NI partners Mobilerobots for development platform

National Instruments has announced a collaboration that combines the NI Labview design software and Mobilerobots Inc's autonomous mobile platforms to help engineers deploy service robot applications.

The collaboration between National Instruments and Mobilerobots Inc offers engineers an integrated robotics development platform based on robust technologies.

Mobilerobotsindoors is a general-purpose platform that helps non-programmers customise and install autonomous robots for applications such as couriers, guides, kiosks and inspectors.

The robots also offer interoperability with third-party vendor solutions.

Mobilerobotsindoors technology is the basis for numerous robotics companies' autonomous robotics solutions, and robots using this technology drive millions of kilometres each year in factories, hospitals and offices in the US, Europe and Asia.

Labview delivers a robust graphical programming environment that allows the user to add accessories, including manipulators, sensors and other task-specific components, to robots with Mobilerobotsindoors technology and to integrate these robots or robot fleets into an automation environment such as factories, clinical labs or security systems.

Labview simplifies application development by abstracting the underlying code, making it suitable for robotics engineers, who often have experience with mechanical or electrical engineering but limited or no software programming knowledge.

Labview also delivers features to add custom and advanced functionalities.

The performance and flexibility of Labview have resulted in the software's adoption in numerous applications, from robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery to spider robots used in lifesaving rescue missions.

The integration between Labview and Mobilerobotsindoors is made possible by a set of Labview VIs.

Using Mobilerobots Inc's TCP/IP-based protocol, engineers can connect to Mobilerobots platforms and program them with Labview to add custom capabilities such as speed and directional changes.

Engineers can also use the VIs to take advantage of the Mobile Simbank at the Mobilerobots headquarters to remotely test their simulations for both single robot designs and more complex fleet applications to reduce disruption when the robots are installed in a factory or other location.

'The combination of Mobilerobotsindoors and Labview provides the industry with a complete set of core components and tools for quickly creating robotics applications,' said Mobilerobots Inc chief executive and cofounder Jeanne Dietsch, who will be speaking at the NI Week 2009 Robotics Summit.

'They also form the first general-purpose system designed to run robotics solutions from multiple vendors.

'The NI and Mobilerobots Inc collaboration will benefit the service robot industry by cutting RandD costs for the vendor, lowering equipment costs for end users and making the return on investment from automation even greater,' she added.

In addition to software customisation, the collaboration between the two companies makes it possible for engineers to add NI hardware such as NI CompactRIO, NI Single-Board RIO and NI Smart Cameras to Mobilerobots intelligent mobile bases and autonomous navigation systems.

Using NI hardware with the robots, engineers can add more complex manipulators and stereo vision.

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