Real-World Robotics

Did you know that the robots you create with LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® NXT are actually very similar to robots used in the real world? Robots are used extensively to build automobiles, airplanes, ships, and unmanned vehicles that can be used to explore difficult and dangerous environments such as the ocean floor or caves. Real-world robots not only have a central computer, motors and sensors, and a communication tool to talk with other devices much like the NXT robots, but they also are controlled using programming software.

In fact, LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT software is an optimized version of the professional NI LabVIEW graphical programming software used by scientists and engineers worldwide to design, control, and test consumer products and systems such as MP3 and DVD players, cell phones, and vehicle air bag safety systems.

Engineers, researchers, and educators around the world use LabVIEW software and graphical system design to create robotics applications from academic robots to autonomous vehicles and fixed-base industrial robots. Learn more about these robotics applications.

Real-World Examples

Did You Know LabVIEW Can Drive a Car?
Team Victor Tango, a collaboration between Virginia Tech and TORC Technologies, used LabVIEW software and NI CompactRIO hardware to win third place at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge.

Development of a Fully Autonomous Humanoid Robot for Novel Locomotion Research
Virginia Tech developed a robotic system to act as a research platform for studies on novel locomotion and to serve as the first U.S. entry into RoboCup, a soccer competition for autonomous robots.

Using Compact FieldPoint for Underwater Crawler Control and Data Acquisition
The National Institute of Ocean Technology built a data acquisition and control system for an underwater crawler that can operate on the seabed up to a depth of 600 m.

View more real-world LabVIEW examples