Introduction to NI DAQ and ICT

PC-Based Data AcQuisition (DAQ)

DAQ: Measurement or generation of a physical phenomena by a PC

Output: Write to
an actuator (eg.
LED, motor)

Input: Read
from a sensor
(eg. switch)

NI DAQ Devices
Depending on application specifications, NI offers wide variety of

DAQ devices.
DAQ devices: internal or external (e.g. PCI, USB, Firewire, etc.)

NI USB-6501:
Low Cost USB Digital I/O Device
24 digital I/O lines
One 32-bit counter

USB 2.0 bus interface

TTL Logic Level (i.e. 0v and +5v)

NI DAQ Terminology
Input (to DAQ):read from a sensor (e.g. a switch, thermometer, etc.)

(signal measurement).
Output (from DAQ):write to an actuator (e.g. an

LED, a motor, etc.) (signal generation).

DAQ channel: a physical channel/line on the DAQ

device.
DAQ port: collection of 4 or 8 channels/lines on

the DAQ device.

Channel or Line

DAQ task: collection of one or more channels/lines

(or ports) with specific timing, triggering, and other

properties, which is used as either input or output.

NI-MAX Configurations
National Instrument Measurement & Automation EXplorer

Example 1
Set the NI-MAX Configurations based on the ICT

setup sensors and actuators.

Example 2
Use the START button, to turn on/off a LED on a

Graphical User Interface (GUI) in LabVIEW.

NI-DAQmxPalette contains driver VIs for NI DAQ hardware.
They can be adapted to different functionalities, e.g. digital I/O or analog I/O.

Exercise 1
Local Variable definition and usage
Complete the previous program so the START

button can turn the belt conveyor ON/OFF.

Shift Registers in LabVIEW

You can save a variable through a loop and use it

in the next iteration.

Final Project Description

1.

Development of an efficient, robust, fully automated controller for the ICT

setup to assemble widgets.

2.

Development of a graphical user interface to allow the following:

a.
b.
c.
d.

A real-time snapshot indicating what sensors and actuators are

activate/deactivated at all times.
The number of widgets processed during the operation.
The efficiency of the system.
A pause button to allow the system to halt operation.

3.

A means of system recovery in the case of a power loss.

4.

No more than 5 plastic pegs should be in the hopper, during the operation.

5.

Clear and practical documentation including Introduction, System overview,

Algorithms and Flowcharts, and Summary and conclusion.

6.

Open source code.

Exercise 2
Create an eye-pleasing GUI for manual I/O
The GUI should have a sub-panel allowing a human operator to turn

on and off each actuator on ICT.

Also, the same GUI should have another sub-panel will sense the

output of each sensor on the assembly and display it on the GUI.

Label each LED and switch according to its name.