©National Instruments 3Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module

1. Host computer

2. Real-time controller

3. RT VI

4. I/O modules

Figure 2. Parts of a LabVIEW Project

From the Getting Started window, click the Create Project button and follow the instructions to create

a new LabVIEW project. You also can use the Robotics Project Wizard to create a LabVIEW project

from a template. Refer to the Creating a Starter Kit Project Using the Robotics Project Wizard section

of this manual for information about creating a LabVIEW robotics project using the Robotics Project

Wizard.

Real-Time Controller

Real-time controllers run programs you create in LabVIEW. On the Starter Kit robot, the Single-Board

RIO is the real-time controller. Some real-time controllers, such as NI Single-Board RIO products,

consist of a real-time processor and operating system and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

Other NI real-time controllers, such as PXI products, contain only a real-time processor. You also can

use certain third-party hardware, such as ARM microcontrollers, to run LabVIEW programs. Use the

Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module 4ni.com

Project Explorer window to congure third-party hardware similarly to how you congure an NI RT

or FPGA target.

Real-Time Target

The real-time processor and operating system, or RT target, serves as the “brain” of the robotics system,

running VIs you create using LabVIEW. Robotics applications require many tasks to complete

deterministically, or within a guaranteed time period. The RT Engine, a version of LabVIEW that runs

on RT targets, deterministically executes VIs in which you prioritize tasks so that the most critical task

can take control of the processor when necessary.

FPGA Target

An FPGA is an embedded chip that you can congure to match the requirements of a specic system.

Some controllers, such as CompactRIO and Single-Board RIO products, contain integrated FPGA targets,

which are directly connected to the I/O modules that access sensor and actuator data. FPGAs automatically

communicate with I/O modules and provides deterministic I/O to the real-time processor. Thus, you

typically program the FPGA to perform the lowest-level I/O and control tasks with the most critical

level of timing in a robotics application.

On the Starter Kit robot, you might want to program the FPGA to read obstacle data from the distance

sensor and adjust the drive motors accordingly to run deterministically so the robot avoids obstacles.

You can use LabVIEW programming techniques to develop an FPGA VI on the host computer and

download the VI on the target.

I/O Modules

National Instruments offers a variety of I/O modules that directly connect to sensors and actuators. On

the Starter Kit robot, built-in I/O connects the FPGA to the sensor and actuators. You typically write an

FPGA VI to access I/O, and then use an RT VI to read from and write to the I/O in the FPGA VI.

Sensors and Actuators

Robotics systems acquire data about the environment around them with sensors, such as laser range

nders, and move through the use of actuators. On the Starter Kit robot, the distance sensor detects

obstacles in the path of the robot, a servo pans the sensor back and forth, and drive motors propel the

robot.

Use sensor and actuator drivers from the Robotics palette in an RT or FPGA VI to communicate with

sensors and actuators like the ones on the Starter Kit robot. Drivers reduce program development time

by eliminating the need to learn the programming protocol for each device. Refer to the Where to Go

from Here section of this manual for information about nding sensor drivers.

Configuring Software and Hardware for a Robotics System

The remainder of this manual contains exercises to teach you how to build and deploy a robotics

application for the Starter Kit robot, a typical RIO-based LabVIEW robotics system. You can extend

the information in this exercise to other, similar robotics systems.

Before you create a LabVIEW project and application to deploy to a hardware target, you must install

software on the host computer and congure the target on which you want the application to run.

Installing Software and Device Drivers on the Host Computer

Refer to the readme le on the Robotics installation media for information about the National Instrument

products to which you have access, system requirements, and instructions for installing LabVIEW,

modules, and toolkits on the host computer.

©National Instruments 5Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module

Configuring an RT Target

Before you can deploy robotics applications to an RT target, you must congure the basic settings of

the target and install software on the target. To congure the Single-Board RIO on the Starter Kit robot,

use the National Instruments Robotics Hardware Setup Wizard, which launches after you install the

LabVIEW Robotics software on the host computer. You also can click the Welcome link on the Getting

Started window and click the Hardware Setup Wizard link to launch this wizard manually.

If you use a CompactRIO or non-Starter Kit Single-Board RIO, you also can use this wizard. However,

if you use any other type of target, use the National Instruments Measurement & Automation Explorer

(MAX) to detect, congure, and test an RT target. MAX provides access to National Instruments devices

and systems, so you can use MAX to communicate with networked RT targets located on the same

subnet as the host computer. Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Measurement &

Automation Explorer to launch MAX and refer to the MAX help for more information about conguring

targets in MAX.

In the Robotics Hardware Setup Wizard, complete the instructions that appear on the screen to perform

the following tasks:

• Set the IP address of the target you want to use

• Download software to the target that can run VIs you deploy to the target

• Test that the target is congured correctly

The host computer communicates with the remote system over a standard Ethernet connection. If the

host computer is already congured on a network, you must congure the remote target on the same

network. If neither machine is connected to a network, you must connect the two machines directly using

a CAT-5 crossover cable or hub.

On the nal page in the Robotics Hardware Setup Wizard, exit the wizard and launch LabVIEW to

continue this exercise. When LabVIEW launches, the Robotics Project Wizard displays.

Tip If you do not have the Robotics Starter Kit, you can launch LabVIEW and click the Create

Project button on the Getting Started window and select the Robotics Project template from

the Create Project dialog box to launch the Robotics Project Wizard.

Creating a Robotics Project

With the Robotics Module, you must use a LabVIEW project (.lvproj) to build and congure robotics

applications and to work with RT and FPGA targets. Use projects to group LabVIEW les and

non-LabVIEW les, congure communication between hardware, create build specications, and deploy

les to targets.

Refer to the topics in the Fundamentals»Working with Projects and Targets book on the Contents

tab of the LabVIEW Help for more information about LabVIEW projects.

For this exercise you will use the Robotics Project Wizard to create an application that drives the Starter

Kit robot. The application consists of a VI that acquires data from the distance sensor, calculates a

heading for travel, and then applies the correct amount of velocity to the drive motors.

Note You can complete some of the same the steps in this exercise even if you do not have

the Starter Kit. The process this exercise describes is similar to the process for creating an

application for a non-Starter Kit RT target or a Windows-based target.

Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module 6ni.com

Creating a Starter Kit Project Using the Robotics Project Wizard

Complete the following steps to create a project for the Starter Kit robot using the Robotics Project

Wizard.

Note If you purchased only the LabVIEW Robotics Module rather than the Robotics Starter

Kit or Robotics Software Bundle, you can use the Robotics Module with only the LabVIEW

Development System to develop programs that include VIs and drivers on the Robotics palette.

However, you must install the LabVIEW Real-Time and FPGA Modules and the NI-RIO

drivers to complete the exercises in this manual. You can install evaluation versions of these

products from the installation media.

1. Click Create Project on the Getting Started window to launch the Create Project dialog box.

Choose Robotics from the Filters tree, select the Robotics Project template in the Project List,

and click Finish to launch the Robotics Project Wizard. You also can launch this wizard from the

Robotics Hardware Setup Wizard or select File»New to launch the New dialog box and then select

Project»Project from Wizard»Robotics Project.

2. On the Select project type page, select the type of project that corresponds to your system from

the Select project type list, as shown in Figure 3. For this exercise, select Robotics Starter Kit 2.0.

Figure 3. Selecting a Project Type for Your Application

3. Click Next to accept the settings and continue.

©National Instruments 7Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module

4. On the Enter the IP address of the controller page, type the IP address of the RT target from the

Starter Kit in the Controller IP address text box.

5. Click Next to accept the settings and continue.

6. On the Select architecture page, select the architecture template you want the RT target to run

from the Select architecture list. For this exercise, select Starter Kit 2.0 Roaming (default).

7. Click Next to accept the settings and continue.

8. On the Enter project name and folder page, enter a name for the project and the location at which

you want to save the .lvproj le.

9. Click Finish to exit the Robotics Project Wizard and generate the new project, VIs, and support

les for the robotics application. The Project Explorer window displays the new project that you

create.

Exploring the Project in the Project Explorer Window

The Project Explorer window enables you to manage hardware targets, VIs, and other support les

from one location. In the project you create, the Project Explorer window includes the following

sections:

•Project root—Contains the host computer, the Starter Kit RT target and I/O, and VIs that control

the target.

–My Computer—Represents the host computer in the project.

•Dependencies—Includes items that VIs under the host require.

•Build Specications—Includes build congurations for source distributions and other

types of builds. You can use Build Specications to congure stand-alone applications,

such as one that launches automatically when you power on the target.

•Simulated Starter Kit 2.0 Roaming—Organizes the les that dene and control

components in a particular simulation scene.

–Simulated Starter Kit 2.0 Roaming.xml—Serves as the manifest le that contains

denitions for components in the simulation scene you create. LabVIEW adds this

item to a project when you use the Robotics Environment Simulator Wizard to

create a simulation scene.

–Simulated Starter Kit 2.0 Roaming.vi—Starts and stops the simulator, serves as

a user interface for the simulation, and calls LabVIEW code that manipulates

components in the simulation.

–Simulated Starter Kit 2.0 Roaming ID List.txt—Contains the ID names of the

components in the simulation scene you create. LabVIEW adds this item to a project

when you use the Robotics Environment Simulator Wizard to create a simulation

scene.

–Starter Kit 2.0 sbRIO—Represents the real-time controller on the Starter Kit robot and

contains the I/O through which you access sensors and actuators. The Project Explorer

window also includes Dependencies and Build Specications sections under this target.

VIs and libraries that you add to a hardware target appear under the target to indicate that you can run

the VI on that target. Figure 4 shows a project similar to the Robotics Project.lvproj le you

created with the Robotics Project Wizard.

Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module 8ni.com

Figure 4. Exploring the Robotics Project in the Project Explorer Window

Exploring VIs that Control the Starter Kit Robot

Complete the following steps to explore the VI and support les you created with the Robotics Project

Wizard.

1. In the Project Explorer window, expand the Test Panels folder and double-click Test

Ultrasonic Sensor.vi in the Project Explorer window. Test Ultrasonic Sensor.vi is

an RT VI that runs on the Single-Board RIO.

2. Select Window»Show Block Diagram to display the block diagram of the VI, as shown in Figure 5.

©National Instruments 9Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module

Figure 5. Block Diagram of the Test Ultrasonic Sensor VI

On the previous block diagram, the following VIs from the Starter Kit palette allow you to communicate

with the sensor and actuators connected to I/O on the Starter Kit robot. Although this VI is fairly simple,

the block diagram illustrates a common workow for controlling RIO-based mobile robots.

• The Initialize Starter Kit 2.0 (sbRIO-9632) VI begins a communication session with the FPGA on

the robot and returns a reference you use to read from or write to the FPGA.

• The Write Sensor Servo Angle VI writes an angle to the servo on which the distance sensor is

mounted to turn the servo to that angle.

•The Read PING))) Sensor Distance VI reads and returns the distance between the ultrasonic distance

sensor and the nearest obstacle the sensor detects.

• The Close Starter Kit VI terminates the communication session with the FPGA on the Starter Kit

robot.

Tip Select Help»Show Context Help to display the Context Help window, which displays

basic information about LabVIEW objects and the LabVIEW environment when you move the

cursor over each object.

These VIs and others from the Starter Kit palette allow you to control the Starter Kit FPGA from an RT

VI without writing an FPGA VI. To control a non-Starter Kit robot whose real-time controller contains

an FPGA target, you typically must write an FPGA VI that runs on the real-time controller and accesses

I/O. Figure 6 shows the block diagram for a simple RT VI that communicates with an FPGA VI to

perform the same task as the Test Ultrasonic Sensor VI.

Getting Started with the LabVIEW Robotics Module 10 ni.com

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