Version 15.0.0
June 2015
This file contains important information about the LabVIEW 2015 Robotics Module, including installation instructions and known issues. This file also contains information about using the LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit and LabVIEW Robotics Software Bundle.
Recommended Device Drivers for Robotics
Product Security and Critical Updates
LabVIEW Robotics Module Runtime
Automating the Installation of NI Products
How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x
NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003
The LabVIEW Robotics Module is a software package that allows you to develop robotics applications using LabVIEW. The Robotics Module provides robotics-related algorithms, drivers that allow you to control certain sensors, hardware and software setup wizards, and example VIs that demonstrate robotics concepts.
The LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit gives you access to the products you need to program the robot in your Starter Kit package. The LabVIEW Robotics Software Bundle gives you access to the LabVIEW Robotics Module and many other products in the LabVIEW platform.
In addition to the system requirements for the LabVIEW Development System, the Robotics Module has the following requirements:
Refer to the LabVIEW Readme for additional system requirements and supported operating systems for LabVIEW 2015.
You can install all of your LabVIEW products—including the Robotics Module, Robotics Starter Kit, and Robotics Software Bundle—using the LabVIEW 2015 Platform media. Refer to the LabVIEW Installation Guide on the LabVIEW Platform media for installation instructions and system requirements.
To request additional LabVIEW Platform media, refer to the National Instruments website.
Note If you purchased this product with an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle, use the installation media that shipped with your purchase to install this product.
Note Some Robotics Module features, such as the Robotics Project Wizard, Robotics Hardware Setup Wizard, and many examples, require additional National Instruments software, such as the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, LabVIEW FPGA Module, and NI-RIO drivers. If you purchased the Robotics Starter Kit or Robotics Software Bundle, you have access to this software. If you purchased just the Robotics Module, select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI License Manager to launch the NI License Manager, which displays the software for which you have access.
If you purchase the Robotics Starter Kit or Robotics Software Bundle, you need to install and configure National Instruments hardware after you install the device drivers. If you use an NI Single-Board RIO or CompactRIO product, you can use the Robotics Hardware Setup Wizard, which launches after you install the Robotics Starter Kit or Robotics Software Bundle and restart the computer, to configure the target. In the Robotics Hardware Setup Wizard, complete the instructions that appear on the screen to detect RT targets in the system and configure a target for use. You also can select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»LabVIEW Robotics»Robotics Hardware Setup to launch the Robotics Hardware Setup Wizard.
If you use another type of target, use the NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) to detect, configure, and test an RT target. Launch MAX by selecting Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI MAX or by double-clicking the NI MAX icon on the desktop.
Refer to the installation instructions included with your device for additional information about installing and configuring your National Instruments device.
You must purchase a Robotics Module Run-Time License for each target machine not produced by National Instruments onto which you want to install a robotics application. Refer to the National Instruments website for more information about Robotics Module run-time licensing. Contact a National Instruments sales representative or visit ni.com to purchase run-time licenses.
Note Other products you use to develop robotics applications also might require run-time licenses. Refer to the documentation for those products for information about purchasing run-time licenses.
The Robotics Starter Kit contains the following products, which you can evaluate for one year. When your evaluation period ends, you can purchase the Robotics Software Bundle which gives you access to the Robotics Module and many other products in the LabVIEW platform, including the products in the Robotics Starter Kit. Refer to the product readmes for information about each product, including installation and activation instructions, known issues, and bug fixes.
Note The Robotics Starter Kit contains compilation tools for Virtex5 and newer devices, such as the Starter Kit hardware target. The Robotics Starter Kit installer also installs NI-RIO which includes NI-RIO drivers and supports for the Starter Kit hardware target.
The Robotics Software Bundle contains the following products. Refer to the product readmes for information about each product, including installation and activation instructions, known issues, and bug fixes.
Note The Robotics Software Bundle also contains compilation tools for Virtex5 and newer devices.
National Instruments recommends you install the device drivers under the following categories from the NI Device Drivers media for use in programming common robotics applications.
Note When an item in the Features tree of the NI Device Drivers media allows you to choose support for multiple versions of LabVIEW, select support for LabVIEW 2015.
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.
The Robotics Module includes the LabVIEW Robotics Module Runtime. The Robotics Module Runtime allows you to build installers to distribute stand-alone applications, shared libraries, and source distributions to a computer that does not have the LabVIEW Development System or the Robotics Module. When you build an installer, add the Robotics Module Runtime and the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine to the installer build.
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the National Instruments website for an up-to-date list of known issues in the Robotics Module.
Refer to the LabVIEW Help, accessible by selecting Help»LabVIEW Help from LabVIEW, for information about the Robotics Module.
Refer to the LabVIEW Robotics Starter Kit Safety Guide (StarterKit_Safety_Guide.pdf in the labview\readme directory) for important information about protecting yourself from injury and protecting the Starter Kit hardware from damage.
Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW to launch the NI Example Finder. LabVIEW examples for the Robotics Module are located in the labview\examples\robotics directory. You can modify an example VI to fit an application, or you can copy and paste from one or more examples into a VI that you create.
Refer to the Robotics Module»Reusing Robotics Examples topic on the Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help for information about adapting LabVIEW project-based examples that include hardware targets to fit a different target you want to use.
Some robotics examples require additional National Instruments software, such as the LabVIEW FPGA Module, Control Design and Simulation Module, or Vision Development Module. In the NI Example Finder, select an example and refer to the Information section for a list of software you must install to run the example.
Note (Windows 7/Vista) When you open an FPGA VI in some LabVIEW project-based examples, the VI appears to have unsaved changes because the default LabVIEW font on Windows 7 and Vista differs from the default font on Windows XP. LabVIEW prompts you to save these cosmetic changes to the VI, which requires you to recompile the FPGA VI. If the VI has no other changes, you can save and recompile the VI to avoid this unsaved state when you open the FPGA VI in the future.
You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:
When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher.
NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.
Note NI MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8.x. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher.
For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary:
| Current Application | Icon Location | Pin to Action |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 8.x Desktop | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to Taskbar |
| Windows 8.x Desktop | Start screen | Right-click application and select Pin to Start |
| Windows 8.x Start screen | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen |
If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8.0) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).
For more information about NI support for Windows 8.x, visit ni.com/windows8.
National Instruments LabVIEW Robotics Module will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2016. Versions of the Robotics Module that ship after July 1, 2016 will not install or run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
| Product | Info Code |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | lifecycle |
| LabWindows™/CVI™ | cvi_lifecycle |
| Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
| TestStand | tslcp |
| DIAdem | ddlcp |
| SignalExpress | selcp |
| VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
Copyright
© 2009–2015 National Instruments. All rights reserved.
Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.
National Instruments respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.
End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices
You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:
U.S. Government Restricted Rights
If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.
IVI Foundation Copyright Notice
Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.
The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
Trademarks
Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on National Instruments trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
Patents
For patents covering the National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
375330A-01