The new MINDSTORMS NXT software, developed by LEGO Group and NI, includes an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop, graphical interface optimized for the MINDSTORMS NXT target for children aged 10 to 14. Through this new The LabVIEW Toolkit, an increasing number of MINDSTORMS NXT advanced users (including adult, secondary or university students, and college educators) can now program NXT with advanced image programming tools from LabVIEW. LabVIEW's 20 years of innovation, and the release of this toolkit continues this innovation process, extending the industry-standard LabVIEW platform to this new user community.
Søren Lund, Director of LEGO MINDSTORMS, said: "The LabVIEW Toolkit developed for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT is critical to the development of system add-on tools. An important reason for working with NI to develop NXT software is that third-party developers can use it. LabVIEW creates additional functional modules for our software. In addition, experienced MINDSTORMS users can easily move from the MINDSTORMS NXT's graphical drag-and-drop environment to the LabVIEW advanced imaging programming environment.
Through the toolkit, the user can also interact with the NXT robot while the program is running. Drag the LabVIEW input control with the mouse, the toolkit can transfer the data to the robot, and produce effects on the currently executed program. Drag and drop the output control, The values ​​in the current program are returned to the PC and displayed on a regular LabVIEW front panel.
Developers using third-party sensors and other MINDSTORMS NXT add-on hardware can use LabVIEW to create local function blocks that can be used to program and control hardware devices in the MINDSTORMS NXT software. For example, HiTechnic Products developed for MINDSTORMS NXT Digital Compass Sensor, and is using the new LabVIEW Toolkit to create functional modules for this and other sensors.
John Barnes, president of HiTechnic, said: "The LabVIEW toolkit for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT makes it easy to customize NXT-based add-on software and allows users to use MINDSTORMS more. This customer-centric functionality will Make the MINDSTORMS enthusiasts of all ages further enhance and deepen their experience."
Starting this fall, users of LabVIEW 7.1 and 8.20 can download the second version of the toolkit from ni.com. If you need more information, please visit
About National Instruments National Instruments (NI) was founded in 1976. For 30 years, NI has been a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation technology. The innovative concept of virtual instrumentation technology has changed the testing and measurement of engineers and scientists in various fields. And automated approach. With PC and off-the-shelf commercial technology, virtual instrumentation technology is easy to integrate with software such as the graphical development environment NI LabVIEW and modules based on PXI, PCI, PCI Express, PXI Express, USB and Ethernet. Measurement and control hardware to reduce the cost of application in test, control and design, and significantly increase productivity. NI is headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA, with offices in 40 countries. More than 4,000 employees. For the past seven consecutive years, Fortune Magazine has selected NI as one of the 100 best companies to work in the US. Visit ni.com/china or learn more about the company.
NI/LabVIEW Toolkit for the Next Generation LEGO MINDSTORMS® NXT Toy Robot System
As a virtual instrument technology industry's global leader, National Instruments (National Instruments, referred to as NI) released dedicated to LEGO® (Lego) MINDSTORMS® NXT robot system NI LabVIEW toolkits. With the new toolkit, LabVIEW Users can create and download VIs to operate and control the MINDSTORMS NXT robotics platform. Third-party software and hardware developers can also use this toolkit to create functional modules for MINDSTORMS NXT software. As a popular LEGO robot technology invention The new generation of the system, MINDSTORMS NXT, was launched in early August this year. The system includes a new programming environment developed by NI and uses the LabVIEW language as the programming platform.