LabVIEW 2018 Robotics Module Readme

March 2018


This file contains important information about the LabVIEW 2018 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.


Overview

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

Installation Instructions

Recommended Device Drivers for Robotics

Product Security and Critical Updates

LabVIEW Robotics Module Runtime

Known Issues

Accessing the Help

Finding Examples

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

Legal Information


Overview

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 Robotics Module and many other products in the LabVIEW platform.


System Requirements

In addition to the system requirements for the LabVIEW Development System, the Robotics Module has the following requirements:


  • LabVIEW 2018 Full or Professional Development System
  • At least 700 MB of disk space

Refer to the LabVIEW Readme for additional system requirements and supported operating systems for LabVIEW 2018.


Supported Operating Systems

The Robotics Module supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 10 (version 1709)/8.11/7 SP12
  • Windows Server 2012 R21
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP12

1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.


2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1, Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.


Note  In 2016 the LabVIEW Robotics Module dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and installations of Windows 7 without any service packs. The LabVIEW 2018 Robotics Module will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use the LabVIEW 2018 Robotics Module to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing the LabVIEW 2018 Robotics Module, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.


For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, refer to KB 79UC78LS, Why Does My NI ADE Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Windows Server 2003?.


Note  Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code PAESupport.


Installation Instructions

You can install all of your LabVIEW products—including the Robotics Module, Robotics Starter Kit, and Robotics Software Bundle—using the LabVIEW 2018 Platform media.


To request additional LabVIEW Platform media, refer to the NI 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 NI 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.


Installing Hardware

If you purchase the Robotics Starter Kit or Robotics Software Bundle, you need to install and configure NI 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 (NI 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 NI device.


Purchasing Robotics Module Run-Time Licenses

You must purchase a Robotics Module Run-Time License for each target machine not produced by NI onto which you want to install a robotics application. Refer to the NI website for more information about Robotics Module run-time licensing. Contact an NI 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.


Products in the Robotics Starter Kit

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.


  • LabVIEW Development System
  • Control Design and Simulation Module
  • FPGA Module
  • MathScript RT Module
  • Real-Time Module
  • Robotics Module
  • Vision Development Module

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.


Products in the Robotics Software Bundle

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.


  • LabVIEW Development System
  • Control Design and Simulation Module
    • Control Design Assistant
  • FPGA Module
  • MathScript RT Module
  • SoftMotion Module
  • Real-Time Module
  • Robotics Module
  • Statechart Module
  • Vision Development Module

Note  The Robotics Software Bundle also contains compilation tools for Virtex5 and newer devices.


Recommended Device Drivers for Robotics

NI recommends that 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 2018.


  • Data Acquisition
    • NI-DAQmx
  • Instrument Control
  • Reconfigurable I/O
  • Motion
  • Vision Acquisition Software
  • Distributed I/O
  • Real-Time and Embedded
  • NI I/O Trace
  • NI Measurement & Automation Explorer

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.


LabVIEW Robotics Module Runtime

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.


Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI website for an up-to-date list of known issues in the Robotics Module.


Accessing the Help

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.


Finding Examples

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 NI 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.


Automating the Installation of NI Products

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.


If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.6.2, 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 4.6.2 separately before you install NI software.


For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, 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. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.



Legal Information

Copyright


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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:


  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

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.


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Patents


For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.


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