LabVIEW in a Box!

[swatts]

Hello Product Marketers!

I've been busy this year packaging LabVIEW up with Linux Virtual Machines and Cheap Single Board Computers (SBCs).

What I want, is to reduce the installation of a LabVIEW development system and all required hardware drivers to be reduced to watching 1 progress bar. 

We've got close, using Virtual Machine OVA instances and proved the concept. This will be improved in future versions of the CTI.

Next I wanted to look at running LabVIEW on affordable hardware. My target is a supply LabVIEW Community Edition loaded on a Single Board Computer (SBC) for less than $150 in parts. I call this LabVIEW in a box. As a bonus I want it have on-board access to configurable inputs and outputs to allow for demonstrations and training with actual measurements and control outputs.

The basis for the this is the Radxa X4. I want to have a disk image available that will load Linux, LabVIEW etc onto this SBC with all drivers, supporting software and permissions set up.

Current Estimated Cost

Radxa X4 - £61

Toshiba(Kioxia) 256GB PCIe NVMe 2230 SSD (KBG40ZNS256G) (OEM), 30mm, Solid State Drive - £25

Heatsink - £20

I also spent about £15 on a HDMI adapter and £7 on a GPIO adapter (called a Cobbler for some reason, I'm assuming it's from the term "to cobble something together")

So the total is £128 or $166 - but I think this can be improved upon. I would like to test the board with passive cooling at some point.

So what is the point and what do I want to use this for...

One of the issues with LabVIEW and Linux is that there are question marks against certain pieces of hardware and whether they work or not. At SSDC we get round that by simplifying and standardising the hardware we specify. Essentially to LAN based or Serial port based.

It would be nice to increase this list of working hardware, so if I load my image onto a SBC I know what hardware has been tested successfully against it. This would remove a lot of the risk associated with using an unfamiliar platform. I would like to have a list of hardware tested with  particular image.

1) Training

A student could take away all the training course materials, the development environment and examples as part of the course. This will remove a barrier for continued experimenting. For course providers there's a considerable cost in transporting training equipment around and organising the logistics. This would simplify this entire process.

My plan is to offer training and give away the systems as part of the course materials. I think this would be a strong value add.

2) Commercial Projects

This small inexpensive SBCs can change the way we architect systems and open up new markets. Think of a system of systems rather than an expensive monolithic centralised computer or chassis. This would reduce wiring lengths, improving signal integrity. I'm also very interested in box type instruments. It's very much easier to provide a system in a box than a computer with software on it these days.

3) Hobby Projects

These are now at Raspberry Pi like prices. Giving hobbyists full access to all of 64bit LabVIEW. With the work we've been doing on Pico and Arduino microcontrollers we can build a very capable system.

4) Academic Kits

We can build course specific images that just need hardware plugging in. The systems are affordable enough to allow students to purchase them and work away from the classroom..

I think it would be nice to have an NI certified distro, with images for approved SBCs...

Anyways, that's what I'm working on currently and yet another reason I'm neglecting my blogging duties!

Lots of Love

[cbutcher]

Steve posts again with the "I'd kudo it twice if I could" type material... In particular, thank you for doing this "in the open", as it were, and sharing the progress you make with the world 🙂 

[izWERg]

Steve, could you please share the results of your research on the best hardware platform for embedded projects? Is the Radxa X4 a better solution than the LattePanda?

[swatts]

I'm going to give you a big "It Depends..."

The Radxa X4 is easily half the price with similar specifications...

The LattePanda comes with an IPS screen ribbon connector (which is useful)

The X4 is smaller (this is both an advantage and a disadvantage in that the N100 CPU can run hot so a larger board helps, but sometimes small is the thing you need)

The LattePanda comes with an Arduino Leonardo on-board, the X4 a Rpi 2040 - I have firmware that works OK with both.

For my LabVIEW in a box concept I would favour the X4 and that is all to do with cost. The form factor is quite neat for this too.. it will sit on a robot chassis better than the LattePanda.

For embedded projects I would probably favour the LattePanda as it sits a bit flatter. The IPS connector for a screen saves dealing with bulky HDMI connectors in enclosed spaces too.

Software wise they are pretty much the same.

As with all things design, better is a difficult thing to quantify well.