LabVIEW extended to a new line of distributed hardware

24 October 2001 Test & Measurement

National Instruments has revealed a new hardware platform for its flagship LabVIEW software that further expands the use of standard computer technologies in controlling and monitoring critical manufacturing and factory-floor processes.

With the release of NI's FieldPoint 2000 family of hardware, engineers now can distribute NI's LabVIEW measurement and automation software throughout a factory floor on hardware the size of a human fist. Because NI designed FieldPoint as small, rugged modules customers can install these intelligent devices close to industrial machinery and processes - whether it is a vat of chemicals or a string of appliances rolling off the production line.

The brainpower of FieldPoint comes from LabVIEW Real-Time, a version of LabVIEW that simplifies the creation of computer programs used to closely monitor and control pumps, valves, and other manufacturing machinery. The integration of FieldPoint and LabVIEW Real-Time provides an intelligent, distributed platform that can withstand the dirt, dust, and extreme temperatures commonly found on a factory floor.

The LabVIEW Real-Time software enables the FieldPoint 2000 Family to operate independently of a central computer as well as communicate directly with other FieldPoint 2000 modules via standard computer networks. This decentralisation increases the efficiency of factory processes while ensuring the FieldPoint system continues to run even if a central computer shuts down.

Other efficiencies come from the use of LabVIEW, the graphical programming environment. LabVIEW Real-Time also runs on personal computers or PXI/Compact PCI industrial computers.

National Instruments

(011) 805 8197

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