This document summarizes a presentation about demonstrating the RTI DDS Toolkit for LabVIEW. It discusses what LabVIEW is and why it is used, provides an overview of the RTI DDS Toolkit for LabVIEW product, and demonstrates how to publish shapes data from a LabVIEW program to control a Lego Mindstorms EV3 robot using DDS. The implementation details and current limitations of the toolkit are also outlined.

1. DDS
Cluster
of
Interest:
Demo
of
RTI
DDS
Toolkit
for
LabVIEW
Tim
Owen
EMEA
TAM,
RTI

2. Tim
Owen
–
RTI
EMEA
TAM
• Technical
Account
Manager
for
RTI
• Based
in
RTI
EMEA
Office
(Milton
Keynes)
• Main
Interface
for
Channel
/
Distributors
• Experience
in
embedded
systems,
SoIware
Defined
Radio
and
DSP
for
over
20
years
• Worked
at
RTI
for
2½
years

3. LabVIEW
• Anyone
know
what
it
is?
• Anyone
here
currently
using
it?
– Personally
or
as
a
Company?
– How
are
you
using
it?
– Why
do
you
use
it
–
what’s
the
advantage(s)?

4. So,
what
is
LabVIEW?
• A
graphical
programming
plaWorm
• Blocks
are
“funcYons”
or
logic
statements
(while
loops)
• Data-­‐driven
programming:
– A
block
(piece
of
code)
is
executed
as
soon
as
all
its
inputs
are
available.
– All
blocks
with
their
inputs
available
at
the
same
Yme
will
be
run
in
parallel
• Provides
hugely
accelerated
producYvity
– Rapid
Prototyping
– Scalability

5. So,
what
is
LabVIEW?
(cont.)
• Used
extensively
in
Test
Measurement/Control
Apps
– Also
Avionics,
Comms,
Radar,
AutomoYve,
Oil
&
Gas
• Solves
some
architectural
system
issues
– NI
provides
modular
scalable
hardware
(PXI
&
CRIO
based)
–
Signal
Analysis
&
Analog
I/O
– Scales
from
design
to
test
and
from
small
to
large
systems.
• Huge
ecosystem
(Alliance
Partners)
and
Customer
Base!

6. So,
what
is
LabVIEW?
(cont.)
• Every
LabVIEW
applicaYon
(Virtual
Instrument
or
VI)
consists
of
block
diagram
(behaviour
descripYon)
and
“Front
Panel”
for
Control
I/O
– Using
Drag
‘n’
drop
building
blocks
• `

7. Why
use
DDS
and
LabVIEW?
• Create
DDS
applicaYons
using
graphical
drag
‘n’
drop
blocks
in
LabVIEW
–
zero
coding
!!
• Easily
interfaces
the
“contained”
LabVIEW
world
(VIs)
to
the
external
world
– Using
the
DDS
tenets
we
all
know
and
love!
J
– Enables
integraYon
with
Java,
C/C++,
C#
apps
• Use
the
RTI
DDS
Toolkit
for
LabVIEW
product
– Developed
and
maintained
by
RTI
• Opens
new
markets
and
possibiliYes
for
DDS
– Extensively
used
throughout
the
World
• Huge
Ecosystem
&
Customer
base

9. RTI
DDS
Toolkit
for
LabVIEW
10/22/14
©
2012
RTI
•
COMPANY
CONFIDENTIAL
9

10. What
is
this
LabVIEW
DDS
Toolkit
demo?
• Show
a
Shapes
Publisher
in
LabVIEW
• Control
a
Lego
Mindstorm
EV3
Robot
– Using
standalone
Java
DDS
ApplicaYon
(Laptop)
– Interfacing
to
LabVIEW
environment
using
the
“RTI
DDS
Toolkit
for
LabVIEW”
Add-­‐on
– Lego
Mindstorm
support
for
LabVIEW
provided
by
NI

11. ImplementaYon
Details
• Cluster
Equivalent
IDL
struct
MyTypeName{
string<1024>
Text;
//@key
long
I32_Num;
long
long
I64_Num;
unsigned
short
U16_Num;
float[4]
Sgl_Array;
innerclusterType
innercluster;
};
struct
superinnerClusterType{
double
Dbl_Num;
ultrainnerClusterType
ultrainnerCluster;
};
struct
ultrainnerClusterType{
short[2]
I16_Array;
};
struct
innerclusterType{
float
Sgl_Num;
boolean
Boolean;
superinnerClusterType
superinnerCluster;
};

12. What
is
this
LabVIEW
DDS
Toolkit
demo?
(cont.)
• Shapes
Publisher

13. NxT
What
is
this
LabVIEW
DDS
Toolkit
demo?
(cont.)
EV3
naYve
comms
via
Bluetooth
(not
DDS)
Java
GUI
ApplicaBon
that
uses
DDS
to
send
commands
and
display
received
output
from
the
EV3
NI
Environment
Apps
generated
in
LabVIEW
DDS
enabled
LabView
(VI)
ApplicaYon
that
reads
/
writes
data
across
the
EV3
link
• Control
a
Lego
Mindstorm
EV3
Robot

14. LimitaYons
• Currently
32-­‐bit
Windows
• FuncYonality
…
– Reading
by
polling
only
– Reduce
supported
data
types
• Only
one
top-­‐level
key.
– LabVIEW
imposed
constraints
• For
instance,
no
complex-­‐type
arrays.

15. Product
Roadmap
• Feedback
about
API
– Is
current
API
enough
for
most
use
cases?
• LabVIEW
RT
– VxWorks
porYng
for
CompactRIO
board
• Reading
without
polling
– Integrate
LabVIEW
Events?
– Waitsets?

16. What’s
next
?
• Try
it!
• LabVIEW
available
as
free
45-­‐day
trial
– hup://www.ni.com/download-­‐labview
• Connext
Professional
as
free
30-­‐day
trial
– If
you
don’t
already
have
it!
hup://www.rY.com/downloads/index.html
• Where
can
I
get
the
RTI
DDS
Toolkit
Add-­‐on?
– Developed
and
maintained
by
RTI
– Available
through
NI
only
(for
Windows
only)
• Via
the
VIPM
in
LabVIEW
– It’s
Free
–
even
for
a
permanent
license
!!!
J