Embedded Control and

Monitoring Using LabVIEW

Course
The Embedded Control and Monitoring Using LabVIEW Course provides hands-on
training for designing, prototyping, and deploying a reliable embedded control and
monitoring application. At the end of the course, you will be able to translate your
embedded system requirements into a scalable software architecture, choose
appropriate methods for inter-process and network-based communication, design
your real-time application for reliability, and efficiently deploy and replicate your
embedded system.

Course Details:
DURATION
▪ Instructor-led Classroom: Five (5) Days
AUDIENCE
▪ Users preparing to develop embedded control and monitoring applications using the
LabVIEW Real-Time Module and LabVIEW FPGA Module with CompactRIO, PXI, or
multifunction I/O hardware
▪ Users who need the performance and reliability of real-time (RT) and FPGA hardware
targets
PREREQUISITES
▪ LabVIEW Core 1 Course and LabVIEW Core 2 Course or equivalent experience
NI PRODUCTS USED
▪ LabVIEW
▪ LabVIEW FPGA Module
▪ LabVIEW Real-Time Module
▪ CompactRIO Controller
▪ C Series analog input, analog output, temperature input, and digital modules

After attending this course, you will be able to:

▪ Design, prototype, and deploy an embedded control and monitoring application
▪ Acquire and generate analog and digital signals, control timing, and implement
signal processing on RT and FPGA
▪ Implement functionality on the FPGA for maximum performance and reliability
using the LabVIEW FPGA Module
▪ Implement additional functionality on the RT target for logging, network
communication, system health monitoring, and reliability using the LabVIEW Real-
Time Module
▪ Implement a human machine interface (HMI) on the PC
▪ Communicate data between the FPGA, RT target, and PC
▪ Debug, benchmark, and test your application
▪ Deploy your application to multiple systems

Embedded Control and Monitoring Using

LabVIEW Course Outline
Lesson Overview Topics

▪ Embedded control and

This lesson introduces monitoring system
Introduction to embedded control and overview
Embedded monitoring systems using ▪ FPGA
Control and LabVIEW. You learn about ▪ Real-time processor
Monitoring the FPGA, real-time, and HMI ▪ HMI
components of the system. ▪ Example applications

▪ Setup hardware and

PC
This lesson describes how to ▪ Configure RT system
setup real-time hardware and settings and software
Configuring
software. You receive hands- ▪ Configure network
Your Hardware
on experience in configuring a settings
CompactRIO RT system. ▪ Configure RT target
from web browser

▪ Identify I/O and I/O

rate requirements
▪ Identify processes
This lesson walks through a ▪ Identify process
Identifying variety of considerations when timing
Application designing and developing an ▪ Identify data transfer
Requirements embedded control and types
monitoring application. ▪ Identify performance
and reliability
requirements
 ▪ Overview of diagrams
▪ Creating a
communication
This lesson describes how to diagram
Documenting use and create different types ▪ Typical embedded
Your Design of diagrams to document your control & monitoring
system design diagrams
▪ Additional
documentation

▪ Configuring RT
targets through the
LabVIEW Project
This lesson describes how to
▪ Accessing I/O using
Accessing Your access the inputs and outputs
driver APIs or Scan
I/O in LabVIEW of your RT target in your
Engine
application
▪ Accessing I/O from
FPGA

In this lesson, you learn how to

program the FPGA using the
LabVIEW FPGA Module. You
gain a high-level
understanding of how logic is ▪ Developing the FPGA
implemented on the FPGA and VI
how LabVIEW code is ▪ Simulating the FPGA
Programming
translated and compiled into VI
Using LabVIEW
FPGA hardware. After you ▪ Compiling the FPGA
FPGA
develop an FPGA VI, you test, VI
debug, compile and then ▪ Basic optimizations
execute on an FPGA target.
You examine different reports
generated during compilation
and learn techniques to
optimize your code for size.

▪ Using FPGA I/O

In this lesson, you learn how to
▪ Handling FPGA I/O
add FPGA I/O to your
errors
LabVIEW project and access it
Using FPGA I/O ▪ Implementing loop
on the block diagram using
and Timing execution rates
FPGA I/O Nodes. You also
▪ Synchronizing C
learn how to set FPGA loop
Series Multifunction
rates, add delays between
I/O Modules
 events, and benchmark your ▪ Creating delays
FPGA code. between events
▪ Measuring time
between events
▪ Benchmarking loop
periods

▪ Using fixed-point data

types
▪ Using single-precision
floating-point
In this lesson, you learn a
▪ Performing FPGA
Signal Processing variety of ways to process your
math and analysis
signals in an FPGA VI.
▪ Integrating third-party
intellectual property
(IP)

In this lesson, you learn how to

transfer data between multiple ▪ Transferring latest
loops on your FPGA VI. You data (tag)
Inter-Process examine data sharing methods ▪ Transferring buffered
Communication including variables, memory data (stream, message)
in FPGA items, register items, and ▪ Comparing data
FPGA FIFOs. You learn the sharing methods
benefits of each technique and
when each should be used.

▪ Programmatically
communicating with
the FPGA from RT
▪ Deploying an FPGA
VI
▪ Transferring latest
Communicating In this lesson, you learn how to
data (tag)
Between the transfer data between your
▪ Transferring buffered
FPGA and RT FPGA VI and RT VI.
data (stream, message)
▪ Synchronizing the
host VI and FPGA VI
▪ Implementing an
FPGA watchdog
 ▪ When should you
optimize?
▪ Optimization
techniques for FPGA
size
▪ Optimization
techniques for FPGA
In this lesson, you learn how to
speed/throughput
Optimizing use techniques to optimize for
▪ Executing code in
FPGA Code speed or FPGA size if
Single-Cycle Timed
necessary
Loops (SCTL)
▪ Pipelining
▪ Four-wire
handshaking
▪ LabVIEW FPGA next
steps

▪ Sharing data between

deterministic and non-
This lesson describes how to
deterministic
Programming design the real-time VI. You
processes
Using LabVIEW learn about the setting
▪ Sharing data between
Real-Time priorities and improve the
non-deterministic
determinism of an application.
processes.

▪ Sharing data between

deterministic and non-
deterministic
Inter-Process This lesson describes how to
processes
Communication transfer data between multiple
▪ Sharing data between
in RT loops on your RT VI.
non-deterministic
processes.

This lesson describes how to ▪ Implementing network

communicate between the RT communication
target and PC. You also learn ▪ Transferring latest
Communicating
about various communication values (tag)
Between RT
techniques such as network- ▪ Transferring buffered
Target and PC
published shared variables, values (stream,
network streams, TCP, UDP, message)
and reference libraries.
 This lesson discusses ▪ Impacts of memory
Managing
techniques to manage memory usage
Memory and
properly and monitor the ▪ Memory management
Monitoring
health of the embedded ▪ System monitoring
System Health
system.

▪ Safe shutdown
▪ Specific and central
This lesson discusses
error handling
techniques to improve the
Reliability ▪ Implementing a
reliability of the real-time
watchdog
application.
▪ Redundancy

▪ Debugging tools
▪ Benchmarking
This lesson discusses methods
Debugging, performance and code
of debugging, benchmarking,
Benchmarking, duration
and testing your real-time
and Testing ▪ Testing a real-time
application.
application

▪ Introduction to RT
deployment
This lesson discusses how to
▪ Communicating with
Deployment and deploy a stand-alone RT
deployed applications
Replication application and replicate it on
▪ Replicating RT
multiple RT targets.
systems

Suggested Next Courses

▪ LabVIEW Core 3 Course
▪ Advanced Architectures in LabVIEW Course