LabVIEW Programming of Arduino

Electronics
#1

Lately I have noticed that the more popular embedded platforms are increasing in LabVIEW targetability. So much so, that I thought it may be worth a DMS class (or two) to discuss. We can start with Arduino, as I was able to do a number of things with my Arduino using LabVIEW. Its even possible to write your Arduino code in LabVIEW, which some may wish to see/do.

So it may not be visible on the calendar yet, but Friday, June 9, I have scheduled a class about this very topic. So if you have installed LabVIEW on a laptop/PC and want to use it, this is an excellent way to 1. use labview 2. connect to the outside world using AI, AO, DIO, PWM, I2C, SPI, and any/all things that connect thusly.

This will be the first in series of classes on using LabVIEW in conjunction with popular embedded platforms. You used to need an expensive data acquisition setup to really utilize LabVIEW well. Things are changing, and you can do so for nearly free now…

1 Like
#2

semaphore1999, I play microcontrollers a lot but am only vaguely familiar with LabVIEW. I will not be able to attend on the 9th but greatly appreciate that you are moving into this area. I hope it will be a long successful series and will try to catch your second class.

I’m planning to do the alarm that tweets class that I described in a Talk/Electronics topic a few days ago. I see no overlap with your class.

I had thought that it would be good to explore having an intro to Arduino class using the normal IDE. If there is significant overlap with your class - not problem - I’ll drop the idea. If not, I may float the idea and see if there is interest in a month or so.

Best wishes for the class, Brady

#3

I don’t think that this class you mentioned conflicts at all with an Arduino specific class. In fact, we need lots of classes on Arduino and its various shades of usefulness, given the membership size of that awesome space that we are proud to be members of.

However, I would like for you to be able to attend, as you may find that LabVIEW has some advantages in certain cases. In my 35 years of programming experience (not a typo), I have yet to discover an environment that was better streamlined for effective and speedy development. I say a solid Arduinist should be able to do things either way. Is there a time I can adjust to that would work better for you?

#4

I hear you on 35 years. My love/hate of small computers started with my first job in '68. It was before ROM was available so the first step was to use 16 little buttons to punch in the bootstrap. Things then accelerated as I could load the assembler which was on paper tape of course.

Pick dates and run with them. When I’m ready to announce, I’ll schedule a week or more away. I’m definitely planning to attend your class.

#5

This is really interesting to me. I just (like a few weeks ago) started trying some Arduino/Adafruit programming. I’m interested, but I’m a novice to Arduino, and only have a bit of a background in programming.

#6

Wow, you got me beat, as I missed out on the pleasure of the punched cards and all. But I remember seeing them and thinking, there has got to be a better way!

I always wondered how my Merlin game worked when I was a kid. I took it apart and was hella pissed to see that black pile of hardened tarish substance hiding the internal works! I would have to break it to find out, and wasn’t willing. The curiosity of what was inside those various styles of chip packages vexed me as a youngster, and drove me to engineering school to figure it out. I had been told of the 0s and 1s as a child, but I just could not imagine how 0s and 1s could amount to anything useful…lol. And who is inside there switching them all around anyhow? It would take a whole lot of 0s and 1s to make anything interesting…At least your cards had letters and stuff.

LabVIEW can be fun and intersting for the non programmer because it is such a departure from text languages. Truth be told its quite analogous to C, but the visual representation is a great way to envision designs. When the designs get larger, a well written LabVIEW program is a thing of art. Now, when I write other languages, I see the LabVIEW constructs and am able to write well architected text code as a result. Sadly, I spent a good 20 years writing total garbage and thought I was clever because I could make a pile of spaghetti somehow perform the desired task, or at least something close to the desired task. Sometimes I would modify my design so as to make convenient use of the pile of noodles…limitations of programming, I thought…lol

Here is a teaser about LabVIEW and arduino: You don’t need a multifunction I/O board to acquire data in LabVIEW. Arduino gets it done nicely for what, $10? Analog in, analog out, digital in, digital out, couters, timers, and even more! Control these things right from your computer screen. Just think of the stuff you can control by computer like this!!!