Getting Started with Arduino and LabVIEW Community Edition
4 Steps to Get You Going
These tutorials are designed to introduce you to the core concepts needed for initial product setup.
Before You Begin
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Accessories
- USB cable
Get an introduction to the LabVIEW Community edition and how you can use it with popular hobbyist hardware.
Download and Install
Step 1.
During this process, you will be installing and activating the following software and drivers on your development computer:
- LabVIEW Community Edition
- Download LabVIEW Community Edition here.
- Follow the installer prompts to complete the software installation. In order to use the Arduino Uno device with LabVIEW, you need the LINX toolkit. This toolkit is automatically installed with LabVIEW Community Edition.
- You may be prompted to restart.
Activate and Register
Step 2.
- After the installation is complete, the Activation Wizard opens automatically.
- When you are prompted, click LOG IN TO ACTIVATE.
- Enter your NI User Account credentials and click LOG IN.
All your unlicensed products are listed in then Activate Software window.
- Select Check my account for licenses and click Activate.
If the Check my account for licenses method does not successfully activate your software, you can use your serial number to activate your software. , instead. Select Enter a serial number in the Activate Software window, enter your serial number for each product, then click Activate. Learn how to find your software serial number.
- After the licenses associated with your account are verified successfully, click the Finish button to complete activation.
This process registers your software to you. After registering your software, you can access support and online training.
- If you're working offline or neither of these methods work, try one of these alternative methods for activating NI software:
- Offline Activation --- If you are activating your software on an offline machine, visit the NI Product Activation page and fill out the Activation Code Generation Form. Notice that you will need a serial number and computer ID to complete this process. You can find your computer ID in the Activation Wizard or using the NI License Manager.
- Volume or Enterprise License Activation --- If you have a Volume License or Enterprise Agreement, your software is licensed using a license server. Contact the software administrator for your company for more information.
- Academic Volume License Activation --- If you are a student using an Academic Volume License, you will receive one or more serial numbers that can be used to license and activate your NI software. You can install software individually on a computer, and you will need to activate the software on each computer. For more information about deploying NI software to multiple machines, refer to the Academic Volume License Administrator Resources
- Restart your computer, if prompted to do so.
You've now installed the LabVIEW software that you'll need for your PXI Express device.
Configure the Hardware
Step 3.
The next step is to physically connect and set up your hardware. Watch the video or follow the written instructions to see how this is done.
Use these written instructions to follow along with the video.
- Connect the Arduino Uno to your computer with a USB cable. The USB cable is used both to power the Arduino Uno and to provide communication with your computer.
- Launch LabVIEW Community Edition and open the Firmware Wizard from Tools»MakerHub»LINX»LINX Firmware Wizard.
- On the first page of the wizard make sure the pulldowns are set to Arduino, Arduino Uno, and Serial / USB. Click Next
- Select the com port associated with your Arduino Uno. Click Next
- The pulldowns on this page should be set to LINX - Serial / USB and Pre-Built Firmware. Press Next.
- This process re-images the Arduino Uno firmware, note the TX and RX LEDs on the Arduino Uno will light up while the imaging is in progress.
- Click Finish to close the wizard.
Explore an Example
Step 4.
Now you are ready to create your first application. Watch the video or follow the written instructions to see how this is done.
Use these written instructions to follow along with the video.
You are ready to build your first example. This application will control the state of a digital output on your Arduino Uno from the LabVIEW VI running on your computer.
Find an Example
- Connect your Arduino Uno to your computer with a USB cable. This provides both power to the Arduino Uno and the communication path for the LabVIEW Community Edition.
- Launch LabVIEW, go to the Help menu, and select Find Examples to launch the Example Finder.
- Go to the Search Tab, type in LINX, and hit enter. You will see a list of LINX compatible examples on the right.
- Double click the the LINX - Blink (Simple).vi to load the example.
- Close the Example Finder now.
Run the Example
- You will see some controls and indicators on the the Front Panel of the example.
- Select the communication port connected to your Arduino Uno.
- The Arduino Uno already has a built-in LED on digital output 13. Set the digital line control on the front panel to 13.
- Press the Run Button in the LabVIEW menu bar to start the execution of your VI.
- Change the state of the LED by pressing the button on the right. Note how the physical LED changes to match the state of the button. That's it, you've run your first example. Press the stop button on the lower right to stop the VI.
Look at the Code
- Look at the block diagram, which is the code for the VI. You can show the block diagram by going to the Window Menu item and selecting Show Block Diagram.
- The LINX toolkit provides a common API for the supported devices. The common pattern is an open call, followed by some actions, and a close call. Here you can see the open is configured for serial communication with the arduino, the digital output is being written over and over again in a loop, and when the user presses the stop button the loop exits and the communication channel is closed.
Using Other Digital Lines
- There is a simple LED schematic on the front panel of the VI that you can use to wire LEDs to the other lines on the Arduino Uno.
- Once you wire the LED to a specific pin, change the front panel control to match the DIO line. Rerun the VI. Refer to the help for a list of supported lines and pinout information.
That's it, you've run your first Arduino Uno example. Feel free to explore the other examples or take on writing your own VI.
Congratulations! You have installed your software, configured your hardware, created a basic application, and learned the basics of LabVIEW.
Where to Go Next
Resources
To continue learning about using LabVIEW Community Edition, NI provides you with a number of options.
Learn More About Programming in LabVIEW
Browse example code to use as a starting point then modify it to fit your needs.
Finding Example VIs in LabVIEW
LabVIEW Example Code Repository
Explore the LabVIEW environment, dataflow programming, and common LabVIEW development techniques.
Learn to use common design patterns to successfully implement and distribute LabVIEW applications for research, engineering, and testing environments.
Explore Learning Resources
Explore these additional learning resources to continue building your LabVIEW Community Edition skills.
Explore community contributed code examples
Browse Product Documentation
Access detailed procedures, specifications, programming syntax, and more.
Arduino Hardware and Connection Diagrams
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