National Instruments, a global leader in virtual instrumentation, recently announced the NI LabVIEW Toolkit for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT. With the new toolkit, LabVIEW users can create and download VIs to operate and control the MINDSTORMS NXT robotics platform. Third-party software and hardware developers also can use the toolkit to create native blocks for MINDSTORMS NXT software. MINDSTORMS NXT, the next generation of the popular LEGO robotics invention system, became available earlier this month and includes a new programming environment, custom developed by NI and powered by LabVIEW.
The LEGO Group and National Instruments worked together to develop the new MINDSTORMS NXT software that includes a simple drag-and-drop, graphical interface optimised for the target MINDSTORMS NXT consumer - children 10 to 14 years old. With the new LabVIEW toolkit, more advanced MINDSTORMS NXT users, including adults, students and secondary school and university educators, now can program the NXT using advanced graphical programming tools available in LabVIEW. 2006 marks 20 years of LabVIEW innovation, and this toolkit continues its evolution by making LabVIEW accessible and intuitive enough for an audience it has never before engaged - children.
"The availability of the LabVIEW Toolkit for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT is critical for encouraging the development of additional tools for the system," said Soren Lund, director of LEGO MINDSTORMS. "One of the key reasons for working with National Instruments to develop the NXT software was the ability for third-party developers to use LabVIEW to create add-on software blocks for our software. In addition, experienced MINDSTORMS users can easily migrate from the graphical drag-and-drop environment of MINDSTORMS NXT to the more advanced graphical programming in LabVIEW. Providing the tools advanced users need to take our system to the extreme is what made the legacy MINDSTORMS platform a huge success, and the NI toolkit furthers that tradition."
With the toolkit, users can also interact with the NXT robot while a program is running. By dropping a LabVIEW control, the toolkit can send data to the robot and influence the currently executing program. By dropping an indicator, the value at that point in the program is sent back to the PC and viewed in a regular LabVIEW front panel.
Developers of third-party sensors and other hardware add-ons for MINDSTORMS NXT can use LabVIEW to create native blocks that program and control their hardware for use in MINDSTORMS NXT software. For example, HiTechnic Products developed the Digital Compass Sensor for MINDSTORMS NXT and is currently using the new LabVIEW toolkit to create blocks for this and other sensors.
"The LabVIEW Toolkit for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT makes customising add-ons for the NXT extremely easy and encourages users to expand the MINDSTORMS experience," said John Barnes, president of HiTechnic. "This type of customer-driven functionality will extend and enhance the experience of MINDSTORMS fans of all ages."
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