Case Studies

LabVIEW Consulting and Training for Internal Development Team

Overall architecture of the Real-Time application.
Posted in Automotive, LabVIEW, Machine Vision, Manufacturing Automation and Intelligence, Test & Measurement Automation

Summary

DMC often provides consulting and training services to clients with internal development teams looking to enhance their design architecture. In this particular case, DMC was approached by an internal software team at a large automotive corporation to aid in the development of their smart CAN sensor test stand. The client’s staff developed the initial instrument drivers and brought in DMC for architecture design and component integration. DMC worked closely alongside the client staff to produce a complete Real-Time and PC based test application.

Solution

The client began with some prior LabVIEW experience but had not yet designed an entire application before. The client had written and tested individual VIs for system components but was unsure how to piece these functions together to form a cohesive test application. Apart from delivering final software, the client was interested in investing in one-on-one training with LabVIEW experts.

DMC met with the client software team, gathering system information and requirements. After reviewing all pieces and defining an architecture that fit their application, development tasks were divided up amongst all programmers. DMC tackled more advanced topics, such as developing a custom TCP message handler between PC and PXI, while the client moved forward modifying subVIs to work with a queue-based state machine. On other pieces, DMC worked alongside client staff, forming libraries and cleaning up previously written LabVIEW code. DMC and client developers met nearly every week to check on status, merge code and test on the PXI station. DMC provided design, best-practice guidance, and inside NI-knowhow throughout the entire project. DMC also introduced good software project management skills, such as scheduling demos, setting release timelines and issue tracking as well as ramping up team on source code control.

Once integration and full debug were complete, DMC rolled both applications into stand-alone executables. DMC taught the client development staff best practices for maintaining and reusing source code internally for future projects. The client retained all libraries and sourcecode to continue development as they see fit.

 

Customer Benefits

  • Software skill training and development to strengthen internal team
    • Trained team on source code control
  • Client retained code
  • Professional team turned a high-risk project into a low-risk success providing functional and predictable deliverables

Technologies

  • LabVIEW for Real-Time
  • LabVIEW for PC
  • LabVIEW FPGA
  • NI PXI
  • NI Ethernet expansion chassis
  • NI CAN